Massive Addictive – Best Possible Name For This Album

Amaranthe did a really great job when considering Massive Addictive the new album title, because this is exactly how I would describe it: powerful, energic, kick-ass, explosive, basically everything they taught us so far.

Dynamite stays real to its name, and it kicks off with a hard guitar riff, followed by some spectacular vocal part from Elize: it’s been probably only 30 seconds into the song, and you are already hypnotized. At least that is what I’ve experienced, and I can guarantee the same feeling should pass through your body as well.

This song is followed by the already popular Drop Dead Cynical, the song that convinced me from the first audition that the upcoming album will rock out everyone, and then the second single off the record, Trinity.

Next comes Massive Addictive, the song that gave the album title, making me repeat: there are simply no other better words to better wrap this up.

Digital World is yet another song that sticks to their tradition, with a truly insane breakdown in the middle part, which made Henrik seem like an angry god willing to smash everything in his sight, but the interesting point comes up at True, the first slow-paced song so far. Although it takes off quite heavy, the vocal parts calm it down, making us witness a modern and heavy ballad.

Put in an interesting antithesis, the song named Unreal gets us back to the headbanging and impossible-to-stay-still atmosphere. But that’s just a short interlude, because the calm and soft song of the album, Over and Done comes next, highlighting Jake’s amazing voice in its beginning over a beautiful piano part. But its real good part is Olof’s stunning guitar solo, concluding what seems to be a nostalgic and emotional song.

But that’s enough for keeping calm, because Danger Zone starts powerfully, with hard guitar riffs and alert synths, just before Skyline which is at the same level of intensity. Morten’s drumming is not something not to be noticed, as his speed and technique are of amazing and enviable quality, such as Johan’s bass lines.

An Ordinary Abnormality is what seems to be the fastest song so far, with a way higher tempo than 200 beats per minute (a really hard to reach speed), which reflects how talented and skilled these musicians are.

As soon as Exhale kicks in, I realize that I already reached the last track of the album, making me notice how fast the last 42 minutes have passed, because it is well known that when you enjoy something, time seems to pass faster. However, the song concludes the album in a beautiful manner, having combined all the elements experienced so far.

I got to admit, I’ve been an Amaranthe fan since I first heard The Nexus back in January 2013 when they released it, and I really enjoyed their work so far, having also seen them live once, in 2013 in Sibiu. But the new record, is simply amazing, and I believe I will play it on repeat a long time from now, as it is a truly Massive Addictive work of art.

 

Matei Puscaru