MASS VI
Neurot Recordings
Sludge Metal, Post-Metal.
Listening Format: Digital
I saw Belgian Sludge Metal masters Amenra live at Damnation Festival a couple of years ago and it still remains one of the most emotionally charged performances I've ever witnessed. Amenra tend to stand out from a lot of their genre peers by pouring absolutely everything into their music. Previous album 'Mass V' at the time of release was their greatest to date. It felt like the album they had always been building towards. Not only is their dynamic take on Sludge and Post Metal much more refreshing than many of their peers, but listening to that album and seeing it performed live actually DRAINED me. Their music is built on so much tension, agony and intensity that it feels like enduring the most rigorous therapy session. You want to lay down and have a nap after listening to this band.
It's safe to say that there was a huge amount of hype for 'Mass VI', falling five years since their previous full length. Between this time Amenra have still been fairly active as a band, releasing a live album as well as doing something a bit different by recording acoustic songs. Outside of this, vocalist Colin H Van Eeckhout released a solo record, plus him and other band members also made some fantastic releases with their Church of Ra offshoot bands Oathbreaker, Wiegedood and Absent In Body. The Belgian collective of bands seem to be looking to take over the Extreme Metal scene, with a string of highly acclaimed projects.
Running at just over 40 minutes in total, Amenra return with an album fairly reminiscent of their masterpiece 'Mass V'. The production is a little bit more polished. In particular CHVE's vocals have really improved. He implements less spoken word and more clean singing than ever before, with a hushed voice reminiscent of Kayo Dot's Toby Driver. Of course his high pitched screams and wails are just as aggressive and visceral as ever. Clearly CHVE has made more of a focus on improving his singing voice and the overall diversity of his vocals has reached an all time high. It works especially well on album highlight 'A Solitary Reign' where his vocals have been multi-tracked combining ferocious screams and haunting clean singing of the repeated mantra "There is a distance in your eyes".
But when it comes to the rest of the band, it actually feels like Amenra are playing things a little safe here. Amenra know what kind of chords, tempos and song dynamics work for them, and 6th time around it feels a little too familiar, like I've heard it all before. Even the most passionate Amenra fan can probably admit that the riffs in 'Children of the Eye' and 'Plus Pres de Toi' have basically been used before. The album's worst track 'Spijt' feels very much like Amenra on autopilot, like they started a song and forgot to finish it, so just threw in a 2 minute snippet and left it like that. It barely even works as an interlude to break up the album, it's just a real headscratcher. Album closer 'Diaken' also left me on a cold note. At the end of it's 11 minute duration it just kind of ends, without a satisfying conclusion. A little underwhelming considering 'Mass V' had one hell of an emotional climax.
And there lays the biggest problem with 'Mass VI'... I personally just don't feel an emotional connection with most of these songs. Even though all the right ingredients have gone into the oven, this just feels all too familiar. Even though CHVE is yelling from the bottom of his heart on this album, with another highly dynamic, tour-de-force vocal performance, I'm left feeling a cold void. 'Mass V' and parts of their previous albums hit me really hard. I'd be banging my head along, clenching my fist in their air and especially with 'Mass V', I often end up playing the album straight away again once it has finished. The best cut here is 'A Solitary Reign' which I feel lived up to what I was hoping for from this album. Even Amenra mix things up a bit with a folky guitar arpeggio leading the track, but ultimately it comes to the same conclusion as many Amenra songs. I guess maybe I've been spoilt by Oathbreaker's 2016 masterpiece 'Rheia' (also featuring guitarist Lennart Bossu). Even though I thought Oathbreaker's first two records were great, 'Rheia' was a massive step up, improving the band's sound in almost every aspect, delivering a much more ambitious release than anything they have done before. In a way I was adamant that 'Mass VI' would be an even bigger beast than anything the band had done before it. When actually it not only feels like the band are holding back a little, but struggling to say anything they haven't already expressed. The guitar riffs, the ebbs and flows, and the vocal phrasings are just far too reminiscent and predictable... And I'm just not FEELING that weight, that sorrow, that anguish...
Sure I did enjoy this record, I mean it's freakin' AMENRA! A band I think every fan of Extreme Metal or even Post Rock should have on their radar, but 'Mass VI' also feels like a bit of a missed opportunity too. Even Amenra on autopilot is still pretty darn good though, so hopefully it will work for you! 7/10.
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