Amorphis doesn't hold back anything with new vocalist, Joutsen. The band gets right back into the thick of things with a few new blistering Metal tunes, ("Leaves Scar", "The Smoke" and "Two Moons"). Joutsen's growls aren't that abrasive, they fall right in the mix and come across with the same finesse that Koskinen bore all of those years. The lead single, "House Of Sleep" opens up with a handful of great guitar riffs/leads and goes directly into a middle of the road rockin' track like something you'd hear on the new Sentenced disc. I hate to compare them to Sentenced, since I don't consider them seasoned vets of the scene, yet I have to call it as I see it. I guess you could go simply with the fact of who was here and doing it first. To the fans that haven't been able to hear Amorphis before this will give you a good idea of what to expect. "Under A Soil And Black Stone", features some extravagant keyboard work. The vibe this tune puts off gives new meaning to the words sorrow and melancholy. The guitar work on this disc is nothing short of amazing. Masterminds, Holopainen and Koivusaari have put together some truly magical moments on Eclipse. My nod for my favorite track off the disc has to go to "Brother Moon", Joutsen's vocals blend perfectly together within the song structure and he belts it out in such a way that it's dizzying. Here again, the music itself is a religious experience all on its own.

I must say, it's not very often that I'm disappointed with a Finnish band and Amorphis pushes that point home even further. If you were turned off by the last few albums from Amorphis, I suggest you give them another try and pick up Eclipse. It's an essential disc for any collection that houses at least one Amorphis cd. If you don't have any of the band's releases, then by all means start with this one - you'll be glad you did!