The Beginning of Times

The Beginning of Times
Studio album by Amorphis
Released 25 May 2011 (2011-05-25) (FI)
27 May 2011 (2011-05-27) (EU)[1]
June 7, 2011 (2011-06-07) (US)[2]
Recorded January 2011[3]
Genre Progressive metal[4] Folk metal, Melodic Death Metal
Length 54:42[5]
Label Nuclear Blast
Producer Marco Hietala (vocals), Amorphis
Amorphis chronology
Magic & Mayhem – Tales from the Early Years
(2010)		 The Beginning of Times
(2011)		 Circle
(2013)
Singles from The Beginning of Times
  1. "You I Need"
    Released: 20 April 2011

The Beginning of Times is the tenth studio album by Finnish metal band Amorphis, released on 25 May 2011 in Finland, 27 May in Europe and June 7 in the United States. Like previous Amorphis albums, The Beginning of Times is a concept album. The central character of the songs is Väinämöinen, described by the band as "the iconic hero of Finnish mythology".[5]

Release

Singles

On 11 April 2011, Amorphis premiered the first single "You I Need" on their Facebook page.[6] It was released digitally in Finland on 20 April 2011,[7] and in other countries on 22 April 2011. Early the next month, the band released another new song, "My Enemy", again on Facebook.[8]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [9]
Jukebox:Metal [10]
PopMatters [11]
Metal-Temple.com [12]
Rockfreaks.net [13]
MetalUnderground.com [14]
Sea of Tranquility [15]

The Beginning of Times had a strong sales debut week, charting at No. 1 on the Finnish Albums Chart and No. 16 on the German Media Control Charts.[16][17]

In a professional review for PopMatters, Adrien Begrand praised the album, going so far as to say that Amorphis have never sounded better with their current line-up.[11] Amateur reviews have also been positive, with Craig Hartranft of DangerDog proclaiming "The Beginning of Times finds Amorphis in grand form, doing what they do best".[18]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Pekka Kainulainen[5]. 

No. TitleMusic Length
1. "Battle for Light"  Santeri Kallio 5:35
2. "Mermaid"  Kallio 4:24
3. "My Enemy"  Tomi Koivusaari 3:25
4. "You I Need"  Kallio 4:22
5. "Song of the Sage"  Kallio 5:27
6. "Three Words"  Esa Holopainen 3:55
7. "Reformation"  Holopainen 4:33
8. "Soothsayer"  Koivusaari 4:09
9. "On a Stranded Shore"  Kallio 4:13
10. "Escape"  Kallio 3:52
11. "Crack in a Stone"  Holopainen 4:56
12. "Beginning of Time"  Holopainen 5:51
13. "Heart's Song" (Bonus track)Holopainen 4:07

Personnel

Amorphis

Additional personnel

  • Savotta Choir – additional male vocals
  • Netta Dahlberg – additional female vocals
  • Iikka Kahri – flute, clarinet & saxophone
  • Marco Hietala - vocals production
  • Mikko Karmila - mixing
  • Travis Smith - cover art
  • Pekka Kainulainen - lyrics

Additional personnel 2

  • Erkki Virta - lyric translation
  • Sami Koivisto - engineering
  • Thomas Ewerhard - layout
  • Svante Forsbäck - mastering
  • Stefan de Batselier - photography

Charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
Finnish Albums Chart[16] 1

References

  1. ↑ "AMORPHIS | The beginning of times – Nuclear Blast". Nuclearblast.de. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  2. ↑ "AMORPHIS – Discography". Nuclear Blast USA. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  3. ↑ "Blabbermouth.Net – Amorphis: New Album Update". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  4. ↑ http://www.onemetal.com/2012/01/16/amorphis-the-beginning-of-times/
  5. 1 2 3 "New Album "The Beginning Of Times" – Amorphis". Amorphis.net. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  6. ↑ "Listen to "You I...". Facebook. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  7. ↑ "You I Need Amorphis" (in Finnish). download.mtv3.fi, Bonnier Group. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
  8. ↑ "Listen to "My...". Facebook. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
  9. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo (2011-05-30). "The Beginning of Times – Amorphis : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
  10. ↑ "Jukebox:Metal review". Jukeboxmetal.com. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
  11. 1 2 Begrand, Adrien. "Amorphis: The Beginning of Times < PopMatters". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
  12. ↑ "Metal Temple Review". Metal-temple.com. 2011-05-18. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
  13. ↑ "review". Rockfreaks.net. 2011-05-30. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
  14. ↑ "Metal Underground Review". Metalunderground.com. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
  15. ↑ "Sea of Tranquility Review". Seaoftranquility.org. 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2012-09-30.
  16. 1 2 "Amorphis: The Beginning Of Times" (in Finnish). ifpi.fi, Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
  17. ↑
  18. ↑ "Review : Amorphis – The Beginning of Times :: New Music Review :: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock :: CD Album Music Review : Craig Hartranft". Dangerdog.com. 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
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