Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Amenta, The - Plague of Locus (2023)

The quality of cover albums depends on whether the covers follow the good technique (metalizing the songs with their own sound) or the bad technique (sticking firmly to the song's original sound with no changes). There is also the idea of following the song's original sound but it's almost exactly the same style as the band covering it, like the first half of Eighteen Visions' 1996 (another cover album following a comeback album).

So how does The Amenta's Plague of Locus strike me? Well they certainly knew how to give the songs they've covered a stylistic transformation. Of the 10 songs in this release, only two of them are original compositions.

The first original track is the eerie "Intro". Then "Sono l'Antichristo" follows. They've taken a song by avant-garde musician Diamanda Galás and turn it into a chaotic storm of synths, guitars, and drums blasting through. Their take on Killing Joke's "Asteroid" is actually more destructive than the original, becoming a truly p*ssed-off banger. "Angry Chair", originally by Alice in Chains, is given a f***ing darker treatment, sounding angrier than that chair. The deep grooves and clean singing are pulled off easily.

The title track is the second original track, this one being a full song. The brutality hits hard with heavy riffs, synths, and vocals, growing harder as the song progresses. Exploring the experimental noise of Wolf Eyes is a cover of their song "A Million Years". Then they pay tribute to fellow Sydney metal band Lord Kaos in "Crystal Lakes".

"Rise" shows The Amenta crawling through the sludge of the song's original band Halo. The somber "Totem" is another tribute to a Sydney black metal band, Nazxul, once again blasting through blackened chaos. Finally, "Black God" is an amazing cover of a My Dying Bride song to close off this cover album. Though it would be great if they could cover one of the heavier My Dying Bride songs.

You can consider any of these tracks a journey within a journey, as the covers end up stranger or heavier than the original versions, just the way I like them. Still I look forward to more of The Amenta's original music when the time comes....

Favorites: "Asteroid", "Angry Chair", "Plague of Locus", "Rise", "Black God"