AMORPHIS Announces New Album 'Borderland'; First Single 'Light And Shadow' To Arrive Next Week

Finnish melancholic progressive metallers AMORPHIS will release their fifteenth studio album, "Borderland", on September 26 via Reigning Phoenix Music. The follow-up to 2022's "Halo" was recorded earlier this year at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark with producer Jacob Hansen.

AMORPHIS guitarist Esa Holopainen comments: "'Borderland' is the first AMORPHIS album produced in collaboration with Danish producer Jacob Hansen. Before that, we had made three amazing records at Jens Bogren's studio. During the planning phase of the project, we strongly felt that it was time to explore something new and see what working with a different producer might bring to the table!"

As a first introduction to "Borderland", a new single, "Light And Shadow", will be released on June 6.

Hansen has been offering world-class audio services for the past two decades. In that time, he has produced, engineered, mixed and mastered countless names in the world of heavy music, including such artists as VOLBEAT, ARCH ENEMY, AMARANTHE, KATATONIA, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, PRETTY MAIDS, EPICA, DELAIN and EVERGREY.

In June 2024, AMORPHIS guitarist Tomi Koivusaari was asked by The Chill Dude On A Couch if he had an idea as to which musical direction the band's new songs would take. Tomi said: "I think everybody has just made some songs, but we haven't shared it yet with the other guys. So I haven't heard what other guys are doing. I just heard what I've been doing. I [don't know what will] end up end up [on] the album. But we will see. We will have a new producer. We've done the three last albums with Jens Bogren, and now we have a new direction in a way."

AMORPHIS's fourteenth studio album, "Halo" came out in February 2022 via Atomic Fire Records.

Produced by Bogren, "Halo" was previously described in a press release as "progressive, melodic, and quintessentially melancholic heavy masterwork."

As had been the case with AMORPHIS albums in the past, "Halo" featured the imaginative and poetic storytelling of renowned lyricist and "Kalevala" expert Pekka Kainulainen.

Three years ago, AMORPHIS guitarist and founding member Esa Holopainen told Westword that the band is "not as radical" as it once was.

"Back in the day, I think we did too much of what we wanted to do," he said. "For us as musicians, we needed to do that, because we never wanted to get stuck in one form. Today we blend all the new nuances and influences pretty nicely into our music. Even though there's a lot of different elements from different genres and the musical world, even from ethnic music, I have to say, we're pretty good to blend all of those elements into our music without sounding too different."

AMORPHIS and DARK TRANQUILLITY joined forces for a North American tour last summer and fall. The trek, which featured support from FIRES IN THE DISTANCE, kicked off on September 3, 2024 in Richmond, Virginia and concluded on October 6, 2024 in New York City.