The Karelian Isthmus

A+++

I like the new stuff but this is sooo much cooler and heavy .

includes the amazing Privilege of Evil EP. Essential!

okay

I received pieces of it.

Alright where to start? How about we start at the beginning. This is the very first album from the legendary band Amorphis by far one of the best pioneers in the death metal of all time. They really put together a perfect album for what many will classify as death metal. I don't really like classifying bands i just look at all of it as good metal ! But anyways if you want to hear an oldschool,dark and scary album that does not give up even after the album ends. I mean seriously for a first attempt with an album Amorphis hit the nail on the head with this album. This is so perfect in every sense of the word. Technically this is a very unique death metal album,and i think it's a bummer they don't play some of this stuff live. Don't get me wrong i love every single album put out by Amorphis no matter what age or whos behind the mic. I'm telling you every album is unique and if you are like me and enjoy them all through and through,then you will see what i mean as they as a band grow and age. With that they have earned wisdom for their success in progressing and growing technically and all the way around. They traveled through a long trail of metal and earned themselves a much deserved respect they deserve. I'm very passionate about the music,if you know what i mean then you'll dig it. Amorphis sounds great no matter what but if you wan't to hear a great album here it is. If you don't know the band or are new to the band and know their current stuff,that's great i love it too. But this is a sound that is very unique and different from todays sounding Amorphis. If you wan't to hear an oldschool classic death metal/melodic death metal,etc. Whatever you wan't to call it,call it nothing more than a gem ! This album i cannot simply put into words,you must give it a listen yourself and trust me you'll thank me,but you don't have too just pass it on to another who's ears have not yet heard this. This is a great sounding album,in every aspect oir sense of the word. Vocally and lyrically the album i9s on point and perfect,guitarist and original vocalist Tomi Koivusaari belts out some very brutal lyrics. His voice is perfect as well as a fresh sounding voice for this unique style of music. Tomi is a great singer and a great guitar player,man i tell you i don't see how it's possible to play his guitar so well and sing so damn well also. It's certainly talent and it's excellently executed. The guitars for this album are right there man,they are crushing and heavy. Brooding and doomy this album is excellent. The drums are pounding in the truest sense of the word,not at all does it seem like he lost a step or a direction at all. Right on point with the bass man,you play this album and your immersed in the sounds. This is not just an album but an experience,so go ahead and take it all in. Experience Amorphios The Karelian Isthmus and enjoy.

Some listeners who are introduced to the more popular albums of this band first are less likely to appreciate this album. I am also a listener who first heard their mid-career albums, and I still love those, but Karelian Isthmus must be heard and judged on its own merits. When you compare this album to a lot of the death metal made by a host of Norwegian bands (even bands making albums today), you'll realize that Amorphis had a better-layered sound. There are bits of melodic guitar and keyboarding that are stacked very well with the heavy staccato of the guitar riffs. You're not going to hear this as well if you're driving down the highway listening through your car stereo. This album must be heard through headphones to be fully appreciated. Every style of death metal vocals pleases a different taste, but these vocals are some of my favorite. They are as excellent as the British vocalists of the best grind bands of the early 90's. I love this album not for nostalgia--I only recently gave this one a chance. I listened to a lot of metal during the early nineties, but I missed this one somehow. How lucky I am to have heard it at last.

For those interested in the history of metal this album is a must. It can truly put in a plausible claim to be the first melodic death metal album ever, coming in 1992 before "Heartwork," "Lunar Strain," or "Skydancer" was released (Carcass, In Flames, & Dark Tranquillity, respectively).I have added an additional star because of the album's place in history; a more precise grading might be 7.5 out of 10. Amorphis at this stage was to a large degree stuck in deathgrind conventions. This is an extremely heavy, grinding album, leaving the listener almost too shellshocked to appreciate the subtler moments. The vocals are extremely gruff even by death-metal standards. Even after owning the CD for years, most of the songs run together, with only a few superb moments shining through the general haze.Melodic death metal fans should definitely get this, but don't expect a masterpiece.

I'll assume that the reader is familiar with Amorphis. If not, then start with 'Elegy' or 'Tuonela' or 'Forging The Land...'. This album is interesting simply as the starting point of a truly great band but not interesting on its own musical merits. They were one album away from inventing the genre of melodic death metal so this album is simply death metal, devoid of melody. Actually that's not quite true: 'Karelia' (all forty seconds of it!) is delightful but after that it's grindcore all the way, with clumsy key changes, awkward tempo changes, bad lyrics and no variation in mood. I'm not an aficionado of this sort of stuff so I have no idea whether or not this is a superior example of the genre. I'd assume so because their second album was a masterpiece.The packaging of this reissue is rather substandard. Besides the album, the disc features all the tracks from their 'Privilege of Evil' EP, a collection of recordings that predated 'Isthmus'. However, there is no indication that this is so on the packaging, which simply reproduces the original CD booklet.Is there any reason to get this if you're not a fan of raw death? If you're a fan of the band, have everything else and want to hear how it all started, then maybe. Otherwise get everything else by them first!

This album is brilliant from start to finish,was hard to get on CD for many years but finally got it now.

Good old school Finnish death metal. It's not really the best Amorphis album but it's certainly a fantastically strong one and you can really hear the foundation to the infamous Tales from the Thousand Lakes that followed it.

A+

Excellent