AMARANTHE: Maximalism

KingsGene

God of Thunder
Apr 1, 2005
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AMARANTHE - MAXIMALISM ALBUM DETAILS REVEALED

"...Amaranthe, the cutting edge outfit with the triple lead vocal attack, have revealed the title, artwork, and release date for their new studio album.

Titled Maximalism and due out via Spinefarm Records on October 21st, the album is a hyper-modern, metallic beast. It's the band's fourth record since first joining forces back in 2008; produced once again by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Epica, Delain) and mastered by Svante Forsback (Rammstein, Apocalyptica, Dragonforce), it sees the Swedish/Danish sextet delivering 12 new tracks that fully live up to the "bigger, bolder" promise of the title. Maximalism is the follow-up to 2014's breakthrough Massive Addictive...."

amaranthealbumaug.jpg


Teaser:
 
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Yikes, that song is not very good at all. I am a huge fan and I think this is the first song of theirs I have not liked. I still have faith in the album, but this is a poor first showing. The song lacks energy and the effects on the vocals makes it sound like Rhianna :(
 
Perhaps some clarification is needed. From the opening post link:

"Maximalism is our manifesto to the world," said lead guitarist Olof Morck. "We are genuinely thrilled with the new material, definitely our most diverse collection to date; our trademark 'bleeding edge' modern metal remains intact, of course, but fused with an even broader range of genres than before. There's everything here including stadium rock, innovative pop and danceable super-hits. Expect these tunes to enter your mind on a permanent basis!"
 
Perhaps some clarification is needed. From the opening post link:

"Maximalism is our manifesto to the world," said lead guitarist Olof Morck. "We are genuinely thrilled with the new material, definitely our most diverse collection to date; our trademark 'bleeding edge' modern metal remains intact, of course, but fused with an even broader range of genres than before. There's everything here including stadium rock, innovative pop and danceable super-hits. Expect these tunes to enter your mind on a permanent basis!"

I did not dislike the song for any of the descriptions you bolded. As I said, I like all their stuff up until now including the poppy stuff like Electroheart. I did not like this song because it does not seem well written to me. The lazy "We Will Rock You" beat, lack of energy and vocal effects really turned me off the song, not because it was different than what came before.
 
I really thought you were kidding about her sounding like Rhianna. You are NOT! The chorus sounds like a country song. I hope they were going for the We Will Rock You feel....but they missed by a long shot. It's not very Amaranthe at all, but I totally see that song being a big old hit on the pop charts.
 
Yikes, I hope this song is not indicative of the darker/bolder direction they are going. Love the band and excited to see them again but man...Saw them as the opening band on Within Temptation tour and they were fantastic live.
 
I did not dislike the song for any of the descriptions you bolded. As I said, I like all their stuff up until now including the poppy stuff like Electroheart. I did not like this song because it does not seem well written to me. The lazy "We Will Rock You" beat, lack of energy and vocal effects really turned me off the song, not because it was different than what came before.

No worries, thank you for the clarification. I suppose I may have anticipated much of the beatdown the band will be receiving here as well as on other social media for trying new things, and just wanted to point out what the members have already said publicly. Back to our regularly scheduled thrashing... ;)
 
Amaranthe has always been too poppy for me. Not bad, but not for me.
 
my wife said it sounded like a Miley Cyrus song....Not a good thing. The piano tinging and beginning of the song sounds extremely similar to the Quantum of Solace (James Bond movie) theme song.
 
They started to lose me with Massive Addictive, and after hearing this single, I expect I won't be buying Maximalism. I'll definitely give it a fair listen, but after hearing this song I have extremely low expectations.
 
Amaranthe has always been a pop band in metal clothes. Although some will likely see that as an insult, it's not. It's merely an honest assessment of their sound and image. The fact that the new single is a pure pop song seems like little more than them moving along a predictable trajectory.
 
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Amaranthe has always been a pop band in metal clothes. Although some will likely see that as an insult, it's not. It's merely an honest assessment of their sound and image. The fact that the new single is a pure pop song seems like little more than them moving along a predictable trajectory.

It may also signal them thinking they don't have to mix all the elements into each song. The last album had both their single poppiest song and probably their heaviest. But even the most poppy song still had some rock elements. This seems to be them thinking they can just write a pure pop song without even the slightest rock elements. Since the fanbase reaction is overwhelmingly negative, perhaps they miscalculated or crossed the line of how much pop influence their fans will take.
 
I bet they are just trying to crossover since pop is where the most exposure is. The fact that they started out as a heavy sounding band means they will pretty much completely lose their original fanbase and (provided they have corporate backing to continue) trade them in for a...less discerning one.
 
I can't make up my mind about it....it is super poppy which I'm okay with, a little jazzy, sorta...but like mentioned before, it seems lazy content wise. But I get the impression that's what they were going for on this one particular song. Kind of a home town rocker anthemic vibe.
Will be watching for this release like a hawk.