Amorphis have released their new single “Bones,” a powerful preview of their upcoming album Borderland, set for release on September 26, 2025, via Reigning Phoenix Music.
In contrast to the album’s first single, “Light And Shadow,” which showcased a more uplifting tone, “Bones” dives into darker, heavier territory. Emerging from the mythical depths of Finland’s thousand lakes, the track delivers thunderous riffs and Eastern-tinged strings and keys, creating a dense, textured soundscape. Despite its intensity, the song allows space for moments of hope, culminating in a cathartic chorus driven by Tomi Joutsen’s soaring clean vocals. Lyrically, “Bones” reflects the struggle for survival faced by Finland’s ancestors, adding depth and weight to its sonic force.
“As a starting point, I wanted to prove that even a keyboard player can create an Amorphis song which is based on a heavy riff, and to everyone’s surprise, ‘Bones’ turned out to be the heaviest ‘Borderland’ song,” reveals keyboardist Santeri Kallio.
“Bones” also arrives with the first music video from Borderland, directed by Patric Ullaeus, who has previously helmed several AMORPHIS videos, including ‘The Moon’ and ‘Wanderer.’ Known for his cinematic style, Ullaeus has also worked with other major names in the metal scene, such as In Flames, Arch Enemy, Primal Fear, and many more.
Pre-order Borderland here.
Besides newly collaborating with Hansen and Van Haasteren, Amorphis still relies on the lyrical craftsmanship of Pekka Kainulainen, who’s been courageously writing for the band since AMORPHIS‘s 2007 offering Silent Waters. About his inspiration for Borderland, Kainulainen comments: “The generations that came here before us, our ancestors, also had to face death and destruction. Honoring the mythologies of mankind, as well as the listeners of Amorphis, I wrote lyrics that hopefully convey some of the humility and strength that mankind has always depended on.”
With Borderland, the title of the album couldn’t have been chosen more fittingly. Throughout its career, spanning over more than three decades, Amorphis — Tomi Joutsen (vocals), Esa Holopainen (guitars), Tomi Koivusaari (guitars) ,Olli-Pekka Laine (bass), Santeri Kallio (keyboards) and Jan Rechberger (drums and percussion) — has been an ever-evolving act, wandering on an exciting boundary-pushing path, from their sinister death metal debut Karelian Isthmus over genre-defining mid-1990s melodic death works like Tales From The Thousand Lakes and Elegy as well as the melodic 2000s grandeur of Eclipse and Skyforger to records combining the very best of all prior eras to refreshing new soundscapes, such as Under The Red Cloud and Queen Of Time.
With 2022’s Halo, the Finns were rewarded for their researching musical approach once again: the album marked Amorphis‘s sixth No. 1 album in Finland, even cracked the Top 3 of the official German album chart, and last but not least the sextet took home two awards from Finland’s prestigious Emma Gaala (“Band Of The Year” and “Export Of The Year”).
The impact of Halo became a driving force for what was to come. Rather than rushing into a follow-up, the band chose to step back from live performances and focus fully on their next chapter. The result is Borderland — a meticulously crafted opus that builds on their celebrated recent era, while seamlessly weaving in new, timely elements. It’s a bold, organic continuation of their journey, shaped by experience and guided by vision
Amorphis‘s forthcoming album will be released in time for a massive headline tour in their home country as well as a trip as part of an arena-filling package with Arch Enemy, Eluveitie, and Gatecreeper, kicking off in Stuttgart, Germany, on October 10.
