Amaranthe - Massive Addictive (2014)^{Release ID: 5494}

Trance metal eh? Granted, I know next to nothing about this genre. From what I can gather, it's a sub-genre of metalcore that derives itself on it's electronic elements, in a similar way to way The Devil Wears Prada would have done many years ago. Unlike TDWP, Trance metal is more concerned about the catchy hooks, consistent tempos and, typically, uptempo energy. So that leads me to Amaranthe, a Swedish metal band whose 2014 album, Massive Addiction is one of the more popular albums in this sub-genre.

And I think it needs to be said that Amaranthe are pretty good at stabilizing a decent hook. Sure, the album may sound repetitive as hell, but on their own, these guys have some really catchy tunes. I especially enjoyed the sounds of "Digital World", "Unreal" and the closer "Exhale". While some of the other songs are still pretty decent, they seem very redundant and fade from memory very quickly, especially the first half of this album.

So why don't I like this more? As I already mentioned, the songwriting is serviceable, but it does get pretty ridiculous when you are halfway through the album and have heard almost no artistic growth until "Over and Done". I also am not the biggest fan of the synth choices used here. Just like TDWP, they are usually tinny and piercing, or they are pushed so far back in the mix that this just starts to feel like a straight metalcore album.

My other problem is style. Like I said, I'm basically a n0ob with trance metal so take this all with a grain of salt, but isn't the concept of "trance" a state of hypnotism and heightened consciousness? I had originally thought that trance metal was a genre that incorporated elements of wall of sound tactics similar to shoegaze. But when I listen to Massive Adidctive, I don't get any of that. I'm not getting lost in this music like I would with say... a pagan black metal album.

Maybe I'm not getting the full picture here, but I can't deny that this album does have some strong moments. To me, this feels like the kind of music you turn when at a party full of metalheads, and you want to turn on something that everyone will like, but no one is intently listening to the music. It feels like background noise. Not bad background noise, but lacking in any emotional impact.

Love them or hate them, Amaranthe is one of the most diverse Swedish metal bands, and not totally in the progressive sense. I'm one of those people who love the band, and I've been listening to them for 3 years as of writing this review. They sure know how to trance-ify melodeath and power metal, and have toured all over Europe and America. Many metal purists accuse them of "ruining metal", but really they just wanna help bring metal and harsh vocals to the masses, no matter the mainstream cost. And even though this album isn't as perfect as their previous two albums, Massive Addictive can be hailed a successful breakthrough in trance metal!

So what's different? Well for one thing, the harsh vocalist is different. Andreas "Andy" Solveström left the band after the release of previous album The Nexus, and taking his place is Henrik Englund. Solveström was great, but Englund does his growls slightly better. Of course, there's still the melodic power metal duo of Jake E. Lundberg and the angelic Elize Ryd. Guitarist Olof Mörck really shines with his guitar solos. The album is both heavier and trance-ier than the previous two, so let's hear if that's true...

The album has an explosive start, literally, with "Dynamite"! After lighting the fuse, it explodes into a very powerful trance-metal song. Elize's vocal performance is energetic and overpowers the other vocalists who still sound great. "Drop Dead Cynical" is a song I'm not really a big fan of. Their attempt to sound heavier ends coming out as more of an industrial-pop single. That marks the beginning of the overpowering trance infecting their later albums. Next song "Trinity" is a strong symbolization of the band and the number 3; a 3-singer band singing their third song in their third album with their band logo being a triangle. Slightly calm but still powerful! My total favorite song here is the title track. Perfect catchiness with electronic synthesizers and an awesome chorus. There's even a metalcore breakdown gone dubstep. It's indeed massive addictive!

The more intellectual "Digital World" deals with society living more via digital devices instead of physically socializing people. This is yet another song fitting well with both the music and the current ongoing pandemic. You can party to that song alone at home! If you're wondering where the ballads are, here's one of them, "True". A truly beautiful clean trance-metal ballad! Elize's moments in "Unreal" sounds so unreal even though it is real. Same with "Over and Done", another clean ballad sung with Jake E. that would take you through the cloudy skies of dreamland.

"Danger Zone" continue Elize's angelic siren-like vocals while also displaying Henrik's vocal ability, perfectly suited to hammer through heavy riff breakdowns in a shattering pulse. "Skyline" is more evocative of the Swedish metalcore you would find in bands like Sonic Syndicate in an upbeat riff rollercoaster. "An Ordinary Abnormality" clearly shows Olof's background history of power metal while highlighting the technical metal precision delivered through melodic and rhythmic arrangements. The last song "Exhale" is so f***ing catchy and beautiful, and I think it might've been inspired by mid-paced Nightwish songs such as this band's possible namesake "Amaranth". A better song to end the album in a pleasant note!

Overall, Massive Addictive is a strong album, though not as perfectly strong as their previous two albums, and Amaranthe continue finding more uniqueness for their sound. They can still have awesome album progress. Seriously, I'm not sure why this band isn't far more successful. It's beyond better than pop stars like Rihanna and Miley Cyrus who have hypnotized middle-school girls to listen to them instead of this glorious band. Even though I'm an extreme metalhead, I wouldn't recommend it to other fans of that kind. As long as people stay open-minded, anyone who is a fan of pop/dance/rock/metal would love this. Those fans would almost never want those 41 minutes refunded!

Favorites: "Dynamite", "Massive Addictive", "Digital World", "Unreal", "An Ordinary Abnormality", "Exhale"