I can say with some certainty that the first two Amaranthe albums were damned good. But this latest effort should appeal to all their fans I’d suggest.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Amaranthe
ALBUM: Maximalism
LABEL: Spinefarm
SERIAL: SPINE708484
YEAR: 2016
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Sweden, Denmark
LINEUP: Olof Morck – bass, guitars, keyboards * Johan Andreassen – bass * Morten Lowe Sorensen – drums * Jake E Berg – vocals (clean) * Elize Ryd – vocals (female) * Henrik Englund – vocals (harsh)
TRACK LISTING: 01 Maximize * 02 Boomerang * 03 That Song * 04 21 * 05 On The Rocks * 06 Limitless * 07 Fury * 08 Faster * 09 Break Down And Cry * 10 Supersonic * 11 Fireball * 12 Endlessly
RATING: 90/100
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Amaranthe Background
This Swedish/Danish combo have taken all before them over the last few years. Glory Daze has been tracking their progress since their origins back in 2011.
The new 2016 CD ‘Maximalism’ is their fourth, and still the music industry isn’t definitive of Amaranthe’s classification.
Pop metal, melodic metalcore, trance metal, death metal pop. Which is it?
Who cares, numerous metal related forums can debate the topic, while we (in the meantime) can talk about the songs on this album.
The Songs
Firstly, I can say with some certainty that the first two Amaranthe albums were damned good.
I wasn’t so taken with the third ‘Massive Addictive’, but this latest effort should appeal to all their fans I’d suggest.
The band deliver a series of songs that are quite addictive (excuse the pun), and should go down well in a live setting.
The trancey keyboard intro to ‘Maximise’ sets this album on it’s way. It really is trademark Amaranthe with three part vocals and a rock-solid rhythm section.. industrial strength even!
Surely ‘Boomerang’ is a dead-set invitation to Australian fans, which begs the question: when are the band touring Down Under? They have a song tailor-made for the occasion!
The big back-beat drumwork to ‘That Song’ could be Def Leppard in their 80’s prime. Though the dinky piano work on the verses suggests otherwise.
’21’ is back to heavy-duty Amaranthe, which is where I like the band to be positioned, with Elize taking up a prominent role.
‘On The Rocks’ sounds like an excellent sing-a-long, though it still retains some power. Don’t be fooled.
The band deliver their first ballad with the liquid sounding ‘Limitless’. Both Elize and Jake providing clean vocals that make this song pretty special.
The high-stepping ‘Fury’ lives up to its name, with drummer Sorenson turning up the tempo big time!
The same could be said for the next track ‘Faster’ which powers its way throughout its 3 minute 30 sec run-time.
‘Break Down And Cry’ might invoke plenty of emotions, though I’m sure it will hard to break through the band’s wall of sound.
Amaranthe come up with another pop-metal anthem courtesy of ‘Supersonic’. It’s not all about speed, as the band demonstrate. No doubt this will be a fun tune during their live concerts.
I love the sonic textures to ‘Fireball’, a dense medium-paced affair, but full of intensity.
The album closer ‘Endlessly’ is a huge sweeping ballad with Elize singing off the charts. A lovely way to conclude.
In Summary
Scandi label Spinefarm are again providing support to Amaranthe, and who could blame them.
This band are in their element and no doubting ‘Maximalism’ will see them touring throughout 2017 in support of it.
There are a couple of different versions of the album. On the Deluxe edition there are several live bonus tracks from 2014 included. Enjoy this CD, and share it with the Kids!
Amaranthe on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
