Vapula

Rammstein [Reise, Reise]-2004

Taking three years to release their follow-up to Mutter is a good idea since Reise, Reise is more of the same -- the same grit, the same growl, and the same dramatic, orchestra choruses. There's a bit more ingenuity in the production and a little more focus in the songs but not enough for the nonfaithful to pick up on. Unfortunately the lead single, "Mein Teil," is no "Du Hast," but the damning "Amerika" almost equals their breakthrough track. Whether or not Rammstein's label has the guts to...

Rammstein [Herzeleid]-1996

Rammstein's first album was about what was to be expected from a bunch of Germans who happily grew up on everything from Skinny Puppy to Depec Mode to Laibach and back again, not to mention plenty of skull-crushing metal straight up. Precisely brutal and often brilliantly arranged -- the band aren't per se inventive, but they bring everything together to make something astonishingly radio-friendly out of something that isn't necessarily -- Herzeleid in particular is the logical conclusion of...

Amorphis [Silent Waters]-2007

Who says you can't ever find your way home again? Finland's Amorphis started testing the veracity of that age-old maxim in 2005, when their Eclipse album interrupted years of ruthless genre-hopping evolution, took stock of a bevy of styles from all eras of the group's long career, and stewed them into a single, mostly satisfying mélange. Amorphis' peacemaking experiment with their past also coincided with the introduction of new vocalist Tomi Joutsen, leading some to speculate that the...

Amorphis [FAR FROM THE SUN]-2003

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, Amorphishave 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...

Amorphis [AM UNIVERSUM]-2001

If we focus primarily on the non-bastardized jazz elements, like keyboards, rhythm section, or especially the guitar, then the album is Amorphi' crown jewel for creative composition. The album kicks off with the gentle keys and happy harmonics we've come to expect from the band with "Alone." The song meanders through thick interchanges of sound and tasty vocal lines before hitting a wall of warm, overdone pop sax. Fear not, as "Goddess" blasts the listener with Pasi's endearing vocal harmonies...