| CD REVIEW Amorth |
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Band : Amorth Okay, a short review for my doin' this time, as I didn't find a lot of info available on this originally Worcestershire but now mainly Birmingham residing British Midlands Metal quartet, founded as a 5-piece Rock band in 2004 playing covers from Guns 'N' Roses to Metallica. After several line-up changes (nevertheless revolving around a solid core) the band started writing its own material in 2007, released an EP in January 2009 and later that year recorded an album's worth of songs at Worcester's Waiting Room Studios. The album was picked up by Mother Should Know Records, who released the 10-track Await Me Now in January 2010. Later in 2010 the band parted ways with guitarist Chris on amical terms, and since then the band has continued as a quartet. In the line-up of Jonny Webster(lead vocals and bass), Oli Hunt (lead vocals & guitar), Dan Yates (Chris's replacement on guitar and backing vocals) and Will Harris (drums), the band recorded 3 songs and and intro for a new EP...then parted ways with Harris, and recorded a bonus song with new skinsman Aidan Lyon. That's the material we have before us at this moment! As influences, the band cites the likes of All That Remains, Killswitch Engage, Trivium, Atreyu, Emmure, Divine Heresy, In Flames, and loads more, and they've blended all of that into a melodic modern Metal with several influences, lending crushing riff stylings from Death to Thrash Metal, melodic lead guitar play from Heavy Metal, and the heavy breakdowns typical of Metalcore. Vocally, you get screamed grunts (or grunted screams, depending on how you look at things) as well as clean vocals, and the backing singer goin' into both modes depending on the needs of the individual songs gives the whole occasionally epic passages. Quite frankly speaking, if it wasn't for the band's remarkably weird sound (somewhat muffled, like as if the guitars were recorded at the back of the Marshall stacks, in stead of in front of 'em), one might say Amorth is a band like we can find 13 a dozen in their genre. Plenty of bands around who use nice melodies in catchy tunes, and blend clean with harsher vocals. However, that funny detail on their sound is what sets the band apart, at least to my (somewhat trained) ears, from the run-of-the-mill. Was the sound a fluke luck thing due to the fact that the guys recorded the EP themselves? I dunno, but it wàs at the same studio as the full-length, so I kinda hope Amorthhas that same sound live as well! You can listen to two songs (“Put A Hold On the Plaster” as mere audio file and “To One's Envy” - plus an excerpt of bonus track “Absolution” in the form of video) off the new EP at the band's official webspace (www.) reverbnation.com/amorth, alongside two tracks off the band's debut album, and there's two more older songs to be found at the “Info” profile at the band's facebook page. Check it out if the above is to your licking...you're sure to find some nice music there! 89/100 Tony. |