Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Amaranthe - Amaranthe (2011)
I love Amaranthe a lot, thanks to my alt-rock loving brother who was listening to this band and influenced me to listen to them too. However, their approach has gone wrong for many metalheads. First off, there are 3 singers. And it's not like Mastodon or System of a Down where the vocals are performed by 3 of the instrumentalists, NOPE!! This is a band with 3 instrumentalists and 3 singers! A bit excessive, but still great because of just one style for each vocalist; female singing, male singing, and male screaming. I think also adding a female screamer would've made this band the ultimate vocal team, but never mind that. Screaming vocals can make any band from a different genre sound like extreme metal, and it's done in a good way, at appropriate heavier times. Of course, they also have a female singing vocalist. Ever since what I thought was my complete metal transition from epic to extreme (with Amaranthe being the sole surviving band to make it to my current taste), I've had a bit of trouble finding female-fronted bands that actually fit my current interest. My interest for Nightwish is completely out the window and I don't wanna have to find a generic power-pop-star like Lady Gaga. Fortunately, Elize Ryd is a true modern metal heroine who, together with screaming Andreas Solveström and clean Jake E. Berg form a unique vocal combination in metal!
Another recognize aspect of Amaranthe is the incredible catchiness of each and every song. It's as if they're a metal cover band of pop songs (my favorite kind of metal covers) while sounding like their own original work. Of course, radio-friendly melody is a false thing in metal, right? Well they have that while still having some "true" melody from Amon Amarth and melodic metalcore that some think it's a danger zone to keep away from true metalheads. Yet besides the breakdowns and harmonics, there's one part of the style for metalheads to enjoy and keep their sanity, and that's the power metal bombast. This can save the band from being a false outlaw in metal, right? RIGHT?!
WAY RIGHT!! Opening track "Leave Everything Behind" is one of the first songs by the band and it has melodeath, alt-metal, power metal, and a bit of trance all in a perfect balance. The choruses are catchy while staying epic, especially in the guitar solo during the last one. The sensational vocals of "Hunger" help you picture a singing knight, a screaming barbarian, and a singing sorceress battling forces of evil in a magical futuristic fantasy setting. "1,000,000 Lightyears" indeed takes you a million light-years of metal riffs and spacey trance synths. While the singing is powerful, I actually prefer the screaming there. A true trance-metal gift! "Automatic" bites through trance-metal really well for a song from their debut.
"My Transition" is another song that makes me love this band. It made me remember first listening to this band in 2017 that fit well in my epic metal taste, but also so well in my transition to modern metal that lasted throughout that year, hence this band being the only band from my epic metal era that I still listen to along with the modern bands that I enjoy. "Amaranthine" is one of the most amazing songs from both this album and the band, and at the top of their ballads list in my opinion. In fact, when I went with my friends from the outside world for a karaoke outing, I snuck in that song and sang it with two of my friends. Pretty rebellious, huh? When we sang it, I performed Andreas' screaming bridge. "Rain" (also known as "It's All About Me") has great lyrics for modern metalheads to love. "Call Out My Name" is another nice song, not to be confused with "Calling My Name", a song by Dragonland, another power metal band with guitarist Olof Mörck. Andreas' screams might be a bit too much for melodic listeners, but they wanna call out the names of the other two vocalists. The bridge after the second chorus is the best part. Another perfect mix of dance-pop, metalcore and a bit of prog!
"Enter the Maze" is one of a few songs that were re-recorded from the Leave Everything Behind demo EP, and it's also one of only two songs in the album to surpass the 4-minute mark. The other over 4-minute song is "Director's Cut", which is the longest song ever by Amaranthe, an almost 5-minute progressive-ish epic! Man, they have got to make more songs like that. "Act of Desperation" is another great song I love. The closing "Serendipity" is yet another amazing song, enough said.
I can't describe anything beyond the infectious vocal interplay, mesmerizing melodies, heavenly harmonies. The production is professional with the band doing all to please modern listeners. Before you even think "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO METAL?!?", please just listen to the album of glory all the way. You might find something to appreciate!
Favorites: "Leave Everything Behind", "1,000,000 Lightyears", "My Transition", "Amaranthine", "Call Out My Name", "Director's Cut"