![]() ![]() Inspiration from the Kalevala was not and still may not be something that I've always seen when it comes to metal, although it is easy to imagine more Finnish bands have taken inspiration from it since then. ![]() The lyrical content is also something I had grown to admire very well. Esa Holopainen's guitar work does hold weight here too, his riffs here give off a feel of what early death-doom pioneers worked with, and it only adds on to the great influences Amorphis had in mind. Jan Rechberger's performance on drums is solid, with a pounding sound that doesn't lose out to the mix, and Olli-Pekka Laine's bass provides a strong backing for the sound of the album, also solid. The twin guitar harmonies here are rather memorable, with riffs such as the ones in Drowned Maid and Into Hiding that come to mind. It kind of reminds me of what Edge of Sanity (Dan Swanö) themselves were doing around the same time. Tomi Koivusaari's growls are in a league of their own to be honest. Also notable is the inclusion of clean vocals here, done by Ville Tuomi, considering the band would never go without including them again even then, the mix between clean and harsh vocals was a change that would definitely come to be appreciated. The album sets itself apart quite easily from Amorphis' previous works with the heavily increased usage in keyboards per Kasper MÄrtenson that give it a more magical and enchanting feel, as shown best in tracks such as Black Winter Day, The Castaway, and Forgotten Sunrise. Blending styles such as melodic death, progressive, doom and even folk metal all in one, this is where the band started to feel more comfortable exploring their preferred musical tastes further. "Tales from the Thousand Lakes" does not eliminate all of their former sound, but builds on it in a way that gives the album an even more epic feel, very full of underlying atmosphere. After "The Karelian Isthmus" released, there were already a few signs of Amorphis potentially transitioning into something slightly different from their former death metal/death-doom roots. ![]()
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