Review by Mark Derricutt
For one reason or another, I’ve been rather absent from a lot of gigs lately, and getting out for a Sunday show seemed an odd choice to break the ice, but with an early 7 pm door and home by 10:30; it was an easy decision.
Seven albums deep, there seems to be no stopping Sweden’s Amaranthe. When the band first emerged I was initially sceptical – the fast-growing “female-fronted metal” genre had firmly established itself as a legitimate movement (if horribly named). But with symphonic metal becoming a juggernaut, Amaranthe upped the playing field and set themselves apart by adding not only a third vocalist but a direction that took them more towards their power metal background.
Discovering the band comprised members of some of my favourite bands, I was intrigued and instantly satisfied – Amanathe had a niche — a wide, encompassing niche. Still, with 3 vocalists I’d often wondered how well everything would fit together in a live setting, and tonight that question was well and truly answered.
BULLETBELT
First up, however, is Wellington lads Bulletbelt, on the heels of their 2013 album RIP IT UP – an ominous red light looms before the main lighting kicks in…
It’s been a while since catching Bulletbelt on a larger stage, and it suits them well – although less than a song in and bassist Tim is sweating up a storm – thankfully a can of beer attached to the mic stand was just feet away.
NINE CENTURIES lands a bombastic slaughter of aggression with Steve’s unique Maidenesque drum pattern, which stood out to me when the song first debuted.
Cult classic DEATHGASM (”lowercase is for pussies”) is up next, with a mid-switch nod to Slayer to keep any bogans happy.
While the band has had its fair share of lineup changes over the years – the current incarnation of Tim (bass), Steve (drums), Josh and Issac (guitars) and Diego (vocals) is one of most cohesive sounding I’ve heard in a long time.
BURN IT UP and PUNISHMENT OF GOD continues the onslaught before closer ARMINIUS leaves this guy wanting more – thankfully, we have Amaranthe to satiate us all.
AMARANTHE
With the drums high on a riser, our trio of vocalists fully utilised the ample stage (including the side riser itself), ensuring the crowd, both near and far, got an equal share of all singers.
As guitarist/founder Olof Mörck also writes/performs all synths and effects in the studio, I was curious to see if a live keyboardist, even if side-of-stage, but with six members (and gear) already on stage, they were relegated to backing tracks, but that left the stage free of clutter, delivering a highly polished, high energy set from musicians who genuinely look excited and happy to be here – Elize’ smile is as infectious as is her voice.
One thing that stands out beyond the bands’ performance itself, the mix was solid – nothing too loud, but when Elize cut short the chorus for AMARANTHINE it seemed for the briefest moment the mix for audience audio dropped out – post gig video shows the crowd anything but silent – the crowd here tonight were hyped and fully engaged.
THE NEXUS and CALL OUT MY NAME continue the high-energy, set, although I must say Samy’s (fill-in for Mikel on vocals) harsh vocals were a little too harsh for me – sounding more in a more metal-core vein – personal taste and you can’t please everyone – a minor quibble in what was a killer show.
We close out the night with an encore of ARCHANGEL, THAT SONG and DROP DEAD CYNICAL intermixed with banter, and the Amaranthe Olympics (crowd cheer volume test)…
We hit 105 dbs.
