Amaranthe – The Catalyst
Release Date: 23rd February 2024
Label: Nuclear Blast
Order/Stream
Genre: Melodic Metal, Modern Metal.
FFO: Dynazty, Dragonforce.
Review By: Kira L. Schlechter
A catalyst is defined as an agent of change. But is “The Catalyst” an agent of change for the Swedish melodic metal band Amaranthe? Is the title of their latest album just a cool phrase, or is there actual change happening?
This is the seventh album in 15 years for singers Elize Ryd, Nils Molin, and Mikael Sehlin (his debut since replacing beloved glib-tongued motormouth Henrik “GG6” Wilhelmsson as harsh vocalist), guitarist/keyboardist and mastermind Olof Morck, bassist Johan Andreassen, and drummer Morten Lowe Sorensen.
The follow-up to 2021’s “Manifest” may often skew as much dance pop as melodic metal, but their songs are never trite; they are sharp-eyed observations of the world around us, with renaissance man Morck at the heart of the lyrics. He notes in the bio that “Every song talks about change from a different perspective,” and indeed they do. At least lyrically.
The title track – which starts with drifts of keys and effects – is, as all of their songs are, an exercise in brevity. Nothing’s longer than about three minutes, but nothing is ever lacking. They tell a complete story – here of maintaining optimism in a less-than-optimistic world, looking for that “ambition of change” (a nice turn of phrase). And as usual, their blending of the three singers is impeccable, Elize and Nils swapping out lines in the verses and blending on the choruses with snarling commentary provided by Mikael – and the lines he does always suit him, like here when he pleads “Redeem me from deception, despair” and “Deliverance from the grief I implore” and his demanding urge for change that makes up the bridge. Olof’s solo is a quick in-and-out, also as usual.
Much of “Insatiable,” musically speaking, will remind fans of past Amaranthe tracks – that trademark punchy, swinging groove, that earworm chorus … you know the drill. But you can kind of forgive them for that because the lyrics are always direct and perceptive. This is a condemnation of “Mass consumption,” which is “testimony to our condition,” of our “blind conscience” (paraphrasing) because “the mob controls your mind.” We take and take, but “Your calculations lack the fact/That Armageddon’s nigh,” that “Your addiction … (is an) Enemy beyond our comprehension.” But don’t speak up – “Hit the ground/Don’t you dare to make a sound” – don’t mess with the status quo. The delivery might seem a bit same-y same, but the message is always dead-on.
In “Damnation Flame,” that change we mentioned is from human to vampire, but you could take that metaphorically or figuratively as well as literally (despite how the animated accompanying video portrays it).
And the creepy arrangement plays along, from the opening wolf howl to the eerie main melody to the waltzy orchestral breakdown before the bridge to that little organ snippet in the final chorus. This is just pure horror fantasy fun, a bloody romp with an irresistible chorus and yes, a nice change of pace musically and thematically.
With its matching laid-back groove, “Liberated” urges that we free ourselves from the enslavement of social media and “mass adoration,” because, don’t forget, “the euphoria will fade.” We are ostriches with our heads in the digital sand: “to divert your attention from indoctrination/You hook up into the feed.” The second verse reinforces that idea: “They enslave the population/Build technology for greed/To the sound of tick-tock of the Armageddon clock/You’re addicted to a screen.” The pre-chorus is the steps to take – “One, don’t get stuck in the moment/When you’re searching for new ways” – and the chorus is getting to that ultimate emancipation, that being “in love with the chemistry, with the energy” of being alive and free. Since it’s in the first person, you could consider it a peek inside Olof’s own mind – he is that “unsinkable challenger” who was “never jaded.” It’s a nice touch of the personal.
Even though it revels in the artificial – keyboard effects, a snapping electronic drum tempo, and vocal sampling – “Re-Vision” continues that theme of unplugging, of developing a new perspective, of “upgrading your mind,” to paraphrase again. It’s being done with the past: “I’m sick of the scar/It is time to remove it.”
By this point, as with many of their songs, the pattern of “Interference” becomes expected – it will start with keyboards, a heavy riff, and in this case, a slightly more moderate tempo. It’s about resisting any sort of control assumed by others – maybe specifically by government, with lines like “Disloyalty sublime/And the truth you have betrayed/Because they occupied the very essence of morality” and “The indifference, your prize/With benevolence in the twilight/Tyranny designed, and you have to take it back now.” Some of that interference, though, is self-inflicted, as they note, “Fallibility is your birthright.” And also by this point, the vocal pattern becomes expected – if Elize does the first verse, Nils will do the second, and Mikael will do the harsh pre-chorus before they all join on the expectedly catchy – and defiant – chorus.
And by this point in most Amaranthe albums, you’re going to get a ballad – track 8 on “Manifest” was the gorgeous, classically-tinged “Crystalline”; track 7 here is “Stay a Little While.” It’s a little more bombastic than “Crystalline” (still my favorite of their love songs) and lacks its musical and thematic fragility, but the combination of Elize and Nils on material like this is still a winning formula – they just sound so damn good together.
It’s kind of quaint how subtly the band deals with sexuality or sexual intimacy. It’s pretty obvious that’s what “Ecstasy” is referring to, but they never come right out and say it – they only hint, with carefully couched lines like “Encourage the collision” and “Come a little closer/Let conversation stop” and “I can sense you take me to the top.” It’s charming, but occasionally you’d like them to loosen up a little more, get down and dirty, since you can sense Elize and Nils would do that really well.
“Breaking the Waves” is rather a breaking of the mold compositionally speaking, with its rollicking – and yes, seafaring – rhythm, especially in the chorus. And it does talk about keeping your head above water, if you will, of discovering the thought processes that make that happen (“Not everything you touch will turn to gold … For wisdom and astrology could never say/Just how to walk the path and make you find your way”). Both singers are in especially good form here: Elize displaying an unaccustomed bit of grit in the first verse; Nils showing off his falsetto toward the end. But it seems Mikael’s part is a little out of place; his brief harsh section takes you out of the song’s mood a bit before the final chorus.
Terse and hectic, “Outer Dimensions” is seemingly an ode to a supportive partner, one who’s “bringing me the key to salvation” and who is “there to save me from delusion and deception.” Elize’s cold, crisp, treated vocal in the pre-chorus leads into a billowing, soaring chorus that adds to that feeling of gratefulness and joy.
“Resistance” repeats the theme of ditching socials from “Liberated” in a more insistent manner: the facts are that “The information highway’s/Like a drug you can’t deny/Consent to mass hypnosis/Now you can barely hide” and the solution is that “You crave for affirmation/The addiction makes you blind/Don’t fear the isolation/Let reason be your guide.” The scattershot, spat-out pre-chorus is a nice lead-in to the more legato chorus with its pointed final comment, “it’s all a beautiful lie … It’s the obsession of a generation.” It’s definitely heavier than “Liberated,” especially in the bridge (led by Mikael’s roar, Olof’s thudding riffs, and some great drumming from Morten), but did we really need another take on the idea?
The official closer, “Find Life,” might start with those same keys and that trademark staggered guitar riff, but the idea of it really solidifies the album’s overarching theme – of “reversing indifference,” to paraphrase, and to “find life,” that is to truly live. We are “a billion souls adrift,” they sing, “but life can save us.” Its moments of delicacy, like Elize’s singing before the first chorus and Olof’s gentle solo backed by finger-snapping, are rewarding, and it seems to portend toward other sonic possibilities – changes, if you will.
A bonus track is a cover of fellow Swedes Roxette’s “Fading Like a Flower.” They Amaranthe it up plenty, but it really serves to emphasize their pop sensibility, though maybe not in the best way. And Mikael’s harsh vocals are completely out of place on it.
Amaranthe is at an interesting point. After two solid albums in “Helix” and “Manifest,” you wonder if they’re cruising on “The Catalyst,” complacent in a style they’ve mastered completely. As noted, many of the songs are reminiscent of ones on other albums, and they definitely miss the droll humor of GG6 – there’s no eponymous song or “Boom!” here.
They’re not reinventing the wheel. But maybe sticking a few playing cards in the spokes now and then – REALLY going for change – might not go amiss.
(4 / 5)
