Listeners who found Am Universum too indulgent and jazzy will be happy to find that Far from the Sun is a streamlined rocker in comparison. At their best,
Amorphis have carved great, twisting metallic riffs from the building blocks of Finnish folk melodies, and that continues here with standouts like "Planetary Misfortune," "Far From the Sun," and "Higher Ground." Yet as
Amorphis drift further from their frenzied death metal roots and closer to mainstream hard rock, a trajectory they fully succeeded with on
Elegy and less so on
Tuonela and Am Universum, they lose the searching momentum that made their albums, if not always satisfying, at least intriguing. Previous high watermarks -- the pitch-black death of
Karelian Isthmus; the heavy, doom-laden classic Tales From the Thousand Lakes; and even the progressive, keyboard-driven polish of
Elegy -- were all signs of growth, expanding the definition of what
Amorphis could tackle as a band. Far from the Sun, as well-executed and crafted as it may be, is another step toward a familiar middle. Any further from the sun and
Amorphis are likely to wither and fade away. ~ Wade Kergan