AMORPHIS Begins Recording New Album

Finnish metallers AMORPHIS have entered Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki to begin recording their tenth studio album, to be released in early 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records.

A short video clip from some of the early studio sessions can be viewed at this location (MP4 file).

On September 17, AMORPHIS celebrated its 20th anniversary by releasing a special retrospective, "Magic & Mayhem – Tales From The Early Years", featuring newly re-recorded versions of the songs from the band's first three albums (1992's "Karelian Isthmus", 1994's "Tales From The Thousand Lakes" and 1996's "Elegy") with slightly different arrangements, better audio quality and featuring the band's current lineup. AMORPHIS guitarist Esa Holopainen told Petri Silas of Finland's Soundi magazine in early June that he was especially happy with how "My Kantele" and "Song Of The Troubled One" turned out. The collection also includes such gems as "Vulgar Necrolatry" and the band's cover of THE DOORS' "Light My Fire". The latter song was previously recorded by the band and was included on the reissue of the "Tales from the Thousand Lakes" LP, but the new collection features an all-new version that was tracked in early 2010.

"Skyforger", the latest album from AMORPHIS, was certified gold in Finland for sales in excess of 15,000 copies. (Note: The sales requirement for albums to reach gold status in Finland was recently lowered to 10,000, but because "Skyforger" was released before this change took effect, the old rules still apply.) The bandmembers were presented with their gold plaques on July 6 at a release party for their first-ever live DVD, "Forging The Land Of Thousand Lakes", at Cinema Andorra in Helsinki.

"Skyforger" was honored in the "Metal Album Of The Year" category at this year's Emma Gaala (Finnish Grammy equivalent).

AMORPHIS was nominated in two categories at the Emma Gaala — "Metal Album Of The Year" and "Domestic Artist Of The Year".