Amaranthe

Grappler · January 03, 2020, 07:32:23 AM

I think I'm just Amaranthe'd out. I may decide to see their tour on the day of the show if I'm interested, since Battle Beast is opening, and it would be fun to see them live.

That is a fun Sabaton cover at least. Even with their Powerwolf cover though, I'd rather listen to the original than their version of it.

Adami · January 03, 2020, 07:43:42 AM

I like Amaranthe a lot but if they're fading, that's likely because they've been putting out the same album like 5 times.

cramx3 · June 26, 2020, 01:40:37 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A7BPXEBh1Q

New single Viral

I like it, but it's Amaranthe. Music video is cool

Zook · June 27, 2020, 11:18:19 AM

Yep, that's Amaranthe alright... I guess I'm done with this band. I didn't like the last album. Was Massive Addictive 2 or 3 albums ago? That album is their best, but fuck all their shit sounds the same! AC/DC should sue them for gimmick infringement.

Adami · June 27, 2020, 11:19:54 AM

Bridge was cool.

Rest is just Amaranthe by numbers. Which is apparently what sells.

cramx3 · October 12, 2020, 09:20:21 AM

Finally got the album over the weekend. Only gave it a few listens and well... it's not impressive. For one, where the fuck did Nils go? Seems like he's not used as much as last album and he was one of the reasons I had some new enjoyment out of them after what I thought might have buried them (when Jake E left after releasing their worst album, Maximalism).

But really, the issue is the same... as the music is all the same. And sadly, every time they try to create a new melody or something that sounds different, it just doesn't work well.

Boom! may be the cringiest Amaranthe song.

Production is not that great, specifically, the guitar is buried in the mix which is odd.

If you like everything the band has done, you'll probably still like this, but I'd say after a couple listens this is probably just only better than Maximalism and a big drop down from Helix which I really enjoyed (even though it sounds the same, at least the songs were good there). It's not a terrible listen, but it's not a memorable one either.

PetFish · October 12, 2020, 06:51:50 PM

I'm pretty much over them since Jake left. He was right about the direction they were headed. What a bummer and LOL at them making the same album 5 times cuz it's true.

cramx3 · October 16, 2020, 04:44:52 PM

Well, as much as I kind of shat on the new album, it's typical Amaranthe at the end of the day so it does have its moments of stuff that I enjoy.

I decided to make a lyric video of The Game put to Call of Duty gameplay (specifically, using the origin shotgun) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPnpIJ6BS7g

but also, since this just came on my youtube playlist, this is actually really cool. Earlier in the year, the did a cover of Sabaton's 82nd All the Way to promote their tour together and Sabaton released this live video of them performing the song with Amaranthe and it's really awesome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPnpIJ6BS7g

cramx3 · June 08, 2022, 09:57:07 AM

Well, there goes another singer....

from Amaranthe's facebook:

QuoteAfter 9 years and four albums together, Henrik "GG6" Englund Wilhelmson has now chosen to end his journey with AMARANTHE.
Commented Henrik:
"I'm sorry to say that i got some sad news for ya'll!
I will no longer be a part of Amaranthe. After 2 years at home caused by corona, something hit me. I freakin loved being at home with my family and started to dream about doing something else. Something more important and also to NOT spend more time away from my kids. For many reasons i also slowly stopped enjoying life on the road with Amaranthe. It became more of a job and something i pushed myself to do. Not like back in the days when i had some serious fun all the time! I want to thank all my fans for your support over the years and i promise ill be back with killer 'GG6' stuff in the future when the mood and creativity finds it way back to me!
Cheers n love and good luck to Amaranthe in the future.
/ Henrik GG6 Englund"
Commented Amaranthe:
"We fully respect and understand Henrik's decision, and we wish him all the best on his future adventures. Henrik is truly one of the world's foremost growlers, as anyone who have seen him rip through our songs live knows, and we can't wait to see what he comes up with next! Keep your eyes peeled to his socials to stay up to date with forthcoming GG6 madness!
This summer's shows will be performed by two special guests, stay tuned!

LithoJazzoSphere · June 08, 2022, 10:37:58 AM

I imagine for some people the variety is part of the appeal, but the only vocalist they've had that I've really liked is Elize. Wilhelmsson's rap-growling style never really worked for me, and though he wasn't amazing either, Solvestrom was better. Never cared for Lundberg at all, and Molin is better, but still doesn't do much for me. Deadlock never got credit for doing a version of their sound earlier and better. And if you really liked the dual cleans plus growls approach, "Dying Breed" had a Christian Alvestam guest appearance that was killer.

cramx3 · June 08, 2022, 10:41:37 AM

I always thought he was a solid growler and same with Solvestrom.

I get it that the vocals are really mostly about Elize and the other two are more support vocals that can be interchanged, but I got to image that going through so many singers is going to take a toll on the band. They haven't toured the US in so long and that last tour seemed like a failure (no one was at the NJ show I went to). I just can't help but think this band has really hit a wall.

LithoJazzoSphere · June 08, 2022, 11:05:21 AM

Well, I imagine they're much bigger overseas. American audiences have never gotten into this sort of thing. They have pretty high Spotify numbers though. But yeah, the vocal turnover is becoming like a reverse Nightwish, sort of Xandria, Visions of Atlantis situation.

cramx3 · June 08, 2022, 11:26:26 AM

I've seen them 5 tiimes in the US, the last time was the worst turn out by far. They were touring here very often in the beginning of the band and like I said, haven't come back in 5 years now. I know the pandemic plays a role in that, but they didn't have a tour set to come back and they still dont have one set to come back even though they released a new album in 2020. They've basically released two albums since their last tour of the US. I really think that last tour set them back and made them question if they could headline in the US. I do enjoy them, and would like to see them with Nils. Maybe coming back as a support act is more of an option. Who knows. Just sucks because I used to like them a lot and they've fallen off quite a bit from my view.

Adami · June 08, 2022, 11:31:50 AM

Quote from: cramx3 on June 08, 2022, 11:26:26 AM
I've seen them 5 tiimes in the US, the last time was the worst turn out by far. They were touring here very often in the beginning of the band and like I said, haven't come back in 5 years now. I know the pandemic plays a role in that, but they didn't have a tour set to come back and they still dont have one set to come back even though they released a new album in 2020. They've basically released two albums since their last tour of the US. I really think that last tour set them back and made them question if they could headline in the US. I do enjoy them, and would like to see them with Nils. Maybe coming back as a support act is more of an option. Who knows. Just sucks because I used to like them a lot and they've fallen off quite a bit from my view.

Similar, minus seeing them live. I think, for me, it's because they are not really progressing their sound much at all. There's only so many times I'm going to buy a VERY similar album from them.

cramx3 · June 08, 2022, 11:37:07 AM

Yeah, that's probably a bigger issue than the changing band members. It all, in my mind, comes down to how big of a failure Maximilism was. That album was just rehashed songs that were worse than any of the ones that came before it. Then Jake E left without ever performing those songs. And that tour was an utter failure in my mind (from 2017 that I keep referencing). I do think Helix and Manifest were better albums, but didn't evolve the style or sound at all so likely didn't grab any new fans.

LithoJazzoSphere · June 08, 2022, 12:01:08 PM

Evolving your style isn't always good, sometime it's best to stick to what you do best if it's working. In Flames keeps evolving, getting worse and worse. Amorphis has been releasing basically the same album for over a decade and a half now, but it's a great album, so it still works.

Zook · September 27, 2023, 06:10:54 PM

Amaranthe released a new song yesterday. I don't need to post a link because you've heard it 100 times already.

LithoJazzoSphere · September 27, 2023, 06:21:07 PM

I've had trouble figuring out why it is that I like but don't love Amaranthe. I think part of it may be that it never feels like their songs have any room to breathe. In order to accommodate all three vocalists, each gets a few seconds at a time, but not often enough is there time for more immersion into the style of each. Somehow the formula still worked best for me on their debut, even though I never liked Jake's vocals. I don't mind the metal + pop approach, I don't need them to be a prog rock band, but they're such a slave to the 3-4 minute song format that it's a little frustrating.

Grappler · September 28, 2023, 05:54:33 AM

My enjoyment of them has waned over the last 3-5 years. The last album I really dug was Massive Addictive in 2014. I'll check out a new album, but they won't ever be as good as those first 2-3 albums.

Adami · September 28, 2023, 06:04:29 AM

Quote from: Grappler on September 28, 2023, 05:54:33 AM
My enjoyment of them has waned over the last 3-5 years. The last album I really dug was Massive Addictive in 2014. I'll check out a new album, but they won't ever be as good as those first 2-3 albums.

Indeed. They just kind of never really challenged themselves past a certain point and almost any of their songs can be on almost any of their albums. I can put on any of the newer songs and enjoy them, but they work better as singles or part of a playlist, since listening to a whole album of theirs these days just feels repetitive.

cramx3 · September 28, 2023, 07:00:04 AM

Quote from: Grappler on September 28, 2023, 05:54:33 AM
My enjoyment of them has waned over the last 3-5 years. The last album I really dug was Massive Addictive in 2014. I'll check out a new album, but they won't ever be as good as those first 2-3 albums.

I thought their last two were OK albums, but yeah, my interest has definitely waned basically album after album.

New song is OK. Just the same thing again, as previously stated.

I do plan on seeing them with Dragonforce in a month or two. They haven't toured the US in forever and I think it's better for them to come out as an opener, not headliner after no one went to their headline show last tour (and likely the reason for not coming back for so long). It is kind of sad to see this band have a lot more interest 10 years ago and now it seems no one cares.

Adami · September 28, 2023, 08:02:47 AM

Quote from: cramx3 on September 28, 2023, 07:00:04 AM
Quote from: Grappler on September 28, 2023, 05:54:33 AM
My enjoyment of them has waned over the last 3-5 years. The last album I really dug was Massive Addictive in 2014. I'll check out a new album, but they won't ever be as good as those first 2-3 albums.

I thought their last two were OK albums, but yeah, my interest has definitely waned basically album after album.

New song is OK. Just the same thing again, as previously stated.

I do plan on seeing them with Dragonforce in a month or two. They haven't toured the US in forever and I think it's better for them to come out as an opener, not headliner after no one went to their headline show last tour (and likely the reason for not coming back for so long). It is kind of sad to see this band have a lot more interest 10 years ago and now it seems no one cares.

Oh yea. I might be getting bored with their student output, but I'm sure they'd be a blast live.

LithoJazzoSphere · September 28, 2023, 04:28:55 PM

Quote from: Adami on September 28, 2023, 06:04:29 AM
Quote from: Grappler on September 28, 2023, 05:54:33 AM
My enjoyment of them has waned over the last 3-5 years. The last album I really dug was Massive Addictive in 2014. I'll check out a new album, but they won't ever be as good as those first 2-3 albums.

Indeed. They just kind of never really challenged themselves past a certain point and almost any of their songs can be on almost any of their albums. I can put on any of the newer songs and enjoy them, but they work better as singles or part of a playlist, since listening to a whole album of theirs these days just feels repetitive.

I can kind of agree with the overall sentiment, they're definitely a band I far more often go back to specific tracks than entire albums, but I do feel their style has evolved over time. Their debut feels like an even poppier evolution of the 00s electronic and clean vocal-oriented melodeath and melodic metalcore bands, but they've added djentier, hip-hop, and other more modern elements to their sound on later albums that I'm not sure would fit on the first couple. Sometimes it works well, sometimes a bit less so.

cramx3 · March 01, 2024, 08:14:52 AM

Their new album The Catalyst came out last week. Gave it a couple listens and well, I feel like I say this for every Amaranthe release....it's an Amaranthe album and it's just OK. The new harsh vocalists sounds very similar to the previous. Most songs have the exact same melodies as previous songs and just don't hit the mark of being more memorable than the past. There may be a few tracks I did enjoy. It's not the worse thing, if you like the band then you may like it. I'm not sure how often I'll go back to this though, but I'll give it a few more listens for sure.

Grappler · March 01, 2024, 09:10:03 AM

I liked it better than the last couple of albums - it felt more like the first 2-3 records, which are my favorite. But I'm kind of "over" them right now and have been since Jake left the band.

cramx3 · March 01, 2024, 09:13:25 AM

Quote from: Grappler on March 01, 2024, 09:10:03 AM
I liked it better than the last couple of albums - it felt more like the first 2-3 records, which are my favorite. But I'm kind of "over" them right now and have been since Jake left the band.

I felt that way about Manifest in that I liked it more than the previous and it felt more like a return to their older sound. This seems more in line with the albums that came before it. I dont know, it's not bad, but it's not a great album by any means.

LithoJazzoSphere · March 04, 2024, 07:39:10 AM

Quote from: Grappler on March 01, 2024, 09:10:03 AM
I liked it better than the last couple of albums - it felt more like the first 2-3 records, which are my favorite. But I'm kind of "over" them right now and have been since Jake left the band.

The weird thing for me is that I don't really care for Jake as a vocalist, either with them or with CyHra. I much prefer Nils now. But none of their albums after the first two have quite clicked with me, and the second one, just barely. I like them, but I don't really love them, and that continues to be true on this one.

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