Rather inexplicably, 17 years after Black Winter Day, there still are people who expect that Amorphis will record the sequel to Tales From The Thousand Lakes and find it hard to hide their disappointment when the band defiantly refuses to do so and bravely walks the path it chose with the brilliant Eclipse in 2006. The year is 2011, last year Amorphis celebrated their 20-th anniversary and it is high time that everybody accepts the fact that they have moved on from their death metal roots, have evolved into masters of multilayer sonic landscapes and it is nonsensical to try and put them within the limitations of any musical style. As you already know, the theme of the new album is again from the Finnish folklore epic „Kalevala” (I am wondering what will happen when they run out of themes from it), author of the lyrics is again Pekka Kainulainen and the vocals are again recorded with the kind cooperation of „the seventh Amorphis member” Marco Hietala (Nightwish, Tarot), who appears in several of the songs under the monicker Savotta Choir. It may be hard to believe, but in many aspect Beginning Of Times is better than the previous Skyforger, which almost unanimously was declared the best record ever of the talented Finns. Unlike Skyforger, which grabbed the listener from the first time, Beginning Of Times needs several spins in the stereo to invoke admiration – it has so much music and varied melodies, that is is hard to comprehend from the first listen. With this I am not trying to say that Skyforger was bad – on the contrary, it is indeed a magnificent album, but let's focus on Beginning Of Times. The first impressions are from the presence of female vocals, flutes, folklore and progressive elements (actually this is not something new), quite a lot of keyboards and last but not least, a considerable amount of growls, delivered with incredible ease by Tomi Joutsen. The opening track Battle For Light (there are serious indications that it will also be opening the summer festival setlist) is rather epic and a very good opener – it is easy to remember and hum, despite Joutsen's growls. Surprisingly, the ethereal beauty Mermaid was not chosen as a first single of the album – the piano intro and the tender female vocals of the Finnish pop star Netta Dahlberg instantly grab the attention and turn the song into a lovely soundtrack for leisurely swims in the cool waters of the thousand lakes this summer. My Enemy kicks off in a rather tame manner and explodes into spectacular growls. This is not surprising – it tells the story of the verbal duel between Väinämöinen and the wretched Lapp Joukahainen who eventually loses the battle and redeems his life with his sister. А recent video in YouTube from the Metalfest in Switzerland suggest that this song is rather exciting live. The first radio single, You I Need, is nothing special and it could easily be said that this is perhaps the weakest song in the album, though it certainly has its beautiful moments, especially the duet between Santeri Kallio's piano and Esa Holopainen's guitar. Song Of The Sage is a real treasure – in mere 5:26 minutes Amorphis managed to pack at least three musical themes, while the moments with the flute of Iikka Kahri sound as if they came out of a Jethro Tull album and make the song sound rather folksy (in a good way). Three Words, which is also in the summer setlist starts off with a tight rhythm and heavy riffs and continues with a memorable chorus, a keyboard solo and some growls. According to Tomi Joutsen's comments for the Finnish Radio Rock, Reformation is perhaps the most beautiful song Amorphis ever wrote. And right he is – a lovely melancholic melody, gorgeous piano, wonderful chorus and filled with grief lyrics – a song that requires more than one listening, but gradually would become everybody's favourite. Soothsayer starts off with growls and changes the tempo shortly after this. The chorus is lovely and somewhat melancholic and the sweet duet of Tomi Jousten and Netta Dahlberg can make your heart ache. On A Stranded Shore is also a potential radio single – a light song with a memorable refrain. According to some comments, it even slightly resembles a HIM song. Escape starts off with spirit and continues this way. Some fans comment taht it reminds them of W.A.S.P.'s L.O.V.E. Machine and they're somewhat right. Crack In A Stone has an ominous intro and continues with growls and a chorus with clean and female vocals. It would be interesting to hear it live. The eponimous Beginning Of Time as if starts off right were My Kantele ends. The flute is here again, to give it a folk sound. In the comments for Radio Rock Tomi Jousten says that he really likes the song and is satisfied with the way it turned out. The finale of the song again reminds of My Kantele, but with the added beauty of an almost Spanish acoustic guitar. The intro of the digipak bonus Heart's Song quite resembles Rusty Moon off Tuonela. The problem with the bonus tracks in Amorphis' albums is that quite frequently they're a bit redundant – this was the case with Silent Waters and Eclipes and this is the case here. By no meant Heart's Song is bad, it's just that it doesn't sound like it is an integral part of the album. Overall Beginning Of Times is an exceptionally good album and it would be fair to say that it is one of the strongest titles of the year, despite the fact that we're only halfway through it. The fact, that it went straight to number one in its native Finland, ahead of Lady Ga Ga says a lot – especially of Finns' good taste in music.