The Beginning of Times is the tenth studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Amorphis, released on 25 May 2011 in Finland, 27 May in Europe and 7 June in the United States. Like previous Amorphis albums, The Beginning of Times, is a concept album. The central character of the songs is Väinämöinen, described by the band as "the iconic hero of Finnish mythology".[6]
| The Beginning of Times | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
_album_cover.jpg) | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 25 May 2011 (FI) 27 May 2011 (EU)[1] June 7, 2011 (US)[2] | |||
| Recorded | January 2011[3] | |||
| Studio | Sonic Pump Studios, Helsinki, Marco's CockPit, Kuopio | |||
| Genre | Progressive metal,[4] melodic death metal, hard rock[5] | |||
| Length | 54:42[6] | |||
| Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
| Producer | Marko Hietala (vocals), Amorphis | |||
| Amorphis chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The Beginning of Times | ||||
| ||||
Release edit
Singles edit
On 11 April 2011, Amorphis premiered the first single "You I Need" on their Facebook page.[7] It was released digitally in Finland on 20 April 2011,[8] and in other countries on 22 April 2011. Early the next month, the band released another new song, "My Enemy", again on Facebook.[9]
Reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [10] |
| Jukebox:Metal | [11] |
| PopMatters |   [5] |
| Metal-Temple.com | [12] |
| Rockfreaks.net |  [13] |
| MetalUnderground.com | [14] |
| Sea of Tranquility | [15] |
The Beginning of Times had a strong sales debut week, charting at No. 1 on the Finnish Albums Chart and No. 16 on the German Media Control Charts.[16][17]
In a professional review for PopMatters, Adrien Begrand praised the album, going so far as to say that Amorphis have never sounded better with their current line-up and describes the album as "a slick, classy blend of death metal and melodic hard rock".[5] Amateur reviews have also been positive, with Craig Hartranft of DangerDog proclaiming "The Beginning of Times finds Amorphis in grand form, doing what they do best".[18]
Track listing edit
All lyrics are written by Pekka Kainulainen[6]
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Battle for Light" | Santeri Kallio | 5:35 |
| 2. | "Mermaid" | Kallio | 4:24 |
| 3. | "My Enemy" | Tomi Koivusaari | 3:25 |
| 4. | "You I Need" | Kallio | 4:22 |
| 5. | "Song of the Sage" | Kallio | 5:27 |
| 6. | "Three Words" | Esa Holopainen | 3:55 |
| 7. | "Reformation" | Holopainen | 4:33 |
| 8. | "Soothsayer" | Koivusaari | 4:09 |
| 9. | "On a Stranded Shore" | Kallio | 4:13 |
| 10. | "Escape" | Kallio | 3:52 |
| 11. | "Crack in a Stone" | Holopainen | 4:56 |
| 12. | "Beginning of Time" | Holopainen | 5:51 |
| Total length: | 54:42 | ||
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Heart's Song" | Holopainen | 4:07 |
| Total length: | 58:49 | ||
Personnel edit
Amorphis edit
|
Additional personnel edit
|
Additional personnel 2 edit
|
Charts edit
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Finnish Albums Chart[16] | 1 |
References edit
- ^ "AMORPHIS | The beginning of times – Nuclear Blast". Nuclearblast.de. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ "AMORPHIS – Discography". Nuclear Blast USA. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ "Blabbermouth.Net – Amorphis: New Album Update". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ "Amorphis – the Beginning of Times – REVIEW : OneMetal.com". Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
- ^ a b c Begrand, Adrien. "Amorphis: The Beginning of Times < PopMatters". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ a b c "New Album "The Beginning Of Times" – Amorphis". Amorphis.net. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ "Listen to "You I..." Facebook. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ "You I Need Amorphis". Download.mtv3.fi, Bonnier Group (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "Listen to "My..." Facebook. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo (30 May 2011). "The Beginning of Times – Amorphis : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ "Jukebox:Metal review". Jukeboxmetal.com. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ "Metal Temple Review". Metal-temple.com. 18 May 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ "review". Rockfreaks.net. 30 May 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ "Metal Underground Review". Metalunderground.com. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ "Sea of Tranquility Review". Seaoftranquility.org. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ a b "Amorphis: The Beginning Of Times". Ifpi.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Review : Amorphis – The Beginning of Times :: New Music Review :: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock :: CD Album Music Review : Craig Hartranft". Dangerdog.com. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2012.