The Catalyst Is Here!
The Catalyst is nigh, bringing forth the Drop Dead Cynical essence of Swedish heavy-metal mastery in its primal form that is Amaranthe! Amaranthe have been unleashing their glorious multi-genre-infused metal in all its ferocity, upon the Digital World since 2008, building up a strong, everlasting army of fans far and wide, but have yet to bring the Viral force down under… until now.
The feverish excitement is palpable throughout the venue as the band emerges shrouded in a mist of cinematic sounds and light, as they charge full-headed into opening songs, ‘Fearless’, my personal favourite ‘Viral’ and fan favourite ‘Digital World’. These songs ignite a fierce intensity of energy both on stage musically and in the wild blur of movement, and in the crowd's response.
Despite the rowdiness of the fans and the “undesirable nature” of a couple of them that I perceived from their carrying on before the show started, and the way everyone rushed into the venue yelping and squealing like wolves (which made me opt for off to the side of the front row rather than smack-bang in the middle, since I do value my bones not being shattered), the crowd are all really, well… unexpected.
I’m reminded of how despite what most may think about the heavier genre’s, fans are generally respectful of one another and all just want to have fun, enjoy some expressive, powerful music and release some stress and quell some inner demons and the general shit of life, because in one way or another, we all have them, and metal music is the perfect way of coming together with loved-ones and complete strangers to connect and share the burden on day to day life, picking up everyone if they fall, and giving a jolly-big grin and your middle finger up at life.
From start to finish, the way the band all feed off each other's energy, amplified by us in the crowd and vice versa is nothing short of mesmerizing! Especially the synchronicity of all three vocalists, Elize, Olaf and Mikael, all shining in their own glory, with Elize like a hauntingly beautiful yet no less fierce primal goddess, soaring around the intense wrath of Mikael’s draconic roar, searing our senses. Finally, charging and prowling between these two enchanting powers comes Olaf with his surging, power-hungry commanding vocals, like a wicked bloodhound wolf… I promise you, I am not on drugs! Although, there were “sprinkles” on the doghnut earlier and it is Friday night in the middle of Sydney so who knows.
One thing that is often hard to harness, is a clear even sound at a metal show, especially from a band with so many musical elements as Amaranthe. Luckily, I can’t fault the sound mixer, they’ve nicely highlighted all three vocalists, without over-bearing one or another (usually the harsh vocals can drown out the clean vocals) but tonight, nor have the drums, bass or guitar been set out of proportion, it’s like the perfectly blended cocktail, shakin’ not stirred.
As the show finishes with fan favourite ‘Drop Dead Cynical’ and the crowd goes crazy, I notice that the show only went for 75 minutes or so instead of the typical 90 minute headlining set. I don’t feel unsatisfied or left needing more though, the high energy performance with the first ten songs being the more energetic powerful hits, then the last nine being a mix of more emotive slower songs, with the band being connected with the audience no matter what the feeling in the music, was anything but unsatisfying!
I very much look forward to when the fates allow Amaranthe’s glorious return to Australia, likely in larger venues after this memorable visit!