Band:	Amaranthe
Album:	Massive Addictive
Style:	Alternative metal, Heavy metal
Release date:	October 15, 2014
A review by:	Ivor

01. Dynamite
02. Drop Dead Cynical
03. Trinity
04. Massive Addictive
05. Digital World
06. True
07. Unreal
08. Over And Done
09. Danger Zone
10. Skyline
11. An Ordinary Abnormality
12. Exhale

Having shelved the release of the biography box it seems that Amaranthe have decided to ride the creative wave instead, leaving them less than two years between studio albums. The question is not so much whether this album sounds distinctively Amaranthe or not; it unmistakeably does. The real question is whether the band can hold their promise of stepping away from the path of non-evolution by being both bold and fresh.

The short version is yes and no. Yes in a sense that Massive Addictive is managing a swing at being somewhat fresh if put in proper context, and no in a sense that this change isn't enough to stun anyone, or raise any eyebrows either in a grander scheme of things. The thing is, Amaranthe's first two albums have already created a controversial expectation for a mix of symphonic metal, metalcore and pop music. This is a love-or-hate stereotype with loose and flexible boundaries and extrapolating on a controversial element doesn't get you the escape velocity needed to break out of the expected pattern.

Amaranthe doing a full revision of their sound would've been an unlikely and unbelievable curveball, hence the extrapolation on the main elements of the controversy - the blend of pop music. The ample addition of dubstep influenced passages of heavy distortion is an attempt at a massive sound, as referred to in the title of the album. It's a feeble attempt, though, if by "massive" you picture slabs of stone falling, as in Clutch or Mastodon. However, as such, those passages come with a switch of tempo and create some welcome dynamics in the song structures.

What is somewhat bothersome is that the keyboards often seem to be running along not just a completely different tune, but a whole different musical genre. There are moments when the music appears as one of those mashups of two incompatible music styles that you can find on YouTube. While nothing new, it's just not yet being done seamlessly enough to avoid noticing the stitches. The larger the gap, the harder it is to blend it all together and making it work flawlessly.

The album is catchy and addictive, though. They got that part of the title spot on and, disregarding minor bumps, they have got the flow of the album right as well, and it largely falls into place already upon the first listen. All in all, the album delivers on what Amaranthe stands for. It's easy on the ear and easy on the mind. You wouldn't be listening to it if you weren't looking for that. To my personal satisfaction, there's enough of a change in sound to show that the band isn't exactly stalling and stagnating, similar and familiar but not the same being the keywords here.