REVIEW: The Amenta - VO1D

Published 8 March 2011 on voltagemedia.com.au

As an avid Australian metal-head, it was with nothing but sheer delight to receive the news that at midnight last night, the new The Amenta website - carrying a freely downloadable copy of their new E.P VO1D - went live.

The one and only newly-written track for this E.P, titled ‘VO1D’, instantly begins to sum up the tone of the record and the direction The Amenta has taken with their most recent addition to the band, vocalist Cain Cressal. If you've listened to the five-piece before, you will know what to expect - harsh, chaotic soundscapes, fuelled by furious industrial speed – however, this time they completely exceed this in so many ways.

The re-recorded songs from their two previous albums have had the ante upped significantly. In terms of production, the wall-of-sound technique is most definitely in use to its full effect; without the disadvantage of having the other instruments dropped from the mix, to whatever degree it has been, on other records involving this practice. Every snare, snarl and shred is clearly audible in this case, with the added benefit of having a creepy soundscape flittering around, in the undertones, like the evil that stalks the world. Cain Cressal's vocals are harsh, demonic and yet, clear, making each word perceptible and lucid.

As a complete reinvention of themselves, The Amenta has absolutely succeeded and gone way beyond what I suspect any fan would have expected from this release. There is no period of time for this album to grow on me, as it has already latched on, with its fatal metal grip. As a standalone E.P, VO1D has got to be one of the most eerie, punishing, flawless, inspiring, sinisterly beautiful and intense E.P's that I've ever had the pleasure of listening to, and that is why it absolutely deserves my personal 100/100.



Album: VO1D EP
Year: 2011

Track List:

1. Empty
2. V01D (exclusive new song)
3. Erebus (re-recorded)
4. Ache
5. Junky (re-recorded)
6. Spine (re-recorded)
7. Null
8. Vermin (re-recorded)
9. Nihil (re-recorded)
10. Nil
11. Enigmatize (originally performed by ARMOURED ANGEL)
12. None
13. Junky (remix)
14. Nihil (remix)
15. Vermin (remix)
16. Erebus (remix)

Visit: www.theamenta.com