Amaranthe are a band that set the trend rather than follow in their Modern Metal genre and are surely the best known band to employ a female vocalist alongside two male vocalists, one harsh, one clean sung. They are a band who found their musical and triple vocal approach very early on in their 15 year (and counting) career, and have spent their time refining and progressing their sound to the finely polished beast that you hear today. The introduction of Dynazty vocalist Nils Molin on 2018’s ‘Helix’ album, gave the band their most recent step towards where they are today and he was another notably impressive weapon to push the band’s sound even further. With Molin on board, this stable vocal trio continued from then on to impress audiences all over the world with their three-pronged attack.
Stable until now that is, as mainstay growler Henrik Englund Wilhelmsson has taken the decision to amicably step aside to spend more time with his family and into the fray comes Mikael Sehlin. Sehlin will be known for his work in Degradead and Engel, but some may also know his name from Paralydium, which he was part of alongside three past and present Dynazty members – the Swedish Metal scene is all intertwined isn’t it? The main point of course, is that he does a mighty fine job on “Catalyst” and Amaranthe are certainly no weaker for his introduction, as he brings his own influence into the band’s vocal trio.
Whether by coincidence or design, “Catalyst” is the band’s most varied album to date. The introduction of symphonic and orchestral elements here and there have been much reported, but in truth there’s nothing that particularly changes the core Amaranthe sound which fans adore. The synths, the samples and Pop Metal accessibility are all still there as strong as ever, as are the wonderfully catchy vocal lines and choruses – even when they give the Amaranthe treatment to a song such as Roxette’s ‘Fading Like A Flower’! There’s nothing whatsoever that existing fans will balk at on this album, nothing that jars, nothing startlingly out of place, and a band of Amaranthe’s calibre pushing the boundaries a little more is certainly something to be enjoyed and applauded rather than feared.
Olof Mörck’s core songwriting – and of course his guitar playing, are as strong as you would hope for, maybe even stronger, with bassist Johan Andreasson and drummer Morten Løwe Sørensen driving the songs forward as powerfully as ever, leaving, Elize Ryd, Nils Molin and Mikael Sehlin to weave their vocal magic over the top. It’s always a testament to Mörck’s songwriting that the focus is on the vocals with every song – the vocals hook you in so that gradually you start to notice all the little nuances and cleverness that goes on within the musical arrangements. So yes, there has been changes within Amaranthe’s line-up and sound, but they’ve been incorporated in such a seamless way that Amaranthe very much remain the gradually expanding and attention-grabbing force they’ve always been.“Catalyst” is merely the next step in giving further proof to that fact.
(8/10 Andy Barker)
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