The album starts with ‘The Circle‘, which to me has a pleasant feel of familiarity to it right from the first listen. The song’s intro just sounds so much like Amorphis, without sounding too similar to their previous material. The song is slowly growing and growing until after almost a minute we finally hear the first notes from Tomi Joutsen. He starts out with soft clean vocals, which is what he uses throughout the majority of this album. The song flows like a river, with twists and turns and tempo chances, but still as a whole coherent thing. A perfect way to start the album in my opinion.

‘Bones‘ is by far the hardest song on the new album. It’s also the only song on the album that seems to have more growls than clean vocals. So if that’s the Amorphis you’re looking for, I’m sorry to say, but you won’t find much more of it on this record. For me that isn’t a problem thought, as although his growls are great I have always preferred Tomi‘s clear vocals.

Another one of the singles is ‘Dancing Shadow’ which apparently had the working title ‘Disco Tiger’. And it is indeed more poppy and danceable than usual Amorphis songs, which I guess didn’t sit right with some people. I myself like that they tried something that is new for them. Many other bands have combined metal and sisco, and it’s a combination that can work surprisingly great. To me, this sounds like I would imagine a love child between Amorphis and ABBA would sound like, hence I see nothing wrong with this song. It’s different, but it doesn’t feel forced to me.

On their own I think I’d like both the music and the vocals on ‘Fog To Fog‘, but when they’re both combined it just feels a little hectic. There is just a lot going on in this track and I think the song could have been better if it was simplified a bit.

‘The Strange‘ is kinda hard to describe. It feels kinda chaotic, but in a coherent and calm way. It gives me an explosion of emotions. It’s like a wild roller-coaster ride, it’s adventurous and yet also comforting. It’s soft and light, and the next moment it has some of the hardest growls that this album offers. This song has even more going on than the previous one, but somehow it works way better here. In short, this song is easily my favourite of the album.

If you still need a reason why I prefer Tomi‘s clear vocals, ‘Tempest‘ is the perfect example. His growls are great, I would certainly miss them if they would leave Amorphis‘ sound completely, but the vocals on this track are just absolute perfection. It’s like his voice reaches deep within my soul and takes away pain that was buried so deep I didn’t even realise was there anymore. This song has me full on balling my eyes out, which has never before happened for me with Amorphis.

‘Light And Shadow‘ is probably the single that sums up the sound of the new album the best. I very much like the atmosphere of the song and I think it was a good choice for the first single as it showcases the direction Amorphis is going for on this album. But I feel that the vocals on this track are not quite as strong as on the rest of the album, or more precisely, they feel a bit drowned behind the music.

‘The Lantern‘ isn’t as easily accessible sound wise as the rest of the album. I highly recommend headphones for this one, as a lot of the finer details get lost when you listen to it over speakers. This one has a bit of ‘Silent Waters‘ era Amorphis, but still with a fresh spin on it.

The title track ‘Borderland‘ also has a bit of the ‘Silent Waters‘ era feel to it. I wasn’t completely sure about this song on the first few listens, but it’s growing on me rapidly. This song to me is like an autumn day, there is some coolness and melancholy knowing the dark of winter is just around the corner, but in the moment there is also still this eruption of colours and warmth.

With ‘Despair‘ we have now fully reached winter. This song radiates darkness and cold. It’s an interesting choice to end the album on. While most of the time people try to end on a positive note, Amorphis have purposely chosen a different path. This album wraps up like the seasons of the year or the circle of life, maybe. And at the end of it you just want to start the circle again.

I rarely have been moved by an album this much. The whole concept works amazing and the harmony not only between Tomi‘s growls and clear vocals, but also between his voice and the music is outstanding. In my personal opinion, this is one of the most perfect albums I have listened to in many years.

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