AMORPHIS: 'The Official Story Of Finland's Greatest Metal Band' Book Now Available In English For First Time

Decibel Books has announced the publication of "Amorphis: The Official Story Of Finland's Greatest Metal Band", a fully authorized biography of the Finnish metal institution. Packed with tons of rare and never-before-seen photos, as well as a 16-page color section, the 360-page hardcover is exclusively available for pre-order in North America via decibelmagazine.com. Copies are expected to ship in early 2023.

Finally granted a proper English translation, "Amorphis: The Official Story Of Finland's Greatest Metal Band" expertly charts the group from their preteen/pre-AMORPHIS era to their rise as Finland's most essential death metal band, through their bold integration of doom, folk and progressive rock on metallic milestones like "Tales From The Thousand Lakes", "Elegy" and "Circle".

Author Markus Laakso paints an engaging portrait of the rapid ascent, creative and commercial failures, and triumphant rebirth of AMORPHIS through in-depth interviews with every current and former member of the band, as well as their countless collaborators from throughout the group's incorporable career. From their earliest days as part of the late '80s/early '90s underground tape-trading scene, through their current position as internationally lauded extreme metal icons, the members of Finland's AMORPHIS comprise an essential chapter in the last three decades of heavy metal history.

In a 2018 interview with Distorted Sound, AMORPHIS bassist and founding member Olli-Pekka Laine was asked which variables are crucial to the longevity of a band. He responded: "That's a very good question. I'm not sure I'm the best person to answer that, but I think Esa [Holopainen, guitar] and Tomi [Koivusaari, guitar] have been really determined with the band since day one. They never really had any master plan for the band. It was just four guys playing music for fun back in the day, but it got more serious with the record deals as the first few albums did so well. It kind of exploded from there. It was a huge thing for us. It turned into big tours with the likes of PARADISE LOST, DISMEMBER, THERION, ENTOMBED, etc. There wasn't too many big bands who had broke through overseas in Finland back then, so it was good for our country too. It was kind of accidental. There will always be that critical point where you have to decide where you want to be a serious musician or just one who plays for fun. It's a different kind of animal as when you're serious you have to take responsibility for the whole product. You have to play well, not be drunk on stage. When I was young back in '98, we played drunk and we didn't play that well. We weren't very professional."