The legacy of Finland's Amorphis officially began with this album, The Karelian Isthmus. With guitarist/vocalist Tomi Koivusaari, lead guitarist Esa Holopainen, bassist Olli-Pekka Laine and drummer Jan Rechberger still in their teens, they would release an album that would barely hint at the brilliance that was to come with future releases. Opening with a short acoustic piece, "Karelia", The Karelian Isthmus sees Amorphis combinig Death Metal with atmosphere and melody along with atypical lyrics for a Death Metal act, telling the story of an ancient Finnish battle. The tale is told through the deep, gutteral Death growl of Tomi, breaking it up with spoken word sections in a couple of places. The band do a decent enough job maintaining the brutality and aggressiveness of Death Metal while at times taking the compositions to epic hieghts which attempt to make the listener feel as though they are actually watching this battle take place. Sometimes this works, in other places it is not as effective. My favorite track here is "Exile Of The Sons Of Uisliu", which is a mid paced affair showcasing the epic and melodic aspects working at their best. This song achieves what Amorphis try to do with many of the other songs on offer.

When I first heard this album I knew there was something more to this band than what I was hearing. You just get the feeling while listening to it that there is something very special about Amorphis that is lurking behind these songs, not quite ready to make themselves known. The progression this band would make over the course of their following albums would be monumental, leaving The Karelian Isthmus sounding like it was recorded by a completely different band in the process. Greatness was on the horizon...

This review is credited to:
palewake