Amaranthe – Massive Addictive
Artist: Amaranthe
Album: Massive Addictive
Genre: Melodic Metal/Power Metal
Released on 20th October 2014
Via Spinefarm Records / Universal Music
So after The Nexus did really well for them, Amaranthe comes back with their new record “Massive Addictive” and I’m not going to lie, this is not the best of follow ups. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a decent album but I feel they could have delivered so much more. However, there is still a fair share of absolute belters. There are some well some well constructed riffs and melodies that keep this album interesting and fun.
The album opens on the track “Dynamite” which is a big sounding tune with a very pretty decent chorus, but it’s not really impressive, it’s just an OK tune. In fact I feel that’s the biggest compliment and the biggest insult I could give this album, it’s just OK. With the exception of a few tunes it’s just mediocre with no surprises. The next couple of songs are the two that served as the lead in, to this album, and both a catchy, fun tunes. “Drop Dead Cynical” & “Trinity” just simply glorify everything that Amaranthe strive to be. Solid riffs and a catchy chorus with alot of synth sound-fx that just elevate these song to great songs. There some other really great tunes like “Digital World” and “Danger Zone”, which again capture that fun essence that Amaranthe is all about.
However with the good comes the average, and to be honest there’s a lot of that on this album. I don’t hate any of these songs, hell, I don’t even dislike them. Nevertheless, when you know what a band is capable of you want them to get better, and so many of these songs don’t really work all that well. The two ballads of this record “True” and “Over and Done” just drudge along and don’t really give you anything interesting to keep you in the song. Other tracks on this record just feel like generic power metal and offer little else.
All in all, this is an OK album. I enjoy it fine, but after The Nexus, I feel the band could have done more. The songs that are good are really good and fun. I look forward to anything this band puts out, and I look forward to seeing them live. This album however will tide me over, I would recommend this to fans of the band and the genre only, I don’t think this album could reach anyone else.
3/5
Mick Birchall
Valkyrian Music 
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