Metal Storm logo
Amoral - Beneath review



Reviewer:
4.0

31 users:
5.84
Band: Amoral
Album: Beneath
Release date: October 2011


01. Beneath
02. Wrapped In Barbwire
03. Silhouette
04. Things Left Unsaid
05. (Won't Go) Home
06. Closure
07. Same Difference
08. Hours Of Simplicity
09. Wastelands
10. This Ever Ending Game
11. No Future
12. Of Silent Stares & Fire Lost
13. Sleeping With Strangers [US bonus]
14. Staying Human [Japanese bonus]

It's official: Amoral's death metal era is over. And thank God for that, am I right?!

After the release of the universally accepted and critically acclaimed Show Your Colors, Amoral let the world know just what they're capable of. No more of that drab, unoriginal melodic/technical death metal. No, they've moved on to bigger and better things. Melodic metal with hard rock elements. What is more original and exciting than that?!

Led by Finnish Karaoke Champion Ari Koivunen, Beneath just goes to show you how many unusual ideas this quintet have been sitting on throughout the years, ideas that sadly never came to be in the old days of aimless, ineffectual death metal. Koivunen's range and general high-pitched approach will instantly force you to forget completely about Niko Kalliojärvi, who never even considered himself a vocalist anyway. Which probably explains why he joined some generic flower power band as a guitarist earlier this year. Put it this way, you won't be missing him or the music he accompanied.

As the old adage goes, "haters gon' hate", but those close-minded people will be missing out on the brilliance that is modern-era Amoral. Gone are the formulaic songs that followed typical structures and focused too heavily on choruses to entice the listener. This is where it's at!

Okay, okay, that was a little over-the-top sarcastic, even for me. This album is awful. Think Nickelback gone power metal. Ya, that bad*. The simplistic hard rock approach and generic melodies are somewhat hidden due to Koivunen's blatant wailing, but there are moments when they come to the forefront and rival the likes of Metallica's banality on Lulu. I mean how tedious can you get? I know people initially attacked them for creating "radio rock", but even radio rock carries some weight in the songwriting department. This is just boring. Boring rock-laden power metal with useless solos. I'm not upset about the change in vocalists (old news anyway), or about the more mainstream rock direction. I'm upset that they didn't execute it well. And not only did they fail to execute it well, they completely failed in their attempt to make good rock music. Or power metal. Did they even know what they were going for with this? Because I sure don't.

* no Roadrunner Records executives were humored in the making of this review


Rating breakdown
Performance: 7
Songwriting: 5
Originality: 4
Production: 8





Written on 10.11.2011 by I'm total pro; that's what I'm here for.


Comments

Comments: 21   Visited by: 315 users
10.11.2011 - 21:51
Panzerchrist
Account deleted
Well, at least the performance and production is pretty good.
Loading...
10.11.2011 - 21:54
Rating: 4
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by Guest on 10.11.2011 at 21:51
Well, at least the performance and production is pretty good.

I think so. The music is incredibly bland and seemingly without direction but the band still knows what they're doing with their instruments and the album has an appropriately slick production.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
Loading...
10.11.2011 - 22:01
Panzerchrist
Account deleted
Written by Troy Killjoy on 10.11.2011 at 21:54
I think so. The music is incredibly bland and seemingly without direction but the band still knows what they're doing with their instruments and the album has an appropriately slick production.

So... We're trapped in a dilemma of what to think of the album?
Loading...
10.11.2011 - 22:03
Rating: 4
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by Guest on 10.11.2011 at 22:01
So... We're trapped in a dilemma of what to think of the album?

Far from it. The album is just plain bad. I'm just saying it's a 4 instead of a 2 because the musicianship and production weren't as bad as the songwriting and originality.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
Loading...
10.11.2011 - 22:05
Panzerchrist
Account deleted
Written by Troy Killjoy on 10.11.2011 at 22:03
Far from it. The album is just plain bad. I'm just saying it's a 4 instead of a 2 because the musicianship and production weren't as bad as the songwriting and originality.

So it's a 3!
Loading...
10.11.2011 - 22:07
Rating: 4
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by Guest on 10.11.2011 at 22:05
So it's a 3!

...

It's a 4, sir.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
Loading...
10.11.2011 - 22:15
Slayer666

Sounds like a total l must have! Definitely my kind of music, I was hooked as soon as you mentioned Nickleback.

(FYI, the amount of sarcasm used in this comment is equal to the one used in your review)
Loading...
10.11.2011 - 22:16
moe5512

How I felt while reading this review ( like the fat dude)

Loading...
10.11.2011 - 22:18
Rating: 4
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by moe5512 on 10.11.2011 at 22:16
How I felt while reading this review ( I'm the fat dude )

Did you feel my dick fuckin' your mind?
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
Loading...
10.11.2011 - 22:19
Rating: 4
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by Slayer666 on 10.11.2011 at 22:15
I was hooked as soon as you mentioned Nickleback.

See I figured by mentioning them people would instantly want to listen to this if they haven't already. I knew I was doing the right thing.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
Loading...
10.11.2011 - 22:21
moe5512

Written by Troy Killjoy on 10.11.2011 at 22:18

Written by moe5512 on 10.11.2011 at 22:16
How I felt while reading this review ( I'm the fat dude )

Did you feel my dick fuckin' your mind?

Yes, sir. Yes I did.
Loading...
10.11.2011 - 22:38
Spirit Molecule
spirit molecule
Really sad to see them go this way, decrowning and reptile ride were such awesome albums. Crazy riff fests
----
If you never wake up from a dream does it become reality?

Last fm
Don't click here
Loading...
11.11.2011 - 00:21
malaikat

At first I thought "Why the f*ck is he bashing them so hard, like he has something against them".

Then I remembered who Amoral is.

Now I agree with every word written.
Loading...
11.11.2011 - 00:25
Rating: 4
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by malaikat on 11.11.2011 at 00:21
Then I remembered who Amoral is.

I won't be surprised if others have a similar reaction. I think most Amoral fans subconsciously forgot about Amoral as an active band after they released Show Your Colors. And some people might have actively went out of their way to forget them.

I'm still holding on to the slim chance they at least go back to writing more complex music. I know they won't return to their death metal form but they have the potential to release some good heavy metal at least.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
Loading...
11.11.2011 - 02:00
Rating: 4
Kuroboshi

Written by Troy Killjoy on 11.11.2011 at 00:25

Written by malaikat on 11.11.2011 at 00:21
Then I remembered who Amoral is.

I won't be surprised if others have a similar reaction. I think most Amoral fans subconsciously forgot about Amoral as an active band after they released Show Your Colors. And some people might have actively went out of their way to forget them.

I'm still holding on to the slim chance they at least go back to writing more complex music. I know they won't return to their death metal form but they have the potential to release some good heavy metal at least.

The sad thing is that that potential good heavy metal probably never will reach the degree of intensity displayed in their previous works. I would say Amoral is the next In Flames. :p
Loading...
11.11.2011 - 06:34
dizzlemahnazgul

This review seems unnecessarily mean spirited. don't forget that rockstars have feelings, too.
Loading...
11.11.2011 - 08:25
Rating: 4
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by dizzlemahnazgul on 11.11.2011 at 06:34
don't forget that rockstars have feelings, too.

I'm sure the label execs and band members are losing sleep over a review I wrote.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
Loading...
11.11.2011 - 10:42
evilwayz

I gave their video for Silhouette a chance, but had to turn it off very quickly. It's a shame that the band has gone this way. Kick Mr. Koivunen out of the band and get a proper singer that fits the potential of the band that was present on their previous albums!
Loading...
11.11.2011 - 19:11
Rating: 4
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by evilwayz on 11.11.2011 at 10:42
Kick Mr. Koivunen out of the band and get a proper singer that fits the potential of the band that was present on their previous albums!

To be honest if they're going to keep with this sound, Koivunen is actually a very appropriate lead singer. I'm not saying he's good, but his style fits the music. The problem is the rest of the musicians are apparently fine with playing simplistic rock music without an ounce of creativity, and Koivunen's hung out to dry as a result.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
Loading...
15.12.2012 - 19:31
qlacs
"The Quaker"
Hahahaa somehow I missed this review so far. The album is good hard rock stuff somewhere about a rating of 7-8, but of course if you still expect a "Decrowning" you'll fall from very high... Also this Ari guy's voice is far too immature for this sort of music I think...
----
Loading...
05.01.2014 - 08:21
SmokyPeat

These guys used to kick some serious ass
Loading...

Hits total: 6899 | This month: 8