Alison Booth at Metal Shock Finland spoke with Amorphis bassist Olli-Pekka Laine leading up to the release of the band's new album, Queen Of Time. An excerpt is available below. 

Discussing Queen Of Time and the new areas explored this time around:

Oppu: "Jens did a great job – he’s an amazing producer and he has great ideas. You can see from him that he kind of hears things in his head, in some weird way. When it comes to the choirs and strings, that’s something Amorphis has used from Day One – even when we did our first demo, we had a human voice synthesizer on the album on a couple of songs. So in a way it’s not a new thing for us, the new things is that it’s done with a real choir and a real orchestra. We are known for wanting to explore things in our music and this is something totally new for us and yeah, we’re kind of open minded when it comes to new things and this is our way to do it this time."

On being back in the band after 17 years:

Oppu: "Well, it’s great! It’s sort of familiar to be in the band but feel it’s kind of a new band, because it’s much more professional and we have a great background organisation. We have our own stage crew and the playing is much better and also the mood in the band is, I wouldn’t like to use the word ‘mature’ (laughs) but I think I will. We have all matured in a way and the guys are just great.

Everyone has developed in playing very much and for example I have discovered new kinds of music. I’m listening to a lot of jazz nowadays and I’ve played in a stoner rock band, so I play a lot more these days than I used to do. On a personal level, we were good friends, almost brothers, back in the day already and that remains. We had that spiritual connection throughout the years anyway. It kind of felt for me that I’m part of Amorphis even though I wasn’t in the band, so it was kind of a natural thing to enter again."

Read and listen to the complete interview here.

Amorphis have released a fourth video trailer for their new Queen Of Time album, out today (May 18th) via Nuclear Blast. Watch the clip below. Queen Of Time is available for pre-order in various formats here.

Queen Of Time tracklisting:

"The Bee"
"Message In The Amber"
"Daughter Of Hate"
"The Golden Elk"
"Wrong Direction"
"Heart Of The Giant"
"We Accursed"
"Grain Of Sand"
"Amongst Stars"
"Pyres On The Coast"

Bonus Tracks (Digi, 2LP, and Mailorder Edition only)
"As Mountains Crumble"
"Brother And Sister"

Trailer #1:

Trailer #2:

Trailer #3:

Trailer #4:

"Wrong Direction" video:

"The Bee" lyric video:

Amorphis will return to North America for a co-headlining trek with Dark Tranquillity this September/October. Joining them are Portugal's premiere gothic-metallic-force Moonspell, and Finnish melo-death contingent Omnium Gadtherum.

Guitarist Esa Holopainen commented: "We are extremely excited to start the world tour with new album from North America. There’s been lot of requests to hit the States again after our last tour spring 2017. This time we come over with a killer package. Touring with Dark Tranquillity, Moonspell and Omnium Gatherum is almost like having a road trip with best mates around. Every band has a strong fanbase so there will be something for everyone."

September
7 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theater
8 - Montreal, QC - Cafe Campus
9 - Quebec City, QC - Imperial de Quebec
10 - Toronto, ON - Opera House
11 - Ft Wayne, IN - Pierre's
12 - Detroit, MI - Harpo’s
13 - Joliet, Il - The Forge
14 - Minneapolis, MN - The Cabooze
15 - Winnipeg, MB - Park Theatre
17 - Edmonton, AB - The Starlite Room
18 - Calgary, AB - Dickens
19 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theater
20 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
22 - Berkeley, CA - The UC Theatre
23 - Anaheim, CA - City National Grove
24 - West Hollywood, CA - Whiskey A Go Go
25 - San Diego, CA - Brick By Brick
26 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre
27 - Las Vegas, NV - House Of Blues
28 - Salt Lake City, UT - Liquid joe's
29 - Denver, CO - Herman’s Hideaway

October
1 - Dallas, TX - Trees
2 - San Antonio, TX - Rock Box
3 -  Houston, TX - Scout Bar
5 - Tampa, FL - Orpheum
6 - West Palm Beach, FL - Kelsey Theater
7 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
9 - Louisville, KY - Diamond Pub and Billiards
10 - Durham, NC - Motorco
11 - Baltimore, MD - Soundstage
12 - Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero
14 - Clifton Park, NY - Upstate Concert Hall

(Photo - Lars Johnson Photography)