10 Best Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Albums Of 2018
4. Amorphis – Queen Of Time
Amorphis made melodic death metal an eclectic, upbeat and folk-flavoured affair on Queen of Time.
Landing almost three years after the beloved Under the Red Cloud, Queen of Time definitely had its work cut out in satiating a legion of rabid Amorphis fans. The wait was long and agonising, but once lead single “The Bee” dropped, a collective sigh of relief was exhaled by a now-totally excited fanbase.
Queen of Time quickly followed and sucked up copious amounts of well-deserved praise. Much like its predecessor, the album totally excelled in its mixture of heavenly melodies with death metal undertones and progressive instrumentation. There is no band on the planet that sounds anything like Amorphis and Queen of Time proved that once more.
For an hour, Amorphis lure their listeners into a fantastical and mystical world: one where metal mainstays like growls, shredding guitars and chopping bass are not used to pummel ears. Instead, they build up an epic and empowering atmosphere by being paired with a plethora of clean choruses, flutes and synths.
If the Lord of the Rings books could be communicated via extreme metal, Amorphis would be just the band for the job.