Delusion-Elle

I am extremely happy today. My friend told me something about my most favouritest band and I've found some peace of mind, or at least enough peace of mind to be able to hunker down and do some actual studying.

Alright, so Amaranthe's self-titled debut album was leaked (released?) today.

Band: Amaranthe
Album: Amaranthe
Download: here, here, or here
Disclaimer: I do not own this music. I did not upload this album. I am merely providing download links for anyone who stumbles upon this blog and would like to follow along with my little first impressions review.

1. Leave Everything Behind: This was one of my favourites off their EP and with the polished production, it gets even better. This song is easy on the ears and pretty catchy, too.
   
2. Hunger: They've also released a video for this song (see end of blog entry) and this one was also on their EP. It's also really catchy and the producing and mixing for the album did wonders for this song. I don't like this one quite as much as "Leave Everything Behind".
   
3. 1.000.000 Lightyears: This song is great! It's catchy and somehow very pleasant sounding. There aren't too many growling vocals on this song, I find, but that's not a bad thing.
   
4. Automatic: Oh my goshhh, that opening synth riff. I don't even know if that's a riff, but just an effect. But it sounds like the one in that Top 40 hit that goes "I only want to break break break your break break your heart" (1 Google search later, I've come up with "Break Your Heart" by Taio Cruz, whoever the hell that is). Ohhh, but it transitions into something a lot heavier. It really sounds like a rock song or hard rock song in the pre-chorus. Ahhhhh and the synth returns for the chorus. It sounds... cute. Okay, there's this little 3-note motive (too small to be a motive, really) that it's in the TSN SportsCentre jingle and also in a song by another band (Seventh Wonder's "The Angelmaker", I believe). I think it's just a +2 down and back up, but yeah. It's weird hearing that in so many places. Oh man, that's some pretty intense layering of voices.
   
5. My Transition: Oh interesting. They didn't open with the chorus. For some reason I feel like I expect that from them. This chorus sounds very much similar to that of another song, which bugs me a little. But I really like the syncopation in their guitarwork. It makes it a lot more interesting and it creates a good amount of tension.
   
6. Amaranthine: I'm quite liking the little touch of synthiness in this song, which mainly seems to consist of piano and vocals. OKAY, IF THEY HAVE GROWLS IN THIS SONG, IT COULD VERY WELL RUIN THE SONG. If they are going to use their growler, the growls will have to be EXTREMELY well-placed. The only thing I'd change about their vocalists in general would be to not have them doubling on the same melody line. It'd be nicer if one took the harmony, I think. But then I'm a sucker for nice harmonies. Okay, they had a growling bit. Eh, it was alright. I'm glad they didn't reuse that chorus melody. OH GOOD, IT'S LIKE THEY LISTENED TO ME ABOUT THE HARMONIZING BIT. That was a nice way to end it. This song actually sounded different from the others. Which is good.
   
7. It's All About Me (Rain): Woot, driving guitar and drumwork. It kind of makes me want to jump around my room. Oh wow, male vocals star in this one. Which is actually a really nice sound. Not that I don't like Elize's vocals, but her style is very much pop, and it works well as a highlight (as in this song).
   
8. Call Out My Name: Okay, this is definitely synthy. Wow, they really like to the toe the line in terms of genres, don't they? Wow, this is sounding very industrial right now. Holy crap I swear to God this is a dance track with heavy guitars and growls. I think her vocals are absolutely perfect for DDR-type music. Honestly. Oh my goshhhhhhh especially with that little dance beat. This song is messing with my head. But that's kinda cool. I'm actually sitting here laughing. This is an aural assault.
   
9. Enter the Maze: Ahh, this was on their EP as well. I wasn't too crazy about this track before, so let's see if my feelings change now... Right, so the chorus is reminiscent of another song's chorus. Again. I think. Or maybe y'know, it's just all the mess in my head. Which would probably do this album no favours. I like the non-chorus parts. It gets a little repetitive with the repetition of the chorus at the end there.
   
10. Director's Cut: Oh I think this was on their EP, too, though I didn't pay this track much attention. I'm getting some pretty strong imagery from this song -- I don't even know it, none of it is relevant to the song. This is a good song. I don't get the title, but this song is good. If I think about it, it's a little generic, but given that it's Amaranthe, it doesn't sound like a lot of their other songs.
    
11. Act of Desperation: I can't remember if this was on their EP or not, but the song title looks familiar. Okay, so it opens with an Elize-focused verse which sounds like it could be out of "Hunger". Okay, taking turns with the vocalists now. Ohhhh wow that chorus. It's like parts of it are stripped away so I can hear all that dancey synth underneath. This is not a bad song.
    
12. Serendipity: It's kind of funny to hear the word "serendipity" being sung. The lyrics are little silly and contrived, but it's alright. Oh wow, Elize's verse sounds similar to something... like a mix of a verse from a Britney Spears song (sorry, folks) and from their own song "Hunger". Ohhh guitar solo.
    

This is overall a very solid debut album. I only hope that their follow-up still has all of the elements that make them unique, as well as some more experimentation. I felt like I was hearing a very firm establishment of their sound, and I think that it'd be nice to see them branch out. This album is definitely still worth a listen, especially if you like the juxtaposition of dance/pop and death metal. Oh, and also if you don't like raw-sounding music. This album really became polished with production, but I can see some people being turned off by that.