AMORPHIS’ ESA HOLOPAINEN TALKS 30-PLUS YEARS OF BAND HISTORY - “MY MOM SAID ‘MUSIC IS A GOOD HOBBY, BUT YOU SHOULD GET A REAL JOB’

For nearly 35 years, Finnish heavy metal legends Amorphis have been steadily building their unique brand of progressive folk metal with the odd nod to the gurgling death metal scene. It was 1994’s epic Tales From The Thousand Lakes that made the music world stand at attention and there’s been no looking back. Their latest album Halo, released last year, hit #1 on the Finnish charts and they recently tied a bow on their incredible career by releasing the English version of their mighty tome, Amorphis: The Official Story Of Finland's Greatest Metal Band. BraveWords caught up with longtime friend and main composer Esa Holopainen for a career-encompassing chat recently.

BraveWords: So, after 30-plus years, what do you think is the glue that holds Amorphis together? What's the bond?

Holopainen: "I guess it's friendship, and the music. We've been friends for ages, for some of the guys we have known each other since we were kids. So I guess that bonds us. That bonds us and it's work, it's a job for every one of us. I guess that is pretty much something that connects us. And, we still have a love of doing what we do, to meet people, and travel, and play shows. We've been together now over 30 years. And we are still a solid band. We do tours and release new albums. Our career has been very stable and we have gotten further little by little. The years have brought more appreciation from the industry