Amorphis - Privilege of Evil

AMORPHIS - Privilege of Evil (RELAPSE - CD 1993)

I have to be honest, but Amorphis is one of those still active bands, which I completely lost interest in already back in the 90’s. "The Karelian Isthmus" and "Tales from the Thousand Lakes" are godly albums, I love them fully, then “Elegy” is a swansong for me, still pretty good, but just not the same anymore. Anything after that could not exist for me. The earlier Amorphis, the better! So, here’s "Privilege of Evil", their 1993 EP (recorded in 1991!), which rips guts and is a killer primeval death metal effort. 

This short recoding contains everything I love the most from early Amorphis and even if most of this material has later been re-recorded for the debut album (where it sounds better), it also sounds fantastic in this rawer, more obscure version. For me Amorphis were one of the masters of melodic, but epic death metal in those old days. They had a great touch for memorable, epic, dark melodies, like those in "Misery Path", which surely is one of Amorphis' best songs ever. Or "Pilgrimage from Darkness", which is another amazing tune. But the way they combined atmospheric, melodic parts with vicious death metal was – and still is - spectacular. Hardly any other band had similar songwriting quality, even very few Swedish bands were as good. And yes, there’s no mystery that Amorphis sounded a lot like Swedish death metal band. So, it's just absolutely top notch, best among the best, death metal in this style, for me personally. I always liked their sound, their riffs and harsh growls of Tomi Koivusaari. They, together with riffing style, were both very characteristic and recognizable for Amorphis only. Even the production on this EP is something I think is distinctive for this band, despite being recorded at Helsinki's TTT, it's relatively close to Sunlight Studio's sound, (where “The Karelian Isthmus” was recorded). 

If you're fan of early Amorphis, but never had a chance to hear "Privilege of Evil", it's absolutely worth to get this EP. Not only for rawer versions of some well-known songs, but also for two tracks, which didn't appear of the debut LP. "Privilege of Evil" and "Excursing from Existence" are also very good, especially the first track is worth to listen to, with that kind of eerie riffage and keyboard section in the mid-section of this song. But if you’re fan of XXI Century Amorphis, then this EP may sound shocking to you. 

Standout tracks: “Misery Path”, “Pilgrimage from Darkness” 

Verdict: 90/100