Amorphis is here to brighten up your 2022 with the announcement of their new album Halo. The album is out on February 11, and according to the band will be generally heavier and more progressive than their previous efforts.
"[Halo] is thoroughly recognizable Amorphis from beginning to end but the general atmosphere is a little bit heavier and more progressive and also organic compared to its predecessor," said guitarist Esa Holopainen.
"To me, Halo sounds a little more stripped-down compared to Queen Of Time and Under The Red Cloud," added vocalist Tomi Joutsen. "However, don't get me wrong: when a certain song needs to sound big, then it sounds very big."
Halo was produced by Jens Bogren (At The Gates, Dark Tranquillity, Enslaved, etc.) and, much like many other Amorphis records, features lyrics from Pekka Kainulainen.
"From day one, Pekka has always been an enthusiastic and prolific lyricist for Amorphis," said Joutsen. "It is a slow process of translating archaic Finnish poetry into English and adapting it to our progressive rhythms. Fortunately, Pekka does everything on time and with great care."
"Halo is a loose themed record filled with adventurous tales about the mythical North tens of thousands of years ago," Kainulainen explains. "The lyrics tell of an ancient time when man wandered to these abandoned boreal frontiers after the ice age. While describing the revival of a seminal culture in a world of new opportunities, I also try to reach the sempiternal forces of the human mind."
