Listening to a new Amaranthe abum is always fun time! The previous one was mostly acoustic and now they return to their basics: industrial/symphonic metal with power play and some ballads! Yet they also jump into a more catchy and poppy vibe (Sweden’s finest cut), discover it all here:
Maximize starts as a techno track, floating a bit, until some guitars jump in. First vocals are the heavenly ones from Elize Ryd followed by the growler Henrik Englund Wilhemsson and the clean male vocals by Jake E Lundberg. The song gets the right drive: mixing techno, metal, blues, industrial with a poppy feel. Their new sound goes a bit more into the Kontrust sound. Boomerang is the perfect example of their newer sound as I even hear some No Doubt influences in it. The catchy sound is just great and changes it into an earworm: impossible to resist and asks for some dancing or at least make some moves! It’s incredible to hear how good the trinity works together: the 3 voices almost melt together. The electronics play an important role, just as the little Korn effects in the male vocals and guitars. It will be a smashing hit on tour! That Song starts a bit like the Queen track We will Rock You! Listen to the hands clapping, but here the catchy sound takes over, just as the piano. I sense that this one was written to play on stage and get the heat up! You won’t stop clapping hands for sure and they might even mix some Queen into it! The guitar solo is also worth mentioning!
21 sounds like a cool party track whilst a stadium rock band is playing some heavy stuff. More typical Kontrust fun comes with the catchy On The Rocks and oh yeah: I’m still reviewing Amaranthe, don’t be fooled! Nananananana … sing a long and play some air guitar! Jump up and down, arms in the air until you feel like dropping! It’s swinging and rocking and it’s a fresh earworm. The team who wrote this and mixed it really did a great job (and in the end: it counts for the whole album)! Some romantic thoughts and fragile moments come with Limitless: mixing drum’n bass with guitars and great vocals. It sounds like a modern ballad. Wow, what a beautiful voice from our queen Elize! Hammering time comes with the industrial metal track Fury. The growling leads, until the 2 other vocal players jump in and render the catchy sound (the electronics play an important role here). Faster goes a bit smoother, but is also a rager and played fast (listen to the exploding drums and the beats). Once again I get a great live feel! This whole album asks for a live treat! We get a positive message with the big industrial/metal hunk called Break Down & Cry: don’t give up, don’t break down and cry! I like the melancholic feel in this one and for sure adore the clean leads from Jake.
Another cool track is the foot stumper: Supersonic. It’s very catchy, very much on fire and perfect to perform on stage and get lots of feedback from the audience! Elize’s voice is once again angelic! This one could be the new main title track for the new Flash series! Fireball starts with a cool sound (unsure if it’s a guitar or an electronic effect), yet more and more the song changes into a fireball! It’s very catch, sweet, fast and with lots of twists in the sound. It also sounds very fresh and is crafted the way only a genius can do it! Endlessly: is a fragile ballad with a singing nightingale and a slice of a symphonic sound. To me it sounds like the perfect opening dance for a white wedding: the lyrics are top, just as the tempo and it has the right feel to make it as romantic as possible! It’s a blast and a great way to end this album filled with pearls, jewels, pure gold …
Amaranthe has blown me out of my socks, I just hope that the fans will follow and won’t hit the road as the sound differs from the previous albums. I can only conclude that they are better, faster, catchy and ready to conquer all stages all over the world!
