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Tales from the Thousand Lakes is the second studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Amorphis. It is a concept album based on the Finnish national epic, Kalevala.
| Tales from the Thousand Lakes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio albumby | ||||
| Released | 12 July 1994 | |||
| Recorded | September 1993 | |||
| Genre | Melodic death metal, death-doom, gothic metal | |||
| Length | 40:13 | |||
| Label | Relapse | |||
| Producer | Tomas Skogsberg and Amorphis | |||
| Amorphis chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Tales from the Thousand Lakes | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
The album was an influential release in the development of the melodic death metal genre,[1] predominantly mixing the genre with death-doom[2] and gothic metal,[3] compared to the band's death metal debut. This showcases a more melodic sound for the band, with hints at their later, more progressive direction. The album also introduced synthesizers and clean vocals to the band's sound, though the latter was used sparingly.
This is the first Amorphis release to have an official keyboardist, Kasper Mårtenson, as any previous of the band's releases had the band's own drummer, Jan Rechberger, provide the empty keyboardist role until the band decided to have a keyboardist and also to find one being Mårtenson. With Mårtenson in the band, it is the first time the band's original lineup changed by having an additional member. Jan Rechberger would leave the band after this album but rejoin the band for 2003's Far from the Sun.
The original limited version (on digipack) had a cover of "Light My Fire" by The Doors added as a bonus track. It was later re-released in 2001 with most tracks from the Black Winter Day EP and the "Light My Fire" cover added as bonus tracks.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thousand Lakes" | (instrumental) | K. Mårtenson | 2:04 |
| 2. | "Into Hiding" | traditional | E. Holopainen, O.P. Laine | 3:45 |
| 3. | "The Castaway" | traditional | T. Koivusaari, E. Holopainen, O.P. Laine, K. Mårtenson | 5:32 |
| 4. | "First Doom" | E. Holopainen | E. Holopainen | 3:52 |
| 5. | "Black Winter Day" | traditional | K. Mårtenson | 3:50 |
| 6. | "Drowned Maid" | traditional | T. Koivusaari, E. Holopainen, O.P. Laine | 4:23 |
| 7. | "In the Beginning" | traditional | E. Holopainen, O.P. Laine | 3:37 |
| 8. | "Forgotten Sunrise" | E. Holopainen | E. Holopainen | 4:53 |
| 9. | "To Fathers Cabin" | traditional | E. Holopainen, O.P. Laine | 3:50 |
| 10. | "Magic and Mayhem" | traditional | E. Holopainen | 4:27 |
| Total length: | 40:13 | |||
Tracks 11–13 added from the Black Winter Day EP; track 14 is a bonus track:
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Folk of the North" | (instrumental) | T. Koivusaari | 1:17 |
| 12. | "Moon and Sun" | traditional | T. Koivusaari | 3:36 |
| 13. | "Moon and Sun Part II: North's Son" | traditional | T. Koivusaari | 5:10 |
| 14. | "Light My Fire" (The Doors cover) | The Doors | The Doors | 2:53 |
| Total length: | 12:56 | |||
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