Tuonela

Tuonela is the realm of the dead or the Underworld in Finnish mythology. Tuonela, Tuoni, Manala and Mana are used synonymously. In Estonian mythology, it is called Toonela or Manala.

According to the ancient beliefs the fate of good and bad people is the same and the dead wander the afterlife as shadow-like ghosts. Tuoni and his wife Tuonetar are the rulers of Tuonela. At times living people visited Tuonela to gather information and spells. The trip there required weeks of trekking in a desert, and finally the crossing of the river with the help of a ferryman (similar to Charon in Greek mythology). Shamans could visit Tuonela by falling into a trance and tricking the guards.

Tuonela is best known for its appearance in the Finnish national epic Kalevala. In the 16th song of Kalevala, Väinämöinen, a shamanistic hero, travels to Tuonela to seek the knowledge of the dead. On the journey he meets the ferryman, a girl, Tuonen tytti, or Tuonen piika (Death's maid), who takes him over the river of Tuoni. On the isle of Tuoni, however, he is not given the spells he was looking for and he barely manages to escape the place by turning into a snake. After his return he curses anyone trying to enter the place alive.

Tuonela (album)

Tuonela is the fourth full-length album by Finnish band Amorphis.

The album is named from Tuonela, the realm of the dead in Finnish mythology. The album also shares inspiration with many of the band's productions in the text and themes of the Kalevala, or Finnish Epic.

The style is less progressive, like its predecessor, Elegy, but rather a stoner/doom metal record, with progressive metal/progressive rock elements, except few more progressive and rock-sounding songs including "Divinity" (which has a music video), "The Way", "Summer's End", "Tuonela" and "Northern Lights".

This album was the last release with original and long time bassist, Olli-Pekka Laine, who quit a year after this release in 2000, because of musical differences and to focus on his family.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Pasi Koskinen, except track ten by Antti Litmanen, all music composed by Amorphis.

Personnel

Amorphis

Amorphis

Amorphis is a Finnish heavy metal band founded by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari, and Esa Holopainen in 1990. Initially, the band was a death metal act, but on later albums they evolved into playing other genres, including heavy metal, progressive metal, and folk metal. They frequently use the Kalevala, the Epic Poem of Finland, as a source for their lyrics.

History

Formation and early years

In 1989, Jan Rechberger and Esa Holopainen played in a thrash metal band called Violent Solution, which Tomi Koivusaari had left the previous year to form the death metal band Abhorrence. Violent Solution slowly dissolved and Jan Rechberger and Esa Holopainen put together another death metal band. In early 1990, Tomi Koivusaari became the vocalist and Oppu Laine became their bassist.

During that time, Koivusaari also performed rhythm guitar, leading to the band dumping all original compositions and starting over again. Koivusaari's other band, Abhorrence, split up and he found himself with more time to put into Amorphis. A demo tape, Disment of Soul, was recorded in 1991 by Timo Tolkki at TTT studios.