Amaranthe

[Mr. Gregory]

Official Website

Current members:

• Elize Ryd - clean vocals
• Nils Molin - clean vocals
• Henrik Englund Wilhelmsson - growled vocals
• Olof Mörck - guitar, keyboard, synthesizer
• Johan Andreassen - bass
• Morten Løwe Sørensen - drums

Notable former members:

• Joacim "Jake E" Lundberg - clean vocals

Albums:

• Amaranthe (2011)
• The Nexus (2013)
• Massive Addictive (2014)
• Maximalism (2016)
• Helix (2018)
• Manifest (2020)
• The Catalyst (2024)

Amaranthe is a Swedish electronic pop-metal band formed in 2008. As noted above, they indeed have three vocalists. Their sound is very simplistic - they combine electronic/techno sounds with bubble gum poppy clean and growled vocals, which are then placed on a metalcore-like backdrop with a positive vibe thrown in for good measure. In almost any circumstance, that would be a sonic nightmare for me. I suspect that it will be for you too, if you dare to click on any of the videos below and listen to them. I, however, have made the mistake of listening to two of their incredibly infectious albums in their entirety, The Nexus and Massive Addictive, and now it's too late for me, hence this thread.

I don't know what happened, I swear. I sat down to listen to an album by another band the other night and wasn't feeling it for whatever reason, perhaps because I was extremely tired after a long day. I've never liked Amaranthe in the past, save for a couple of songs, but something told me to go ahead and put The Nexus on - so, not just an Amaranthe album, but their absolute worst one, at least in my mind at that time. After hearing the first few tracks, I was really confused. The album wasn't nearly as bad as I remembered it being, and I even caught myself nodding my head!

Once I opened my mind just that little bit, it was a wrap, and my entire perception of them as a band changed. I like everything about them. I dig all three of the vocalists, the electronic effects in the background, the meaty, chugging riffs, and those delicious crashing cymbals that show up from time to time. It all somehow just meshes together so perfectly.

You guys know that I like complex, thought provoking music as much as the next metalhead, but sometimes it's nice to just sit back and put some earworm, syrupy sweet goodness on. I've heard Amaranthe hilariously described as "musical crack," and honestly, that description is totally spot on. I'm warning you guys, they are for light consumption only. Any more than that, and don't be surprised if you become hopelessly, pathetically, massively addicted to them, as I now am.

And oh, by the way, it doesn't help that Elize Ryd is easy on both the ears and eyes. She is absolutely, stunningly gorgeous.

Invincible (from The Nexus)

Stardust (from The Nexus)

Dynamite (from Massive Addictive)

Maximize (opener and title track from that album)

Boomerang (from Maximize)

 

[Mr. Gregory]

Here's their first single from their upcoming album, Helix, which is set to be released on October 19th.

Not bad. Looks like they're starting to experiment a little. I expect this song to grow on me fairly quickly.

Elize and Henrik sound good. The 15-20 seconds that we hear of Nils isn't really enough for me to form a serious opinion one way or another on him, but the early returns are looking good. Of course, Elize looks great, as always.

 

[Mr. Gregory]

Here are two more singles from Helix, which I just pre-ordered and am looking forward to. Nils is featured a bit more in the first song. I still don't know how I feel about him yet. We'll see.

Also, I know I've said this already, but it bears repeating - Elize is so pretty!

Countdown

Inferno

 

[HEADS UP]

 

[HEADS UP]

 

[HEADS UP]

 

[HEADS UP]

 

[HEADS UP]

 

[Magic]

Fearless

 

[Mr. Gregory]

I've been listening to a bunch of Amaranthe over the last week or two, particularly during my commutes to and from work. They're a good pick-me-up when you want to hear some metal but don't want to hear something super heavy or dense.

I've now heard pretty much everything but their newest album, Manifest, which I need to sit down and listen to. While there are definitely good songs on every album of theirs that I've heard so far, The Nexus is still my current favorite. It's just so good from start to finish. There are no weak links.

Here are some random standouts that I've become (re)acquainted with as I've gone through their discography.

1.000.000 Lightyears (from their self-titled debut album) - warning, there's a random F-bomb at the end that isn't part of the song

Theory Of Everything (from The Nexus)

Future On Hold (from The Nexus)

Unreal (from Massive Addictive)

Break Down And Cry (from Maximalism)

Helix (title track from that album)

 

[Magic]

2023 band lineup:

Elize Ryd - vocals
Mikael Sehlin - growls
Olof Mörck - guitars, keyboards
Johan Andreassen - bass
Morten Løwe Sørensen - drums
Nils Molin - vocals


The Catalyst to be released February 23, 2024.

The Catalyst" is the most conceptually coherent piece of work in AMARANTHE's storied history. Dedicated to notions of transformation and revelation, it delves deeper than any previous album, as Mörck explains:
“We've done these things before, but we've never been as theatrical as we have this time," he says. "In fact, we all questioned whether we went too far this time, but I also figured that this band was always this way. Literally the first seconds of our first video was a big explosion! But yes, 'The Catalyst' is more theatrical than ever. We've never really been symphonic or orchestral before, but this time we just thought why not? Because we can! The key to this album is that we let go of the boundaries and decided to do something even more adventurous."

Damnation Flame

Insatiable

Outer Dimensions

 

[Mr. Gregory]

I still need to listen to Manifest. It somehow got lost in the shuffle. Can't believe it has been over three years since that album came out. That's Meshuggah territory. They usually crank them out one right after another.

Been jamming this song, Re-Vision, pretty heavily for the last couple of days. Just more effortlessly good stuff from this crew. I love it!

 

[Mr. Gregory]

I listened to Manifest a few weeks ago, and ehh, it didn't really grab me like that.

The Catalyst, which just dropped today, is a very different story. It started off great with the title track, and, unlike some of their other albums, it never dropped off for me. I even like a couple of the songs that I wasn't super crazy about as singles, like Insatiable and Damnation Flame.

My first impressions are good! I really like this album and will definitely be listening to it again to determine where it fits in my overall hierarchy of their discography. My current favorite song is still Re-Vision, which I'm just completely enthralled with. It may very well end up being my Song of the Year on Spotify when all is said and done.