Review by Daniel for Amenta, The - Revelator (2021)

For those that haven't been paying attention, I've been pushing underground Australian industrial death metal artist The Amenta pretty hard on the Metal Academy website since our initial inception back in 2019 & don't plan to give up on that task any time soon. Why, you may ask? Well, to put it simply, this Sydney-based outfit has not only been my favourite hometown band for that entire period but are also one of the most incredible examples of an undiscovered gem you'll find in the entire global metal marketplace. In fact, I'm continually astounded at just how underappreciated some of their releases are & I don't think that my long-time relationship with the band has anything to do with me taking that position either. I've been aware of this lot since they began life as local black metallers Crucible of Agony back in 1997, mainly due to the fact that they contained an associate of mine in Lord Kaos/Stone Wings front man Jamie Marsh who I played alongside in Sydney doom/death exponents Elysium at around that time. Fast forward through to 2021 though & you'll find that The Amenta had a completely different look & feel to them. Their style had evolved from black metal to a Morbid Angel-inspired death metal sound before slowly taking on more & more industrial metal elements, each album representing a different stage in their evolution & achieving a very different character to the last. Each of their first three full-length albums were nothing short of classic & I don't say that from a purely patriotic or nostalgic viewpoint either. 2004's "Occasus", 2008's "n0n" & 2013's "Flesh Is Heir" sit amongst my favourite extreme metal releases of all time with only the elite of the elite achieving higher echilons of metal glory. The long gap between releases may well have contributed to the quality of each release but would also seem to have been out of necessity given that the band became more of a national entity over time with the various band members sometimes residing in different states & playing in multiple other metal bands of significance. 2021's "Revelator" fourth album would end the biggest drought in The Amenta's recording career to date though & subsequently drew an enormous amount of anticipation from diehard fans like myself who have been attending the band's blistering live shows for so many years.

2013's "Flesh is Heir" record was a game-changer for me personally. It took all of the various elements that made up The Amenta sound & presented them in a fashion that saw my face being completely melted off & boy did I enjoy it. It would go on to be my Album of the Year & see me shouting its praises from the rooftops online too. The gap to the band's next album left me feeling a little bemused though & when it finally arrived I didn't quite know what to expect. By this time The Amenta had a very different look to the one that recorded a couple of crude black metal demos under their previous moniker back in the late 1990's with only guitarist Erik Miehs remaining from the Crucible of Agony days. Thankfully though, The Amenta had maintained the same lineup that devastated me with "Flesh is Heir" which certainly put them in good stead to achieve similar heights. From the promo shots released at the time, it seemed that the band had opted to push a slightly different image to before which shouldn't really have been a surprise as The Amenta had traditionally put a lot of time & effort into making the visual part of their live performances a unique experience rather than a simple reenactment of their albums. I wasn't sure if that would translate into a drastic change of musical direction or not but any fears I may have harbored were very quickly put to rest by another stunning piece of work.

"Revelator" is a wonderfully produced record that perfectly highlights The Amenta's strengths & talents. The music unceremoniously dives out of the speakers & violently grabs the listener around the throat, although on this occasion the song-writing tends to be more measured in how regularly it tightens its grip. "Revelator" once again sees The Amenta evolving on past glories, this time relying less on death metal savagery & more on the industrial side of their sound. The obvious Godflesh influence that was so apparent on "Flesh is Heir" is nowhere near as relevant this time though with the band taking you to places that you're unlikely to have trodden in the past. You see, "Revelator" is a much more moody & introspective record than we'd heard from The Amenta thus far & it draws from a wider range of influences too. There's a progressive edge to their approach that requires a little more patience but sees them challenging the listener on a more cerebral level too. This is a more mature The Amenta & one that's not afraid the show a little vulnerability rather than simply savaging their audience into a pulp. My ears pick up the influence of a disparate range artists from Mr. Bungle (particularly their deeper & more psychedelic material) to Devin Townsend/Strapping Young Lad & even a little of that twisted Arcturus sound. Don't get me wrong, "Revelator" can still thrash you to within an inch of your life but it can also lead you into some pretty dark places that will have you peering out of your eye sockets from deeper & deeper within yourself.

The tracklisting begins in the most violent fashion possible with brutal opener "An Epoch Ellipsis" (my personal favourite) being one of the finest examples of industrial death metal you're ever likely to hear. It doesn't really prepare you for the twists & turns you'll face across the remaining eight songs though as the stylist direction changes up regularly, never allowing the listener to become complacent yet still feeling cohesive throughout. The brilliant "Silent Twin" sees The Amenta experimenting with a sound that's more commonly heard on post-metal releases while "Wonderlost" dips its toes into dark ambience to great effect. Apart from "Psoriastasis", the remainder of the album sees The Amenta veering away from pure death metal but losing none of their menace. Legendary drummer Dave Haley's (Abramelin/Psycroptic/Consummation/Ruins/Werewolves/Blood Duster/Pestilence) undeniable talents behind the drum kit are brought to the forefront by a relentless machinegun double kick drum sound that sees him achieving ridiculous tempos with ultimate precision while his blast beats showcase a level of power & control that few can match. Charismatic front man Cain Cressall (Malignant Monster) not only spits out his lyrics with his trademark blackened snarl but also makes a wonderful fist of some very capable clean singing that will no doubt remind you of the impeccable metal royalty that is Mike Patton. I really love this element of the album actually & feel that it's one of the key ingredients in giving "Revelator" its own identity.

From what I can see online, "Revelator" doesn't seem to have received the accolades that some of The Amenta's previous records have & I find that a little hard to understand as this is yet another mind-blowing effort from the band. Perhaps it's simply a reflection of a modern society where young people tend not to give their music as much time as old-schoolers like myself who weren't gifted with music at the click of a button during our formative years. Make no bones about it, "Revelator" is a far less immediate record than The Amenta's earlier works & requires a little commitment to fully understand but that's not a criticism in any way. In fact, it's more of a compliment than anything as those sort of releases tend to benefit from a longer lasting appeal than those that waste little time in exposing their full wares. While I readily admit that it may not top The Amenta's first three classic albums, "Revelator" has once again seen me left dazzled by the sheer class of this wonderful Aussie metal icon, this time with a renewed commitment to creativity.

For fans of The Project Hate MCMXCIX, Red Harvest & Strapping Young Lad.