Normally, I hate it when bands go back and redo classics. I hate it with a passion. Amorphis are one of my top 5 favorite bands of all time, so this release made me a little nervous. Well, my nerves were laid to rest almost immediately after pressing play. For the most part, the songs stay very true to the original, with the new vocalist doing both the growls and the clean vocals, and doing one hell of a job. They picked some real gems here, and I must say that this is actually a must have for any fan of Amorphis, new or old. My only complaint is this: was it really nescessary to go back and re-record "Light My Fire"? Still one of the worst covers I have ever heard next to Candlemass' Black Sabbath Medley.

There has been a noticeable trend in recent years for established bands, especially when there is a significant lineup change, to rerecord their older material with the new lineup. In most cases, these rerecordings are totally unnecessary. The adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" comes to mind. Sometimes though, the rerecordings show the old songs in a totally new light (Anacrusis did this particularly well with their

collection). Now Finnish progressive death metal band Amorphis is giving it a try with their new collection Magic & Mayhem - Tales From the Early Years. Now that vocalist Tomi Joutsen has a few albums under his belt, and Amorphis has built a new sound around his distinctive vocals, it makes sense for them to revisit some of their earliest recordings.

If you've heard any of Amorphis's recent albums, you know that Joutsen is an impressive clean vocalist, but excels at the death metal growls. If you've caught them live, you know that he absolutely nails the older songs like "Black Winter Day." Hearing the band take on the heavier, more purely death metal songs from

and

is a revelation. It's been nearly two decades since the band's earliest recordings, so obviously they're a lot better at what they do, plus they've developed a unique sound over the years. Hearing that combination of talent and progress (plus of course Joutsen's monstrous growls) lends a more elegant brutality to songs like "Vulgar Necrolatry" and "Magic & Mayhem," and is almost like hearing the songs for the first time. The pre-Elegy songs should be more than enough to convince the skeptics, and are well worth the price of admission.

Then there are the songs from

. Elegy was the album where Amorphis brought in clean vocalist Pasi Koskinen and moved dramatically in a more progressive direction. Elegy is by far my favorite Amorphis album and I consider it an essential metal release. It's as close to an untouchable release as you're likely to find, and tinkering with these classic songs is risky. The band did a decent enough job with them, but didn't really add anything the way they did with the earlier material. They're not bad, and they do grow on you, but they're not on par with the original versions.

The only real blunder on Magic & Mayhem is revisiting the Doors' classic "Light My Fire." Covering that song was a mistake the first time around, and is just as dreadful all these years later. Making it through that stinker a second time around takes a supreme effort of will.

Old school Amorphis fans may cringe at some of these rerecordings, but for the most part the songs on Magic & Mayhem are very well done, and provide an interesting new perspective on some classic metal songs. Fans of the later Amorphis albums should definitely enjoy hearing the new lineup revisit the classic material.

EDIT 4/3/2012

After listening a few more times this is not as good as I first thought. Buy the original stuff if available. It's much better. 3 stars

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I've always been a fan of Amorphis going back to Privelege of Evil. I remember buying Elegy in '96 with great hopes of yet another awesome Black Metal album from Amorphis. I was a little disappointed at first but their new style quickly grew on me after a few songs... and after all what can one expect from a band named amorphis. They are obviously not going to stay in one place musically. I've liked every subsequent metamorphosis since (except for what I consider a week period around Am Universum).

These guys continue to make great music that consistently breaks the mold and defies genre type casting. I always did however wonder what they would sound like if they drifted back into the heavier more black metal sound of before.

This latest release brings me right back to the earlier Amorphis. Even if the songs are the same as before, I no longer have to wonder! It is a lot more polished sounding with better production value than back then but absolutely spot on in terms of the feel of the music. I love it. Even if you already own the earlier albums, if you are an Amorphis fan from the beginning, I think it is worth buying this one.

I can't wait to see what they come up with in their next release "The Beginning of Times".