The Beginning of Times
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| The Beginning of Times | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 25 May 2011 | |||
| Recorded | January 2011[1] | |||
| Studio | Sonic Pump Studios, Helsinki, Marco's CockPit, Kuopio | |||
| Genre | Progressive metal,[2] melodic death metal, gothic metal, hard rock[3] | |||
| Length | 54:42[4] | |||
| Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
| Producer | Marko Hietala (vocals), Amorphis | |||
| Amorphis chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The Beginning of Times | ||||
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The Beginning of Times is the tenth studio album by Finnish progressive metal band Amorphis, released on 25 May 2011 in Finland, 27 May in Europe and 7 June in the United States.[5][6] Like previous Amorphis albums, The Beginning of Times, is a concept album. The central character of the songs is Väinämöinen, described by the band as "the iconic hero of Finnish mythology".[4]
Singles
On 11 April 2011, Amorphis premiered the first single "You I Need" on their Facebook page.[7] It was released digitally in Finland on 20 April 2011,[8] and in other countries on 22 April 2011. Early the next month, the band released another new song, "My Enemy", again on Facebook.[9]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [10] |
| Jukebox:Metal | [11] |
| PopMatters | [3] |
| Metal-Temple.com | [12] |
| Rockfreaks.net | [13] |
| MetalUnderground.com | [14] |
| Sea of Tranquility | [15] |
The Beginning of Times had a strong sales debut week, charting at No. 1 on the Finnish Albums Chart and No. 16 on the German Media Control Charts.[16][17]
In a professional review for PopMatters, Adrien Begrand praised the album, going so far as to say that Amorphis have never sounded better with their current line-up and describes the album as "a slick, classy blend of death metal and melodic hard rock".[3] Amateur reviews have also been positive, with Craig Hartranft of DangerDog proclaiming "The Beginning of Times finds Amorphis in grand form, doing what they do best".[18]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Pekka Kainulainen[4]
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Battle for Light" | Santeri Kallio | 5:35 |
| 2. | "Mermaid" | Kallio | 4:24 |
| 3. | "My Enemy" | Tomi Koivusaari | 3:25 |
| 4. | "You I Need" | Kallio | 4:22 |
| 5. | "Song of the Sage" | Kallio | 5:27 |
| 6. | "Three Words" | Esa Holopainen | 3:55 |
| 7. | "Reformation" | Holopainen | 4:33 |
| 8. | "Soothsayer" | Koivusaari | 4:09 |
| 9. | "On a Stranded Shore" | Kallio | 4:13 |
| 10. | "Escape" | Kallio | 3:52 |
| 11. | "Crack in a Stone" | Holopainen | 4:56 |
| 12. | "Beginning of Time" | Holopainen | 5:51 |
| Total length: | 54:42 | ||
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Heart's Song" | Holopainen | 4:07 |
| Total length: | 58:49 | ||
