Chapters

The Amorphis best-of collection named Chapters replaces the now withdrawn greatest-hits set of a few years earlier called Story: 10th Anniversary. Making only rudimentary changes to an already excellent and representative track listing, this welcome upgrade also adds a bonus DVD containing some of the band's music videos. The acknowledged elder statesmen of Finland's heavy metal scene, Amorphis' admirable career trajectory has seen them expand their creative horizons from day one, as they quickly abandoned the basest death metal primitivism of their youth to reinterpret Finnish folk music and poetry though ever-greater melodic and dynamic enhancements, before eventually arriving at an indefinable hybrid of new age and heavy metal/hard rock that is truly all their own. Along the way, the group has arguably lost as many fans as it has gained, but such is the price of maturity, and Chapters' reverse chronological track order only serves to highlight the absolute necessity of this evolution. Furthermore, with so much ground having already been covered over the group's ten-plus year odyssey, Chapters offers old fans a handy recap, and new fans a perfect venue to sample all the compartments of Amorphis' career before choosing one to delve into further.