Amaranthe - Helix (2018)

"We all die. The goal isn't to live forever. The goal is to create something that will."

That is the opening line to the Swedish/Danish collaboration Amaranthe's 5th studio effort "Helix", a statement that is most likely true to anyone who is in the music business, to construct something that will be enjoyed for generations to come. While Amaranthe may not have presented us with any masterpieces so far, they have at the very least established a sound and style that no other band out there has replicated successfully. Let us see if they take their trademarked sound to new, breathtaking levels.

To accomplish immortality, Amaranthe has made a shift in the line-up. Founder Jake E left the band last year, and has been replaced by Nils Molin, whom some of you might recognize from the melodic power metal band Dynazty. Not to say anything bad about Jake, he is a good singer and all, but Nils is a clear upgrade. The guy has an incredible range, being this dynamic dynamo that together with female vocalist Elize Ryd and harsh vocalist Henrik Englund Wilhelmsson create a bulletproof symbiosis, the corner stone to the entire Amaranthe sound. It is a slight shame that he does not get much space to work with, but when he does, like in the ballad "Unified" and the speed freak "Iconic", he delivers big time.

Otherwise it is same old song and dance with Amaranthe, it is catchy cyber metal that has a black belt in vocal harmonies. It is obvious however that the two year absent (which is like a life time knowing how frequently the band has released albums) and the member change has given the band a new spark of life. Not that the band have evolved their music or anything, but "Helix" just sounds a lot more fresh than the past two records "Massive Addictive" and "Maximalism". Maybe it is just the sleek production that is even sleeker that fools my mind, but whatever it is, it sounds neat.

The song writing is in the same line, it is classic Amaranthe stuff with few real surprises, but it has more punch to it. The opening quartet of "The Score", "365", "Inferno", and "Countdown" is a brilliant way to start the album, displaying a crash course in what Amaranthe is capable of with some groove, some power, and some bubble gum choruses that stick, but do not annoy. It is unfortunately a little of a flat line album despite all this vibrant power, with the sound changing marginally from track to track. The only stark contrast is when the ballad "Unified" enters the stage, but that is towards the very end of the record, so by that time you are probably already full of that sugary metal, and maybe in desperate need of a detox. "Breakthrough Starshot" stands out as well, but it is a groovy time travel to the 90's that is on the edge of being cringy. A strange habit the band has at least one time per album.

Overall though, I have to say that Amaranthe has delivered a strong and solid effort that fans will embrace with ease. Is it a revolutionary album? No. Does newcomer Nils Molin give the band a new influence? Not really. Will it bring in new fans? Most likely not. However, "Helix" is still a catchy onslaught that is one of the band's best efforts, definitely in line with their first two records. It may be like a donut, a pastry with too much sugar and the most healthy piece is the hole, but it is a tasty treat that you can spoil yourself with from time to time.

Songs worthy of recognition: Inferno, The Score, 365, Unified

Rating: 7,5/10 Countdowns

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More reviews of Amaranthe
The Nexus
Massive Addictive
Maximalism

Amaranthe - Maximalism (2016)

It feels like a long time since Amaranthe released a new album, when it has only been around two years, your standard time length between albums. It might have felt that way because the band has been busy, riding on the success wave that they started  with their debut record, back in 2011. The following two albums, "The Nexus" and "Massive Addictive", were released in 2013 and -14, giving us all a big dose of the band. Hopefully, this break has done good for the band, because the band sounded like they were running out of steam in "Massive Addictive".

With a title like "Maximalism", one would think that the band would max out their music to the brink of light speed, and they do in the beginning. The two openers, "Maximize" and "Boomerang", are both fast and catchy songs that are true to the Amaranthe formula. It is poppy, has its fair share of cyber music, and contains a impressive blend from all three vocalists of the band. It is classic Amaranthe stuff, and it got the power that one would want to hear from them.

After that though, everything goes downhill. It is not like the band is doing awful, just uninspired stuff all around. They glisten in small parts here and there, like in the accelerating "Faster" and the epic "Fireball", but most of the songs here are just flat out boring, or even worse, face palm inducing. It is clear that the band does want to try some new things, but most of them lean more towards the pop part of the band, and that is of course not something that appeals to me or you. Several songs here could work really well in Eurovision, and one potential winner could have been "Limitless", a power ballad with a lot of bass and oomph. This does remind me, why isn't Amaranthe competing? They would fit right in that mad world!

So that only annoys me ever so slightly, but there are some rage inducing things in "Maximalism", things that simply cannot be ignored. "That Song" (yes, that is the name of the song), is a simple, catchy song with a memorable beat. There is only one problem... THEY STOLE IT FROM QUEEN!!! "That Song" is basically "We Will Rock You", but with worse lyrics and a more annoying tone (oh, and no Freddie Mercury, that sucks too). I can see that they tried to make a homage to Queen here, but it ended up being a complete rip off, a disgusting one. That is not the only time in the album they do this though. "Supersonic" has a choir that is taken straight from "Bohemian Rhapsody", and it does not help that this song has one of the most awkward lyric lines I have heard in a long time (We are not ironic/We're supersonic). Please, leave Queen alone.

But can I honestly say that this is a bad album? Well, not really. As a metal release, yes, it is kind of meh, but if we just look at the music, "Maximalism" is not half bad. It is well produced, it got catchy songs, and the performance from the band is spot on. The trio attack of Jake E, Henrik Englund Wilhelmsson and Elize Ryd is the driving force of the band, taking them to the next level every album, and the real sole reason to listen to the band in the first place. They mix it up real nice, giving each other enough space to work with, and making their own performances stand out. Without them, Amaranthe would just be a mediocre trance metal band.

The 90's kid in me do like this album, and it is definitely a more passionate effort than "Massive Addictive", but the ideas are too few and too far apart for me to really take this to my heart. It just does not reach up to the standard that the first two records set. The two year absence has worked out as planned, presenting us a refreshed band that tries to max out everything from their unique sound, but the evolution in the sound is still minimal, so they might have benefited with a little more time, just so that every idea gets its chance to develop nicely (and so that the band do not have to steal from Queen). Overall, a neat effort, just not as maxed out as the name suggested.

Songs worthy of recognition: Boomerang, Maximize, Faster

Rating: 6/10 Fireballs

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More reviews of Amaranthe
The Nexus
Massive Addictive

Amaranthe - Massive Addictive (2014)

The album title could not be any more descriptive over Amaranthe's sound. Their unique blend of pop, metal and techno is almost more addictive than nicotine, which is one of the reasons to why the band has become so successful. But this particular addiction is starting to lose its touch after only 3 albums.

Because "Massive Addiction" is exactly what you would expect from this band. Catchy choruses that sticks like glue and a healthy dose of female-, male- and harsh vocals. And there is no denying that the music in the album sounds good. The band know what they are doing and they are doing it like clockwork, which kind of worries me since the song writing process seems to work like that as well. There is nothing in "Massive Addictive" that tries to separate it from its two brothers, "Amaranthe" and "The Nexus". It is like the band has a pre-made template and then just puts in a slightly alternated riff, some new lyrics, and ta da, they have a "new" song.

But the worst part of it all is that the band still has not learned how to make a well diverse album. "Massive Addictive" holds almost the exact same tempo all the way through, with the exceptions of a couple of ballads of course, and the song's structures are far too similar. The lack of variation is really smothering this album to the extent of making it unbearable.

Therefore, there are only few songs in this album that ultimately sticks to me in a positive way. The industrial "Drop Dead Cynical" has a irresistible groove that fortunately does not annoy the brains out of you, while "Digital World" somehow reminds me of the 90's, but the song has a drive that is impressive. And out of the ballads in the album it is "Over And Done" that feels the most well composed where Elize Ryd and Joacim Lundberg does a great job in creating a connection between themselves. But the most impressive song is "An Ordinary Abnormality" that takes a sweet, heavy groove that just screams Soilwork all over it, and adapt it to a Amaranthe production. Definitely the only track in "Massive Addictive" that doesn't completely feel unoriginal.

Nope, this does not work for me. After three albums of more or less the same thing, I think I need to consult a psychiatrist to get rid of this addiction. "Massive Addictive" is far from a bad album, it has some great musicianship and it is very easy to remember the tunes, but compared to Amaranthe's two previous efforts, this record is not even close to reach the same attraction. The band needs a new direction to follow, a new angle to work from. Because if the band just keeps on going like this in the next couple of albums, then the crowd will eventually abandon Amaranthe. I know I am close of doing that.

Songs worthy of recognition: Drop Dead Cynical, Digital World, An Ordinary Abnormality

Rating: 5,5/10 Trinities

Amaranthe - The Nexus (2013)

It was no high odds that the Swedish/Danish collaboration Amaranthe would be a huge commercial success. With their self titled debut released in 2011 they conquered the world with their symphonic pop metal. I have during the two years since that album been a little two sided about Amaranthe. I love this kind of music and I think the triple vocal harmonies works like a charm but the debut is a lot of the same thing. So I really hoped that the band would show a little more variation in their sophomore album entitled "The Nexus" (nexus is Latin for connection).

If you did not like Amaranthe's debut then you will most likely not enjoy "The Nexus". The similarities between the albums are clearly visible and they are many. Just like in "Amaranthe", we get spoiled with screams, electronica, blasting drum beats and choruses so commercially attractive and sweet that it makes sugar taste sour. So what happened to the variation? I wonder that too. If you have no variation then it does not matter if you have written 14 similar, amazing songs. The band does have skills and the song writing is great but I wished that they tried to develop their music instead of going on routine. The only thing that right now is keeping me from stop listening to "The Nexus" is the fantastic musicianship, especially the vocal segment. Andy Solveström brings much needed heaviness to the band, Jake E Berg is doing a solid work on the clean vocals and Elize Ryd proves once again that she is one of the strongest female singers out there.

But even if the variation is below acceptable I still think that most of the songs hold a class that is acceptable and could have gotten more appreciation if it was put together with another album with variation. It is after the three first songs when the album really lifts. When "Theory of Everything" enters the stage I get struck by Amaranthe's true potential. "Theory of Everything" has that perfect balance between catchiness, epicness and power. I felt the same for "1.000.00 Lightyears" and that song was the best out of the previous album. After "Theory of Everything" the band continues on the right track with the futuristic and beautiful "Stardust", the strong and moving ballad "Burn With Me" and the powerful "Future On Hold". Also a small shout out to the title track and "Razorblade", two tracks that is easily enjoyable as well.

Unfortunately, the three ending songs are no pleasure at all, especially the horrific "Electroheart" who mixes 90's pop and disco beats to make a horrible leech that infiltrates your brain and never leaves na na electroheart... GAH I even write that shit!!! The other two songs, "Transhuman" and "Infinity", are not nearly as horrible but nor are they the strongest songs in the pack.

This was a hard album to rate. One side of me wants to give "The Nexus" a high rating for its great craftsmanship, clean production and the catchy melodies while the other side of me wants to give a low rating for the lack of variation and the horrible 90's pop song "Electroheart". But in the end I gave the album this rating for even if "The Nexus" is another proof that Amaranthe is here on the top to stay I find this album more of a deja vu feeling than a great new album. I still think that "The Nexus" is a good album and it is a small step forward for the band but it is not enough for me to put "The Nexus" at the highest of peaks.

Songs worthy of recognition: Theory of Everything, Future On Hold, Burn With Me

Rating: 7/10 Razorblades