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Category: Olof Mörck

Published on Leave a comment on Amaranthe – 365 (single)

The prospect of a new Amaranthe single is always reason for excitement, especially when it serves as a precursor to a new album. “Massive Addictive” and “Maximalism” were both great Eurodance records that largely coasted off the work of Britpop band Republica. Whereas Republica fully embraced their 80s wave-synthpop component on their “Speed Ballads” album, Amaranthe insists on its rock band setup, even though that is arguably their weakest and most redundant aspect. This advance single does nothing particularly novel with the sound that Amaranthe has been pushing for the last two records. It leans closer to “Massive Addictive” in terms of composition and is the recording debut for freshly-minted male singer Nils Molin who replaced Joacim "Jake E" Lundberg. Not that anybody comes to Amaranthe for the male singing. Amaranthe is all about Elize Ryd. Elize über alles…

‘365’ is the lead single and precursor to the new “Helix”. If the techno beats that serve as an opener are anything to go by you’d think that Amaranthe finally at long last abandoned the guitars and drums. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. Why Amaranthe still insists on a drummer is anybody’s guess as the standard 4/4 drumming could have been easily been replaced by computer beats by now. The sound effects in ‘365’ are something straight out of 90s Eurodance song (or a recent Dimmu Borgir album) and if it weren’t for the prevalent and apparently very necessary and completely vanilla groove riffs this would’ve been a straight up techno club banger. The highlight is, of course, doe-eyed Elize doing what she does best. Which is shaking her hips, singing, and engaging in the occassional spoken word and sultry whispering. It’s telling enough that ‘365’ is at its best when the guitars and drums are silent giving Ryd and the techno beats the space they require. Amaranthe has no need for male singers in two contrasting styles much in the same way their insistence on rock elements is redundant in lieu of the prominence of dance beats and electronics in their sound.

If past records are any indication for Amaranthe’s surge in popularity then it would be only just to acknowledge just how important Elize Ryd has been for the brand. Ryd was instrumental in Amaranthe changing from a stock symfo metal outfit into a full-blown Eurodance rock band. There’s no contesting that Olof Mörck is the creative force behind the entire operation but he’s practically invisible once Ryd takes centerstage. Amaranthe would have just been another modern rock band if it weren’t for her presence. On “Massive Addictive” Ryd took the forefront and hopefully “Helix” will capitalize on her considerable talents, both as a mascot and as a singer. Not only can Elize sing with the best of them, her outfits are always among the best too. There’s a good reason why she features as prominently in the music videos as she does. “Helix” returns to the band photography artwork from the early days after "Massive Addictive" and "Maximalism" opted for actual digital art. Amaranthe would be wise putting Ryd on the frontcover and finally leaving the last remnants of their rock band past behind. It’s now more clear than ever that Amaranthe wants to be an Eurodance-pop band and that’s okay. They shouldn’t in any way feel obligated to keep including duelling male vocals and standard rock instruments to please the old fanbase. ‘365’ is first and foremost a catchy pop song – and that’s when Amaranthe is at its best.

We will continue to cherish slim hope that Amaranthe, or Mörck rather, will come to their senses and realize the redundancy of their latent rock element. Amaranthe never was, is or will be, about riffs. Plenty of other bands are, but Amaranthe isn’t one of them. The switch to Eurodance was one of Mörck’s best creative decisions and the sooner he rids Amaranthe of every unnecessary instrument and band member, the bigger his band will become. The only thing keeping Amaranthe away from mainstream popularity and radio airplay is their insistence on heavy rock guitars and gruff vocals, both of which they don’t need in the first place. ‘365’ is a great enough teaser for the “Helix” album that will be released in October 2018.  We can’t shake the impression that Amaranthe would be an even much larger a band if they focused their efforts on and around Elize Ryd. If only Amaranthe themselves realized it, then they could arrange their efforts around her. It sort of makes you wonder when we're finally going to get that much overdue Elize Ryd solo album...

Published on Leave a comment on Amaranthe – Maximalism

“Maximalism” might not have been the album where Amaranthe at long last made their collective mind up and decided to go full Eurodance, but it's never for a lack of trying. “Massive Addictive” had the good fortune of living up to its title, and it was damn catchy to boot. On “Maximalism” everything is dialed up to 11: the dance beats, the ear-worm hooks, and Elize Ryd’s vocals. Amaranthe is still how we prefer them. One part Evanescence, one part Republica – and all awesome. “Maximalism” might not yield a ‘Ready to Go’, ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’, or ‘Bring Me To Life’ but it never stops aiming for the stars. If there ever was a time for this Swedish-Danish unit to stop fucking about. That time is now. Seriously, why are there still rock guitars and drums in this band? “Maximalism” is Eurodance. Simple.

They couldn’t be more obvious about it too. ‘Maximize’, the lead single, starts out like vintage 2 Unlimited. ‘21’ is a pale imitation of ‘Drop Dead Cynical’ but is not nearly as infectiously catchy despite being based around a very similar riff. ‘That Song’ is practically urban/r&b if it weren’t for the inclusion of a incidental pseudo-heavy riff. ‘Fury’ really wants to be a full-blown dance track but for some inexplicable reason insists on a rock song format, complete with gruff vocals, a robust riff and clattering drums that really should’ve been electronic beats by now. Similarly is ‘Break Down and Cry’ dogged by the rock stylings that keep it from fully blossoming into a dance ballad. ‘Faster’, quite surprisingly at that, isn’t a Within Temptation cover but clearly that’s where their inspiration lie. ‘Limitless’ and ‘Break Down and Cry’ are the prerequisite power ballads because “Maximalism” is nothing but a slavish retread of “Massive Addictive” and ‘Endlessly’ is a ballad for Ryd to show what she’s capable of. Ryd is all killer. The rest is delicious filler.

Judging by the songwriting credits the only two members in Amaranthe that really matter are Olof Mörck and Elize Ryd. There’s no contesting that Ryd is the face of the band and why she hasn’t gone to grace any album cover yet is a question for the ages. Nobody in the right mind listens to Amaranthe for Henrik Englund Wilhemsson and Joacim "Jake E" Lundberg. Nobody. Clearly this is Ryd’s band and there’s no good reason for the continued presence of the often duelling Wilhemsson and Lundberg. Yeah, it stands to reason that both men fill their respective parts admirably, but Ryd is the only of the three vocalists that matters in any significant capacity. Ryd is what sells Amaranthe. Ryd IS Amaranthe. There really is no excuse why she shouldn’t be the focal point in anything and everything that Amaranthe does. Amaranthe has arrived at a crossroads of sorts. Either go into the Eurodance direction completely or continue this safe neither-here-nor-there routine that frustrates audiences on both sides of the aisle. Everything is bigger on “Maximalism” – but those persistent rock guitars keep getting in the way.

The riffs, as vanilla and incidental as they are, in Amaranthe’s music are about as important as those in Evanescence’s, which is to say: not very much. In point of fact the sheer heaviness of “Maximalism” is actually quite relative and completely fabricated on their end. “Maximalism” is Eurodance at heart and it would benefit Amaranthe tremendously in finally abandoning the last remaining vestiges of that they once were a rock or metal band. It beggars the question why this band insists on three different vocal styles, and a rock style band setup – when they obviously want to be an Eurodance band. Secretly we had hoped that “Maximalism” would’ve finally seen Amaranthe embrace its Eurodance inclinations fully, but for hitherto inexplicable reasons they continue to insist on the rock aspect. Nobody comes to a band as Amaranthe for their riffs, or the drumming – likewise is nobody really invested (or interested) in the duelling male vocals. The focus is, or should be, on Elize Ryd for all the obvious reasons. Ryd is what sells Amaranthe. Ryd is the focal point in all their videos and much of their promotional material. Henrik Englund Wilhemsson and Joacim "Jake E" Lundberg need not to be in Amaranthe. There’s still a sliver of hope that Amaranthe will figure this out by the following album.

Which sort of beggars the question: why isn’t there a Russian equivalent of Amaranthe yet? t.A.T.u. did this very thing in 2000-2001 to incredible commercial success in Europe and Asia despite the fact that Lena Katina and Julia Volkova weren’t all that good singers in either their native Russian or English. The only difference, of course, being that t.A.T.u. actually did have some cultural impact with ‘Нас не догонят’ (‘Not Gonna Get Us’) appearing on the soundtrack to Swedish-Danish drama Lilja 4-Ever from director Lukas Moodysson. t.A.T.u. became idols for an entire subculture of disenfranchised youth. Then there are British bands like Kosheen and Republica that dominated the charts in the late nineties and early 2000s. What has Amaranthe to show for itself? That they can’t really decide what they want to be? Clearly Amaranthe aims for mainstream popularity and radio airplay, then why are they so deadly afraid to shed whatever negligible rock aspects that clog their Eurodance sound? It isn’t like there isn’t any precendent to this. Ukraine’s Semargl went from Satanic Pop Metal to purveyors of Discolove in the fraction of just a few short years. There’s absolutely no reason why Amaranthe shouldn’t, or couldn’t, too. It's as clear as day that they have the chops for it.

Was there a possibility of “Maximalism” topping “Massive Addictive”, the Eurodance surprise of 2014? No. At least not realistically. “Maximalism” is pretty much more of the same. Sometimes more catchy, sometimes not. “Maximalism” is everything that “Massive Addictive” was and then some. Does it always work? Not really, but that doesn’t make it any less of an absolute blast of an album. It only accentuates that Amaranthe have reached the ceiling of how far they can continue to push their sound without betraying their obvious metallic roots. The only way for Amaranthe go from here is to either stagnate (and keep their heavy rock element) or finally commit entirely to the poppy Eurodance sound that has become the quintessential element to their cross-genre appeal and success. “Maximalism”, true to its title, is an absolutely massive record and an addictive one at that – even if it pales slightly compared to the preceding “Massive Addictive”. It’s clear that Elize Ryd and her men have set themselves on the path to relative superstardom in their genre. If only they realized that that very genre is keeping them back from even bigger success.