Next Thursday, Amorphis will release the second single, "Wrong Direction", from their upcoming live album Queen Of Time (Live At Tavastia 2021), but today, guitarist Esa Holopainen shares some memories about the song and why Tomi Joutsen flew to Norway to shoot the initial music video but never actually appeared in the clip.
With stellar performances at the most important summer festivals under their belt, including Germany's legendary Wacken Open Air and Belgium's Alcatraz Festival, Finnish melancholic progressive metallers, Amorphis, are delighted to announce their third live album, Queen Of Time (Live At Tavastia 2021), which is set to be released on October 13 via Atomic Fire, and can be pre-ordered now.
In 2021, one of the years of the corona pandemic, when the music world was forced into a standstill, Amorphis played two streaming concerts at the legendary Tavastia Club in Helsinki, Finland.
Keyboard player Santeri "Sande" Kallio recalls: "Firstly I thought it would feel like a long soundcheck, but quite contrary it felt pretty close to a real concert. Of course, the band had to take the energy boost only from each other's playing and rely on the feelings what the songs bring in. Obviously, there was zero support nor energy help from an audience's side. Everybody probably agrees that nothing beats performing in front of a live audience, but I think we survived extremely well. One of the good sides was that everybody had to just concentrate on the music and playing 100% thus it simply was a one-shot chance."
Luckily, humanity got back to normality, enjoying both festivals and indoor shows again, so Queen Of Time (Live At Tavastia 2021) will arrive just in time to celebrate the group's upcoming Halo European Tour 2023.
Today, Amorphis also unveil the first digital single taken from the upcoming live album - the energetic yet beautifully melancholic "Amongst Stars", which showcases the impressive vocal ranges of both guest singer Anneke van Giersbergen and Amorphis lead vocalist Tomi Joutsen.
Watch the accompanying video below. Stream/purchase "Amongst Stars" feat. Anneke van Giersbergen here.
Pre-order the album in the physical format of your choice, pre-save it on your favourite DSP or pre-order it digitally to receive "Amongst Stars" feat. Anneke van Giersbergen instantly now, here.
Queen Of Time (Live At Tavastia 2021) will be available in the following formats:
- CD-digipak + Blu-ray (EU)
- jewelcase CD + Blu-ray (US)
- 2LP in gatefold (green marbled)
- 2LP in gatefold (red marbled; exclusively available at Atomic Fire Records)
- digital
Queen Of Time (Live At Tavastia 2021) trackisting:
"The Bee"
"Message In The Amber"
"Daughter Of Hate"
"The Golden Elk"
"Wrong Direction"
"Heart Of The Giant"
"We Accursed"
"Grain Of Sand"
"Amongst Stars" [feat. Anneke van Giersbergen]
"Pyres On The Coast"
"Amongst Stars" video:
The band recently added two Romanian dates to the aforementioned autumn run tour with Sólstafir and Lost Society, and in addition, they have announced new Finnish December 2023 tour dates as well as the first three of select 2024 festival appearances. Their current routing and tickets can be found here.
Amorphis lineup:
Tomi Joutsen - vocals
Esa Holopainen - guitars
Tomi Koivusaari - guitars
Olli-Pekka Laine - bass
Santeri Kallio - keyboards
Jan Rechberger - drums
(Photo - Jaakko Manninen)
