Customer Reviews

Amanethes

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Talk about a big change in sound. To quote Johan Edlund on Temple of the Crescent Moon, "It's been five long years", which was enough time for Tiamat to re-invent themselves. The results? Well, mostly good. Amanethes is one of Tiamat's most original and exciting releases of their career. The riffs and melodies are great and really harken back to albums like A Deeper Kind Of Slumber and Judas Christ. The biggest change? Johan's vocals. They are weird. For the first time since Wildhoney, Johan is using that growl of his, which works for the most part. However, gone is the smooth whisper-like singing he used on Slumber through Prey. Johan's new vocal styling will take some serious getting used to as it is kind of shakey, but it still compliments the music well. Listen to the opening vocals on the first track and the verses on Lucienne to see what I mean. Raining Dead Angels and Equinox of the Gods are HEAVY and they are great songs and a welcome change. Will They Come and Thirst Snake are very somber and melodic, while Meliae is probably the most beautifully written Tiamat song ever. Amanitis has some great mandolin, which adds a very medieval feel to Amanethes. This album is very satanic, but Tiamat somehow make it a beautiful experience. Amanethes also wins best Tiamat album cover ever. Hot! If you are a fan of Tiamat from Wildhoney to present then you must get this album because it is truly an original and new Tiamat experience, it just may take some getting used to. Enjoy.

Tiamat has pulled a hat trick with this album. for one, Johan Edlund's voice is different, the album credits list that the guitar players play electric and acoustic guitars, as well as Johan playing the bouzouki. they also seem to be rocking a little harder with this album.they also have an evil vibe about them too. on the third song, Johan Edlund sounds like Type O Negative frontman Peter Steele, and on the fourth song, there is some acoustic picking. all in all there are some new textures on this album. I recommend this album to metal fans everywhere who appreciate metal with different elements.

It's been a long wait since the last release... Very impressed with the content of the new album, a nice mix of there older material and latest releases.
Great job!

This is a very welcome return to form for Tiamat, who had disappointed me with their last four albums. This goes back to mixing "Wildhoney" with rhythms from the "Clouds" album! Really great songs, good lyrics, and I highly recommend this album to old and new Tiamat fans.

This album is in perfect equilibrium between the heavier sounds of Tiamat's earlier work and the more melodic elements of their later albums. Throwback songs like "Equinox of the Gods" are definitely metal enough to satisfy any fan of old Tiamat, yet avoid thrashing for thrashing's own sake, and still carry enough melody for fans of new Tiamat to appreciate. The less heavy songs, like "Meliae," are masterful enough that they are gripping in spite of their gentle sound.

As for the lyrics, they also strike a perfect balance. Johan has abandoned the blunt and uncreative statements like Scapegoat's "I worship the devil" from Clouds, but he's also abandoned the esoteric allusions of Prey's "Cain," which was riddled with obscurity only mythological, biblical, and literary experts could crack. He is again as overtly Satanic as he ever was, but he's found a more artful way of expressing it, relying on lyrical expression and imagery instead of sneaky references or bludgeoning listeners over the head.

What can I say? It's the best I've heard of Tiamat. It's beautiful, it's rich, and it's perfect.

Tiamat is another band I've been following since 1995. Each album they put out is unique (sometimes to the point of sounding like a different band.) Amanethes is a little different, however. It's kind of a culmination of all their works... Like their older works, it's a bit more aggressive than their newer productions. It still as the ambiance of their newer albums, however. As a whole, the album is rich and deep, and flows very nicely from beginning to end. Amanethes is another "must have" album for any fan of European metal!

For me, everything after A deeper Kind of Slumber has been downhill, i love Tiamat!! since the first time i heard "In a Dream" when i was 12, but this album has no passion, no energy, the traks blend with no chills in your neck or anywhere else... Johan lost it... i really hope he finds it once again.
I you have only listened to this album, and don't really know what i mean, go get your hands on :

1. Wildhoney
2. Clouds
3. A deeper kind of Slumber
4. The Astral Sleep

What can I say that hasn't already been said? This C.D. is one of their greatest works!

I agree. Great album. Sort of a return to form for this sadly unknown-in-the-States gothic metal band. My rating is a combo of 5 stars for the music, and one star for poor quality control from Nuclear Blast. If you listen to several tracks, (the soft beginning of song six, for instance), you'll hear some annoying static sounds. I wrote to Nuclear Blast, and have gotten no reply, and since they are obviously still selling the CD, I guess they hope no one else notices. Maybe you won't if you listen on your crappy I-Pod headphones or computer speakers, but on a nice home stereo system, it's ANNOYING! I also know it's not in the recording, as I had downloaded a torrent of this album months ago, and no static sounds anywhere. No, it's a manufacturer's problem, and Nuclear Blast is obviously not going to correct it.