In a new interview with Portugal’s Look magazine, guitarist Esa Holopainen and keyboardist Santeri Kallio of Finnish metal veterans AMORPHIS discussed their upcoming album “Borderland”, set for release on September 26 via Reigning Phoenix Music. Regarding how the process of making “Borderland” was different to the way AMORPHIS created some of its previous LPs, Esa said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Yeah, it was the first album now that we did with a Danish producer, Jacob Hansen, and it was a very nice experience. We did three albums with Jens Bogren. He’s a splendid producer as well, but we wanted to sort of find some new nuances and elements to our production. So we switched over to a Danish producer, and Jacob was a great guy, amazing guy, and it was really nice to work with him. [He’s a] really easygoing guy, and he pretty much brought that extra little flavor, I guess, what we were looking for, to our sound. Creative-wise, I think we worked pretty much as we have before. Each guy works on their own with the songs and then we put all the songs to Google drive and the producer goes from there.”
Asked how AMORPHIS chose the 12 tracks to record for “Borderland” after coming up with 24 songs during the pre-production process, Santeri said: “Well, that’s one of the reasons why we use the producer… We self-produced ‘Far From The Sun’ and ‘Eclipse’ and ‘Silent Waters’ and ‘Skyforger’ and ‘The Beginning Of Times’, and actually making the albums was relatively easy, but we couldn’t agree… We had a lot of fights and disagreements about the bonus tracks and which will end up to the album and which will be singles and which order we have. And then we started to use the external producer in the circle with Peter Tägtgren. And I think the main reason to start to use the producer was that he makes the big decisions because we can’t really… There’s six guys in the band. Everybody has a strong mind, and we listen to all kinds of different music and we don’t agree about… and some songs are somebody’s babies, some songs you like because they’re heavy. And so the producer actually has to select the songs for the production from the 25-song pile, and then he has to select the songs for the album. And then he has to select a track list, like which order and the bonus tracks. So that’s one of the producer’s jobs in AMORPHIS, because we maybe could do it, but with endless fights.”
The follow-up to 2022’s “Halo” was recorded in late 2024 and early 2025 at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark with producer Jacob Hansen. The cover artwork was designed by Dutch artist Marald Van Haasteren (METALLICA, BLACK SABBATH, KVELERTAK, ALCEST).
“Borderland” track listing:
01. The Circle
02. Bones
03. Dancing Shadow
04. Fog To Fog
05. The Strange
06. Tempest
07. Light And Shadow
08. The Lantern
09. Borderland
10. Despair
Bonus tracks (digipak CD and vinyl only)
11. War Band
12. Rowan And The Cloud
Since forming in Helsinki in 1990, the Finnish sextet has fearlessly explored musical frontiers — from raw death metal roots to melodic, progressive and folk-tinged heavy rock, and far beyond. At every turn, AMORPHIS has expanded musical and lyrical boundaries without compromising their artistic identity.
Now, after an unrelenting 35-year journey, AMORPHIS — guitarists Esa Holopainen and Tomi Koivusaari, vocalist Tomi Joutsen, keyboardist Santeri Kallio, bassist Olli-Pekka Laine, and drummer Jan Rechberger — stands on the cusp of a compelling new chapter: welcome to the captivating realm of “Borderland”.
AMORPHIS‘s fifteenth studio album marks both a continuation and a reinvention of the band’s legacy. With acclaimed Danish producer Jacob Hansen (VOLBEAT, ARCH ENEMY, AMARANTHE) at the helm for the first time and a revitalized creative spark within the group, “Borderland” sees AMORPHIS fully embracing their melodic sensibilities while venturing into fresh, uncharted sonic landscapes.
“When the writing period began, there was no grand master plan,” said Holopainen. “We ended up with 24 demo tracks, and Jacob helped us select the ones that felt the most vital. The end result is dynamic and diverse.”
Kallio elaborated: “I feel there was a shared, almost subconscious desire to focus on rich atmosphere and strong melodies. Compared to the previous record ‘Halo’, the new album feels more organic and straightforward — and definitely catchier.”
“It’s more accessible than ‘Halo’ and has a modern and fresh feel — yet completely true to who we are,” stated Rechberger. “The atmosphere in the studio was relaxed. The songs were pretty much finished when we arrived at Jacob‘s seaside recording facility, so we could focus on the interesting details and recording itself.”
Koivusaari added: “Jacob had a vision for the big picture, but he gave us the space to bring our own strengths — and that freedom is reflected in the final result.”
Joutsen‘s performance is nothing short of revelatory on “Borderland” — a career-defining vocal tour de force that ranks among his finest moments since joining the band 20 years ago.
“This was the most demanding AMORPHIS album I’ve ever recorded — at least in terms of work hours,” he admitted. “Looking at the record now, one of my personal favorites is the title track ‘Borderland’. Musically, it’s classic AMORPHIS — delay-drenched guitars, melodic keyboards, and the interplay between clean and growled vocals.”
With deep respect for the past and eyes firmly on the future — and with extensive touring ahead — AMORPHIS continues to shape the landscape of heavy metal with grace, finesse and integrity.
“After three and half decades, we still follow our instincts,” Koivusaari concluded. “And honestly, ‘Borderland’ might be the most AMORPHIS-sounding album we’ve ever made. After such a long and successful career, that feels pretty damn great!”
AMORPHIS is:
Tomi Joutsen – vocals
Esa Holopainen – guitars
Tomi Koivusaari – guitars
Olli-Pekka “Oppu” Laine – bass
Santeri Kallio – keys
Jan Rechberger – drums & percussion
Photo credit: Sam Jamsen
