Do you remember the day when you first listened to Black Winter Day from the album Tales from the Thousand Lakes? After a hushed intro, your ears were filled up with the best metal music that had ever been made in Finland. Pomposity and grandness shook hands with the Finnish soulscape in a way that has never lost an inch of its acuteness. Is it possible that it has already been 20 years since this magic moment?
Amorphis has been playing special sets at Ilosaarirock Festival before, but now the audience at Laulurinne is in for something really rare. Esa Holopainen, Tomi Joutsen and co. will play live their 20-year-old classic album, Tales from the Thousand Lakes. The album was a genuine milestone in the band's career, and its songs have been the much-anticipated highlights of their live performances ever since they were first included in the setlist. At last, the audience has the chance to hear the entire album played live, and on top of it all, Esa Holopainen has promised that the 20-year anniversary gigs will be rounded off with rarities and specialities from the band's long career.
The anniversary gig will be a celebration of nostalgia and certainly not to be missed by any metal fans. “Tales” started the reign of Finnish heavy metal in Europe; it was the holy cornerstone of something that was later built into a monumental cathedral. As Holopainen himself has said, “Don your wigs and start the pit!”