There’s not a lot here to recommend unfortunately, the sooner Amaranthe stop fiddling around with sound effects and create genuine HM is when I might take an interest again.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Amaranthe
ALBUM: Manifest
LABEL: Nuclear Blast
SERIAL: NB 5377-2
YEAR: 2020
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Sweden
LINEUP: Olof Morck – guitars, bass, keyboards * Johan Andreassen – bass * Morten Lowe Sorensen – drums, percussion * Elize Ryd – vocals (female) * Nils Molin – vocals (male clean) * Henrik Englund – vocals (male harsh)
TRACK LISTING: 01 Fearless * 02 Make It Better * 03 Scream My Name * 04 Viral * 05 Adrenaline * 06 Strong * 07 The Game * 08 Crystalline * 09 Archangel * 10 Boom! * 11 Die And Wake Up * 12 Do Or Die
RATING: 40/100
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
Modern metallers Amaranthe have been a regular feature at Glory Daze since their arrival back in 2011. We’ve reviewed all their albums but the last couple have been more ‘miss than hit’ unfortunately. 2018’s ‘Helix’ only gathered a 70% rating while this latest effort ‘Manifest’ probably won’t even get that high. Now signed to Nuclear Blast after a long stint with Finnish label Spinefarm, it will be interesting to read what the global feedback will be.
The Songs
For me the biggest issue is the concentration on the three singers, making this more of a vocally-centric album than ever before. Hearing Henrik England’s cookie monster vocals more often than not was an unwelcome surprise. The musicianship is still over the top, rampant throughout with some interesting sci-fi sound effects to embellish Amaranthe’s futuristic approaches, but I can’t quite help feel that it all takes a backseat in proceedings.
Much of this was a hard listen. The minimisation or in some cases – the complete absence of guitar solos rammed home the lack of impact the songs had on me while trying to listen to it. There’s not a lot here to recommend unfortunately. Songs like ‘Boom!’ and ‘Die And Wake Up’ are atrocious. The sooner Amaranthe stop fiddling around with sound effects and create genuine HM is when I might take an interest again.
In Summary
I mentioned in my ‘Helix’ review I was uncertain whether I was going to continue supporting Amaranthe into the future. After listening to this, my mind is definitely made up.
Video
Fearless
Archangel
