Now I don't like many Australian bands I'll be honest and I almost universally loathe Australian metal (bit of a copout coming from an Australian musician I know). However The Amenta are one of those few exceptional Australian metal bands that instead of worshipping and rehashing the works of others, are making international quality music with their own unique vision. Occasus is a brutal and punishing album with a distinct emphasis on atmosphere (at which these guys excel). And much like Nile the attention and effort that The Amenta put into their thematic, visual and atmospheric elements of their package makes them truly stick out from the crowd in the extreme metal field. This is a handsome achievement in itself and they are well aware of the do's and don'ts in that regard - enigmatic one word song titles are great! Why announce how angry, scary and manly you are if your music can effectively do it for you?
As I mentioned before this album is brutal, the opening track 'Erebus' is the perfect example of that - assaulting the listener with light speed double kick, blasting, black metal guitar and discordant synths from the word go. I'm a real big fan of the atmospheric synth interludes that occur in a lot of their songs and that occupy entire songs themselves. One thing I think can be essential to making it through and ultimately enjoying an entire album of this nature is having some dynamic variance and changing it up a bit with some contrasting sounds. Mictlan is my favourite song on the album because it is so well written and I really enjoy the stark starcraftian vibe elicited by one of said interludes. Geilt is another top track which sounds like a mix of Emperor and something off Pestilences Spheres album with an extra dose of heaviness.
Some of the synth work can be a little on the cheesy side (bearing in mind I'm oversensitive to cheese) and the vocals aren't the greatest I'll admit. However the sheer ferocity, use of dynamics and atmosphere and intelligent songwriting make this the best Australian metal album I've ever heard and one of the best metal albums post 2000.
Tracklisting:
| 1 | Erebus (4:09) | |
| 2 | Mictlan (4:51) | |
| 3 | Zero (4:16) | |
| 4 | Senium (2:03) | |
| 5 | Nihil (5:18) | |
| 6 | Geilt (4:15) | |
| 7 | Sekem (4:45) | |
| 8 | Occasus (3:10) | |
| 9 | Ennea (4:09) | |
| 10 | Sangre (4:58) |
Bonus Tracks:
11. Inritus
12. Mictlan
13. Ennea
14. Nekuia
Download Here: - Occasus [Deluxe Edition] (2007).rar [106.23MiB]
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