Progressive, technical and melodic death-thrasing metal. Got that? Good. That is one way to summarize Amoral, the Helsinkian band celebrating its 10th anniversary, and also their third album "Reptile Ride". But, you know, better not try to sum them up in neat little package in any of the myriad sub-genres of Metal.

Ten years. How did that happen? As per tradition Amoral started as a band playing covers, and their ilk was thrash metal. Staying within these confines they most definitely would have not survived for a decade. Thus it happened that the ambitions of the founders Ben Varon, Silver Ots and Juhana Karlsson demanded them to move on. And thus, the real Amoral we've come to know was born.

At the time of their second demo "Other Flesh" in 2002, the band started to get noticed in the blatantly overblown metal scene of Helsinki/the whole of Finland. Their unquestionable musical skills proven, their liveshows were already then the hot topic of many a peer group. Their unbridled enthusiasm combined with absolute professionalism caught also the attention of the sadly demised label Rage of Achilles. Later picking at the remains of RoA Spikefarm opted to release anew Amoral's debuting effort "Wound Creations". After rave reviews the band took their musical magnificence abroad. Europe was ready to be taken. More fame and success followed their second album "Decrowning" and ensuing tours.

At first Amoral seemed to follow a very distinct path, but now that has expanded to a proper highway, to say the least. Courage and trust in their skills is mandatory when a band starts experimenting with their music; when one thinks outside the box, steps out of the genre-specifics. The end result does not sound scattered but varied, and Amoral sounds more and more like themselves.

Envigouring this death-scented barrage is a secret ingredient extracted from the unadulterated essence of rock'n'roll. This mixture makes for an interesting and refreshing brew. And as we heat things up, up to a point of cataclysmic embreachment, we can also mellow it out by some smoothly flowing melody-driven passages. Thus the overall result is softened a notch, which one using fancy words might call dynamic.

Never fear. Your favourite band has not wimped out. It's still technical, and heavy as hell. It's still raunchy, saucy and feisty. And there are manly man-vocals roaring in the upheaval of this deathly musical turbulence. To put it bluntly: it has matured. This is not inherently a bad thing. You'll see. I mean, hear.

Go now, the reptile awaits.