Founded 1990 in Helsinki, AMORPHIS have worked their way to the apex of the European metal scene and won international renown. The band’s name, derived from “amorphous” (no determinate form or shape), has been programmatic for the pioneers of Finnish metal over the course of their 20-year career. Setting a diverse, intricate and unique style to their musical approach, often being described as “ahead of their time”, the band accrued a large and loyal international fan base. From their independently released demo “Disment of Soul” (1991) through the current releases, Amorphis have always fused elements of traditional heavy, death and doom metal with a great variety of non-metal influences, including folk, progressive and psychedelia, and managed to create an instantly recognizable sound of their own. The band’s break-through came in 1994 with “Tales From The Thousand Lakes”. The album won the band a massive fan base around the world, reaching a multitude of listeners among and beyond the metal community, and remains immensely popular to this day.

In the early stages of their career, Amorphis consisted of Tomi Koivusaari (guitarist and original vocalist), Esa Holopainen (guitars), Olli-Pekka Laine (bass), and Jan Rechberger (drums). Together they greatly affected the metal underground, gained recognition and soon scored a multi-album contract with Relapse Records. Shortly after, Amorphis released their debut album, “The Karelian Isthmus”. Receiving an impressive response, the band chose to venture further into melodic terrain, adding progressive keyboard sounds here and clean guest vocals (performed by Ville Tuomi of Kyyria) there. The result was the classic “Tales From The Thousand Lakes”, which to this day is considered to be one of the most groundbreaking albums in the doom/death genre. For the first time incorporating lyrics from the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, the album also was the first true manifestation of the influential Amorphis sound: a seamless combination of intoxicating melodies and aggressive sounds delivered with both clean and harsh vocals.

The success of “Tales From The Thousand Lakes” provided Amorphis with the opportunity to tour the European continent several times, and followed by their first US tour in late 1994. Shortly thereafter, the band underwent some major musical and line-up changes. Continuing to feature lyrics based on traditional Finnish folk poetry, the third album “Elegy” introduced a new vocalist, Pasi Koskinen. This adjustment proclaimed a significant transformation in Amorphis’ career. Pasi’s unique vocals brought a new setting to the music, which now concentrated more on compelling keyboard atmospheres, psychedelic guitar sounds and a distinctive arrangement of the vocals, delivered by both Tomi and Pasi. Encouraged by popular and critical approval, the band members took three years to prepare their next album, honing the newfound style to perfection. “Tuonela” was liberally sprinkled with 1970s-style psychedelic touches and marked another great leap ahead for Amorphis, and its successor, “Am Universum” delved even further into progressive soundscapes.

In 2003, Amorphis released “Far From The Sun”. While closer to the band’s metal roots than the previous longplayer, the album was again very relaxed and melodic as ever, spiced with Far Eastern touches as well as progressive elements in the vein of Pink Floyd. In the late summer of 2004, long-time singer Pasi Koskinen left the band, and Tomi Joutsen (Sinisthra) joined around the end of the year. With a new singer and new energy, the band recorded “Eclipse”, an acclaimed masterpiece that combined the best-loved elements of Amorphis’ unique sound with fresh vigour. The album went straight to the top of the Finnish charts and was followed by triumphant live appearances all over Europe before the band retreated again to the recording studio.

“Eclipse” was followed by “Silent Waters” in the late summer of 2007. The dynamic and emotional range of the new songs, all of which were based on a single episode from the Kalevala, went beyond any of Amorphis’ earlier albums, yet at the same time hearkened back to the band’s past output in all its diversity. The release of the new album was preceded by a string of festival appearances – including Germany’s famous Wacken Open Air – and immediately followed by a five-week Finnish tour. The remainder of 2007 found Amorphis in Europe, Russia and Japan, whereas in 2008 they played in southeastern Europe, at a multitude of festivals and, during the fall, in the USA and Canada.

The new album “Skyforger” shares the lyrical concept of the two previous albums, its central character being Kalevala blacksmith Ilmarinen. Musically, the band soars to unprecedented heights; not abandoning the cherished ingredients of their sound but rather refining them, augmenting them with fresh elements, and delivering them with breathtaking passion and intensity. Both the album and the single “Silver Bride” went straight to number one in the Finnish charts, and the live qualities of the new songs were immediately tested and proven on the summer’s festival stages. In September, Amorphis went on their first-ever tour of Latin America, followed by the extensive Forging Europe Tour in the fall. In the summer of 2010, the band presented its first-ever live DVD, which includes two full shows recorded in 2009 as well as a career-spanning documentary. The release coincided with the 20th anniversary of Amorphis, which in addition was honored by a compilation of re-recorded classic tracks, released in September 2010.

Nostalgia, however, is not what this band is about. Granted, The Beginning Of Times (2011) showcases their trademark style in perfection, including plenty of reference to the death metal days, yet at the same time it proves that Amorphis have lost none of their progressive edge and experimental spirit. Doing honor to protagonist Väinämöinen, the Kalevala‘s central character whom myth credits for bringing music into the world, the band brought forth its most versatile and nuanced effort to date; in terms of performance and arrangements as well as rythms and sounds. Iikka Kahri, whose flute and saxophone already graced several songs on Skyforger, was back in the fold, Tomi Koivusaari added a few discreet touches of pedal steel guitar and Santeri balanced the 1970s prog and 1990s death elements with a synth vocabulary straight out of the eighties. More noticeable still was the addition of Netta Dahlberg’s backing vocals, which beautifully complement Tomi Joutsen’s lead – most poignantly on “Mermaid” and “Soothsayer” but also, for example, on the single You I Need. Besides another number one in Finland, The Beginning Of Times also earned Amorphis their first-ever Top 20 rating in Germany.

At the outset of the third decade, Amorphis continue their musical journey creative as ever – not confined to any predetermined shape, yet always instantly recognizable, always true to their own vision, and always unique.

On August 21, 2012, Amorphis announced on their website that a new album was in the works. On January 17, 2013, the band announced the title and release date for their next record. Circle was released on April 19 in Europe and April 30th in North America. On September 16, 2013, Circle won Metal Hammer´s “The Album of The Year” award. Esa Holopainen on the award, “For us, Album of the Year award is a great recognition for the work done so far. Especially when we got it from our 11th studioalbum.”

On August 4, 2014, Amorphis announced on their website and through social media that they would be playing a number of special Tales from the Thousand Lakes 20th Anniversary shows where their 1994 album would be performed in its entirety. Tales from the Thousand Lakes 20th Anniversary shows included festivals such as Wacken Open Air, Maryland Deathfest, and 70000 Tons of Metal with many other tour dates and festivals included.

The band began demoing new songs at the start of 2015, and in 4 March of that same year, it was announced that Amorphis will begin to record a new in album in April 2015, at Fascination Street Studio, Örebro, Sweden with Jens Bogren.

The lyrics will be written once again by Pekka Kainulainen, who says “Like ‘Kalevala’, they are descriptions of natural phenomena, seasons and the human mind. Reoccuring situations where hope and uncertainty alternate. Attempting to gain advice from higher powers. The poems do not form a complete story per se, but they are drawn together by a certain theme. We live under a red cloud and once again, time weighs us.”

The release of the new album will be followed by a world tour, starting with shows in the band’s home country of Finland, then other parts of Europe with Nightwish & Arch Enemy in November 2015.

In 15 June 2015, it was announced that the title for the twelfth studio full-length album is Under The Red Cloud, with the artwork and tracklist revealed and with a worldwide release date of 4 September 2015 by Nuclear Blast Records.

More than two decades of despair, beauty, and heartache have not only shaped but fueled Finnishmelancholy torchbearers, the chart-topping and two-time Finnish Grammy nominated Swallow TheSun. Formed in Jyväskylä in 2000, the quintet has enjoyed numerous fan-lauded music videos(10+ million YouTube views) and streaming dominance (50+ million Spotify plays), while alsoembarking on a four-continent, 900-show run throughout their 23-year career. The new album,Shining, however, is the group’s first step on the new path to the unknown.Shining is an exceptional album, not only because of the beauty and sheer power of the songs, butbecause this time the band searched for something new, something bright, something that will takethem to new spheres.Dan Lancaster, two-time Grammy nominee producer (Bring Me The Horizon, Muse, Don Broco,Blink 182, Enter Shikari, etc.), had the privilege to dive into the new Swallow The Sun material.This unexpected combination, and him producing the album, created something that Swallow TheSun has never experienced before. The leap into the unknown created an album that will blow youaway!Shining the latest album from Swallow the Sun, encapsulates the profound duality of the humanexperience and the band's enduring brilliance. The album explores the intrinsic challenges of beinghuman, contrasting the beauty and purity within individuals with the transformation that occurswhen we come together, chasing us away from innocence like rats from Eden. It highlights thestruggle and disillusionment in human interactions, dealing with a deep carved fear of life, and howmelancholy can slowly turn into your God.Marking 23 years of their musical progression, Shining also symbolizes the band's pride andresilience, showcasing their brightest and strongest work to date. This album is a testament toSwallow the Sun's artistic legacy, intertwining existential reflections with their characteristicmajestic sound. Shining – or the “Black Album” of Death Doom, as the bassist Matti Honkonencalls this album – was produced and mixed by Dan Lancaster, mastered by Tony Lindgren(Fascination Street Studios), and recorded by Juho Räihä at SoundSpiral Audio, except vocalsrecorded by Dan Lancaster. The artwork is by Rami Mursula.

EARTHEN is a Chicago based metal band which seeks to provide a range of listeners with quality music inspired by life experiences and the voice of nature which resonates within us all…

Earthen was born of “The Narthex Projeckt”, a creation brought into being in 2003 by Mike Le Gros. Originally a female fronted band, after experimenting with various different sounds and a plethora of members who came and went, Earthen has finally evolved into the sort of musical experience that it is today. With Mother Nature being the ever present driving force in all of our lives, she is often reflected in both the imagery and music that Earthen produces. Each member provides his or her own unique addition to the sound whether it be the soul-churning guitars, the storm of drums, the powerful emotion of the keyboards, the lilting accent of the flute, the thunder of bass or the haunting melody of the male vocals. Together they coalesce to form a voice that has been forgotten by humankind for far too long. You can hear us in the wolf’s mournful howl or in the night wind as it whispers through the ghostly trees. We are here to remind you of the fate that binds us all. We are Earthen.
Like the earth itself, this band was a natural evolution, an unforeseen sequence that brought it to what is known today both music and vision. From the years of its simple beginnings it was allowed to become what it became, a natural succession, an organic advancement that transcended the musical influences of all those who have contributed to create something greater than ourselves.

Origin to purpose, Earthen grew forth on the ideas in observance of the seasons change, the rise and fall of man, and finally, the reminder of the fate that binds us all. Each song then carried the haunting tones of nature and time, concepts of fragile years fueling the theme of how sacred both were.

“Nothing is certain except for present and uncertain change.” – EARTHEN

VARAHA’s music is a cinematic journey that defies genre limitations, and immerses us in its evocative, dynamic, and melancholic moods