Following the announcement of their 15th studio album “Borderland”, Finnish metal icons AMORPHIS have released the first single from their forthcoming opus today. “Light And Shadow”, which can also be interpreted as a metaphor of the album title in the sense of counter-play between two parties close to each other, wins over listeners right away with an uplifting piano intro, enriched by an electronic sound tapestry. As the song unfolds, it transforms into a driving, mythic anthem of self-discovery, a powerful reminder of why AMORPHIS remains unrivalled in crafting melancholic majesty.
AMORPHIS keyboardist Santeri Kallio, who wrote the music, comments: “I threw my brain into the closet and went with the flow – without stressing about opinions. I didn’t want to repeat the old nor copy what we’ve already done before. When I heard [singer] Tomi‘s [Joutsen] final vocal parts, I realized that ‘Light And Shadow’ would be the perfect introduction to our new album.”
Due on September 26, 2025 via Reigning Phoenix Music, the follow-up to 2022’s “Halo” was recorded in late 2024 and early 2025 at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark with producer Jacob Hansen. The cover artwork was designed by Dutch artist Marald Van Haasteren (METALLICA, BLACK SABBATH, KVELERTAK, ALCEST).
“Borderland” track listing:
01. The Circle
02. Bones
03. Dancing Shadow
04. Fog To Fog
05. The Strange
06. Tempest
07. Light And Shadow
08. The Lantern
09. Borderland
10. Despair
Bonus tracks (digipak CD and vinyl only)
11. War Band
12. Rowan And The Cloud
Besides newly collaborating with Hansen and Van Haasteren, AMORPHIS still relies on the lyrical craftsmanship of Pekka Kainulainen, who’s been courageously writing for the band since AMORPHIS‘s 2007 offering “Silent Waters”. About his inspiration for “Borderland”, Kainulainen comments: “The generations that came here before us, our ancestors, also had to face death and destruction. Honoring the mythologies of mankind, as well as the listeners of AMORPHIS, I wrote lyrics that hopefully convey some of the humility and strength that mankind has always depended on.”
With “Borderland”, the title of the album couldn’t have been chosen more fittingly. Throughout its career, spanning over more than three decades, AMORPHIS — Tomi Joutsen (vocals),Esa Holopainen (guitars),Tomi Koivusaari (guitars),Olli-Pekka Laine (bass),Santeri Kallio (keyboards) and Jan Rechberger (drums and percussion) — has been an ever-evolving act, wandering on an exciting boundary-pushing path, from their sinister death metal debut “Karelian Isthmus” over genre-defining mid-1990s melodic death works like “Tales From The Thousand Lakes” and “Elegy” as well as the melodic 2000s grandeur of “Eclipse” and “Skyforger” to records combining the very best of all prior eras to refreshing new soundscapes, such as “Under The Red Cloud” and “Queen Of Time”.
With 2022’s “Halo”, the Finns were rewarded for their researching musical approach once again: the album marked AMORPHIS‘s sixth No. 1 album in Finland, even cracked the Top 3 of the official German album chart, and last but not least the sextet took home two awards from Finland’s prestigious Emma Gaala (“Band Of The Year” and “Export Of The Year”).
The impact of “Halo” became a driving force for what’s to come. Rather than rushing into a follow-up, the band chose to step back from live performances and focus fully on their next chapter. The result is “Borderland” — a meticulously crafted opus that builds on their celebrated recent era, while seamlessly weaving in new, timely elements. It’s a bold, organic continuation of their journey, shaped by experience and guided by vision
AMORPHIS‘s forthcoming album will be released in time for a massive headline tour in their home country as well as a trip as part of an arena-filling package with ARCH ENEMY, ELUVEITIE and GATECREEPER, kicking off in Stuttgart, Germany on October 10.
Photo credit: Sam Jamsen
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