The Beginning of Times is the tenth studio album by Finnish metal band Amorphis, released on May 25, 2011 in Finland, May 27 in Europe and June 7 in the United States. Like previous Amorphis albums, The Beginning of Times is a concept album. The central character of the songs is Väinämöinen, described by the band as "the iconic hero of Finnish mythology". On April 11, 2011, Amorphis premiered the first single "You I Need" on their Facebook page. It was released digitally in Finland on April 20, 2011, and in other countries on April 22, 2011. Early the next month, the band released another new song, "My Enemy", again on Facebook. The Beginning of Times had a strong sales debut week, charting at No. 1 on the Finnish Albums Chart and No. 16 on the German Media Control Charts. In a professional review for PopMatters, Adrien Begrand praised the album, going so far as to say that Amorphis have never sounded better with their current line-up. Amateur reviews have also been positive, with Craig Hartranft of DangerDog proclaiming "The Beginning of Times finds Amorphis in grand form, doing what they do best". Personnel Amorphis Tomi Joutsen – vocals Tomi Koivusaari – rhythm guitar Esa Holopainen – lead guitar Santeri Kallio – keyboards, synthesizers, piano, organ Niclas Etelävuori – bass guitar Jan Rechberger – drums, percussion Guest musicians Netta Dahlberg - additional female vocals Savotta Choir - backing vocals Iikka Kahri - flute, clari