Recorded January 2011 Release date 25 May 2011 | Length 54:42 Label Nuclear Blast | |
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Released 25 May 2011 (2011-05-25) (FI)27 May 2011 (2011-05-27) (EU)June 7, 2011 (2011-06-07) (US) Similar Skyforger, Silent Waters, Circle, Far from the Sun, Tuonela | ||
The Beginning of Times is the tenth studio album by Finnish metal band Amorphis, released on 25 May 2011 in Finland, 27 May in Europe and June 7 in the United States. 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".
Contents
Singles
On 11 April 2011, Amorphis premiered the first single "You I Need" on their Facebook page. It was released digitally in Finland on 20 April 2011, and in other countries on 22 April 2011. Early the next month, the band released another new song, "My Enemy", again on Facebook.
Reception
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.
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. 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".
Track listing
All lyrics written by Pekka Kainulainen.
Songs
1Battle For Light5:35
2Mermaid4:24
3My Enemy3:25