Amaranthe - The Catalyst Review

To write this review I’l explore two reasonings: one of Amaranthe being a sicko dance music phenomena incorporating Metal features, and the other being a band that has been too far, and sucessful, on their purpose.

First things first, Amaranthe belong to a generation of bands which learned to use pretty well the tools of social media. They are one of the bands I have met on FB even before listening to their music. I met bands as Metalite, Battle Beast, and Frozen Crown this way.

Second of all, all these bands have their share of dance music and all its elements in their music even though Amaranthe and Metalite have more than the others. Truth be told, dance music and all its elements are very strong in Europe, where both bands have their origins, so, I guess, it would be natural for them to melt them with their music. From where I’m standing, it was Nightwish the band which began this mix and, to be very honest, I liked it very much. Of course, to some extent. My feeling is that they give a sicko mood to the music. So, doing this, Amaranthe give this sicko mood to their music perverting the musical ideal of dance music which is to be toxically positive. With “The Catalyst” I feel the band’s wish was to merge Metal and dance music giving more importance to the later. Then comes the second reasoning.

The thing is that Amaranthe push this limit further with their blend. It’s great to have in an album one or two tracks using this mix to add it up some spice. The secret of a great blend is the electronic elements can’t be prominent. Not what happens here. All songs are spiced with elements of dance, some more, some less, but all of them. The problem is most the elements are prominent and, sometimes, it’s impossible to hear the guitars. “Outer Dimensions” is only one of them. In general, the guitars are mixed below the electronic effects, therefore, the way I see it, all Metal elements are of less importance to the band. In my opinion, not what many metallers want to listen. Me included. Of course, there are cool elements in “The Catalyst.” For instance, album warmer and tittle track where the effects remind a little Judas Priest’s “Turbo Lover” era. The guitars are thick and the balance bewteen the female and the male vocals is pretty interesting. But they are so few, so few.

I avoid reviews where I don’t have enough elements to say good things about the band. In fact, it’s true I do like some electronic elements mixed with Metal music. As I said they pervert the music ideal of it giving it a sicko mood. That’s not what happens here. “The Catalyst” is a dance music album with Metal elements, not the other way around. Some people may call me Metal elitist. If one reads my reviews, it couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Amaranthe “The Catalyst” will be released on February 23rd via Nuclear Blast Records.

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