Review: Amorphis – Borderland

Style: Progressive metal, folk metal (Mixed vocals, mostly clean)
Recommended for fans of: Green Carnation, Katatonia, Paradise Lost, Sentenced
Country: Finland
Release date: 26 September 2025

We all have that one friend who gets way into their hobbies, and loves to talk about it too—if you’re reading this blog, you’re likely that friend when it comes to music. However, when it comes to the Kalevala, a singular work of Finnish literature and mythology, Amorphis is without a doubt that friend. With origins in the realm of melodic death metal and doom metal, the group quickly pivoted into a mix of progressive metal, melodeath, and folk metal, recounting stories from the Kalevala for over thirty years. Borderland, the band’s latest release, promises more tales from the Land of the Thousand Lakes delivered in a heavy yet ultra-melodic package. Will we be greeted warmly as we traverse the Borderland?

If you’ve listened to any Amorphis record released in the last twenty years, you already have a good idea what Borderland sounds like: the Finns are remarkably consistent in their sound and have crafted an inimitable identity through their use of somber folky melodies, touches of psychedelia in both the guitars and keyboards, and clean-harsh vocal interplay. Compared to recent output, Borderland dials back the cinematic grandeur in favor of more straightforward, heavy-hitting songwriting, eschewing features like the atmospheric orchestral opening of Halo’s “Northwards” or the Orphaned Land-esque string passages of Queen of Time’s “The Golden Elk”.

Borderland’s stripped-down compositional approach necessitates a stronger focus on riffs, melodies, and percussion, and the first three tracks bring these in spades. “The Circle” is celestial in its swirling keyboards, Tomi Joutsen’s yearning vocal performance, and verses led along by punchy drumwork. Following track “Bones” features instrumentals that crash like powerful waves among mysterious guitar melodies and a comparatively delicate chorus. Conversely, “Dancing Shadow” is a bit more subdued until its chorus explodes with kinetic drumming and intertwining clean-harsh vocals. 

These tracks are brought further to life through their engaging lyricism: the chorus of “The Circle” is not only immediate in how it demands to be sang along to, but pairs nicely with its desire to engage with the natural world through song and dance: “I’ll sing the song of life / I’ll drum to the sun / Watching the creation / Listening to the river of time”. This theme continues on “Dancing Shadow”, where Joutsen urges the listener to become one with the many animals that make residence on the earth, in the ground, and in the water. “Bones”, on the other hand, recounts an army of skeletons reanimating from a field of remains: “From darkness they arrived / The spirits of the night / The moon rose to its zenith / Phospherous, blue and white”.

Instrumentally, the latter two-thirds of Borderland doesn’t quite live up to the standard of the lyrics nor the sheer power of the opening three tracks. While some of these tracks feature notable moments, like the soaring guitar licks on “Fog to Fog”, the high-energy affirmation of “Light and Shadow”, and the despondent vocal melodies of “Tempest”, these moments are the exceptions rather than the rule. The Amorphis formula begins to stale early into the record’s runtime with some fairly unremarkable but inoffensive tracks. Ultimately, the listening experience turns into a bit of a chore. By the time I’ve reached “The Lantern”, the instrumentation and vocals start to roll off entirely. Closer “Despair” in particular is a slog, sitting in a similar space to the somber tracks on 2007’s Silent Waters but is conspicuously missing features that exude atmosphere and definition. I’m happy to keep engaging with folk tales, but I need more variety in the instrumentation, more engaging use of tempo, and more punchy melodies. Unfortunately, the latter half of Borderland regularly struggles to deliver in these contexts.

While Amorphis’ enthusiasm for their cultural history and legendary mythology is both admirable and infectious, Borderland misses the mark and doesn’t quite do these tales justice. Beginning on a fabulously engaging streak of tracks, the record quickly falls into enjoyable enough homogeneity. However, Borderland is worth at least a couple listens to suss out the keepers; after all, the lows are inoffensive and the highs are jam-packed with trademark Amorphis melodies and cinematic sing-along choruses.

Recommended tracks: The Circle, Bones, Light and Shadow, Dancing Shadow
You may also like: Octoploid, In the Woods…, Throes of Dawn
Final verdict: 6/10

Related links: Official Website | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Reigning Phoenix Music

Amorphis is:
– Olli-Pekka Laine: bass
– Jan Rechberger: drums
– Esa Holopainen: guitars
– Tomi Koivusaari: guitars
– Santeri Kallio: keyboards
– Tomi Joutsen: vocals