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'Hospital Metal', when I first read those words, I scratched my head and tried to decide if it were a physical or a mental hospital that these guys were talking about. After all, metal lyrics often discribe sickening themes with blood and guts shattering everywhere. However, a lot of metal bands are simply insane and the members are very lucky that they are in a metal band, otherwise they would be locked away for their pathological psyche. Let's face it, many metalheads are sick in the mind but found a way to cope with (an equally diseased) society. So long live metal, because without it this earth would become one enourmous mental institution.
Amanita Virose doesn't want to call themselves thrash, death or black metal. These Fins chose 'hospital metal' to describe their music. These are actually five induviduals with completely different musical tastes who found each other between the start of the band in 2008 and the entry of the keyboard player in 2014. We'll get back to the keyboards later, first let's check the other elements on this suberb debut.
I didn't mention the three genres by coincidence. Amanita Virosa brings a blend of thrash, death and black metal, reminding me of bands like Children Of Bodom or Dimmu Borgir. They have turned their emotions of hate, sorrow, distress and despair into nine (eight if you don't count the intro) intense metal songs, loaded with power and melody. Distorted guitars, powerful drums and a mix of growls and screams deliver a high energy album that is way to interesting to be ignored.
Right after the intro, we're immediately treated to the sheer power and speed that Amanita Virosa seems to adore. 'My Slightest Hope' is a well varied song that will please metalheads far and wide. 'No Life King' embraces a high DIY punk attitude, both in guitars and drums but the vocals make this is a brutal death metal song that somehow turns into something industrial that reminds me of Samael. 'Dead Inside' brings out the blastbeats and evolves into an epic piece of dark metal.
They keyboards actually make the album complete. His presence brings an extra sense of atmosphere to the music, usually with elaborate soundscapes but often with old fun-fair like melodies. In 'Valuta Vereni Tähän Maahan' he manages to turn a 'not-bad' song into a blackened orgy of sounds. On '
Mental Failure' he opens the track by taking us to the gloomy days of past times, sounding like a harpichord or something. Without the keyboard player, this song would be perfect for Arch Enemy by the way. But fact remains, the keyboards are an extremely imporant element within this music.
By now, I think I'll see this as 'mental hospital metal' because this stuff is quite sick. In all, I would really recommend checking this album because this is a high-quality example of modern day melodic and atmospheric black metal. There is a lot of variation and a lot of different tempos to bang your head to. Let's keep an eye on these guys because they might be heading to the top of today's metal scene.
Serge
Amanita Virose doesn't want to call themselves thrash, death or black metal. These Fins chose 'hospital metal' to describe their music. These are actually five induviduals with completely different musical tastes who found each other between the start of the band in 2008 and the entry of the keyboard player in 2014. We'll get back to the keyboards later, first let's check the other elements on this suberb debut.
I didn't mention the three genres by coincidence. Amanita Virosa brings a blend of thrash, death and black metal, reminding me of bands like Children Of Bodom or Dimmu Borgir. They have turned their emotions of hate, sorrow, distress and despair into nine (eight if you don't count the intro) intense metal songs, loaded with power and melody. Distorted guitars, powerful drums and a mix of growls and screams deliver a high energy album that is way to interesting to be ignored.
Right after the intro, we're immediately treated to the sheer power and speed that Amanita Virosa seems to adore. 'My Slightest Hope' is a well varied song that will please metalheads far and wide. 'No Life King' embraces a high DIY punk attitude, both in guitars and drums but the vocals make this is a brutal death metal song that somehow turns into something industrial that reminds me of Samael. 'Dead Inside' brings out the blastbeats and evolves into an epic piece of dark metal.
They keyboards actually make the album complete. His presence brings an extra sense of atmosphere to the music, usually with elaborate soundscapes but often with old fun-fair like melodies. In 'Valuta Vereni Tähän Maahan' he manages to turn a 'not-bad' song into a blackened orgy of sounds. On '
Mental Failure' he opens the track by taking us to the gloomy days of past times, sounding like a harpichord or something. Without the keyboard player, this song would be perfect for Arch Enemy by the way. But fact remains, the keyboards are an extremely imporant element within this music.
By now, I think I'll see this as 'mental hospital metal' because this stuff is quite sick. In all, I would really recommend checking this album because this is a high-quality example of modern day melodic and atmospheric black metal. There is a lot of variation and a lot of different tempos to bang your head to. Let's keep an eye on these guys because they might be heading to the top of today's metal scene.
Serge
