xREL.v3

RELEASE         : Amorphis.Queen.Of.Time.Live.At.Tavastia.2021.COMPLETE.MBLURAY-MIDDLE

DATE            : 2023/11/19

RUNTIME         : 1h00m

AUDIO           : LPCM Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit

VIDEO           : [1920  |  1080]
SUBS            : [n/a]

GENRE           : Rock
IMDB            : n/a
RATING          : n/a

COMMENT         : The days when live albums were regarded as essential entries in any great band's catalogue
are long gone, but AMORPHIS are doing more than most to inject some value into the idea.
"Queen Of Time (Live At Tavastia 2021)" is the Finnish veterans' fourth live record, but
the first to focus exclusively on one album. Released in 2018, "Queen Of Time" is notable
for featuring the original AMORPHIS line-up for the first time since the seminal "Tales
From The Thousand Lakes" (1994),  but also for being one the strongest records in the band's
largely flaw-free catalogue.

Their 13th studio effort capped off the run of incredible albums that the Finns had made
since recruiting Tomi Joutsen as vocalist for 2006's "Eclipse" and received widespread acclaim
for its rich mixture of heavy, stirring material and more elegant and subtle fare. Performing
it live in its many-splendored entirety and to an audience of devoted acolytes in Tavastia,
Finland, AMORPHIS sound enraptured by their own material and the collective experience of
bringing it to life.

This is a fans-only affair, but it's a righteous and joyful one. "Queen Of Time" boasts some
of the finest songs AMORPHIS have ever written, and thanks to immaculate performances and a huge,
venue-filling sound, this front-to-back odyssey practically roars from the speakers. Highlights are
numerous: curtain-raiser "The Bee" is a magnificent encapsulation of everything that this band do
so well, with a typically commanding Joutsen vocal and every riff and keyboard motif zinging
with crystal-clear oomph; "The Golden Elk" shines a bright light on AMORPHIS's progressive streak,
with lashings of guitarist Esa Holopainen's trademark insidious melodies and a palpable sense of
windswept melancholy; "Wrong Direction" is a gleaming, up-tempo squall of poetic pathos and
thunderous drama; epic closer "Pyres On The Coast" is vivid, cinematic and dense with mystical
atmosphere. The shiniest diamond on offer is, perhaps inevitably, "Amongst Stars", a fiendishly
catchy and emotional exercise in melodic bravado, augmented here (as on the original album) by the
presence and life-affirming vocals of Anneke Van Giersbergen, with whom AMORPHIS should clearly
collaborate more often.

Genuinely great live albums are few and far between, but "Queen Of Time (Live At Tavastia 2021)"
presents a truly worthwhile moment in time, captured for posterity. And with AMORPHIS still on majestic
form (last year's "Halo" might just be their strongest album to date),  this will ensure that the faithful
return in their droves next time the band hit the road. Quite right too.

01. The Bee
02. Message In The Amber
03. Daughter Of Hate
04. The Golden Elk
05. Wrong Direction
06. Heart Of The Giant
07. We Accursed
08. Grain Of Sand
09. Amongst Stars
10. Pyres On The Coast