Search - Amenta :: Occasus

What just happened?

William L. Kamerman | New Paltz, NY USA | 01/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album makes me think of the Terminator movie series. If SkyNet was real, and the machines took over the world and exterminated all humans, this would be the soundtrack. Brilliantly and terrifyingly laid out with crushing (and indecipherable) guitar work, eery and surreal synth, drums that tear holes in the universe, and vocals that make you question your existence.



The first time I listened to this album in its entirety, I couldn't listen to anything else for hours after. I just sat there and thought about what had happened, amazed and confounded.



Listen to this, and hear the Amenta shatter the world and nail it back together. If you're into death or black metal (though I think their sound is more exclusively death), you'd be doing yourself a huge disservice by not listening to this album."

Awesome industrial black / death metal from Australia!

Ben Stubbs | Australia | 05/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well what have we here!!?? For many years now I have complained about the complete lack of quality metal within my home country Australia. With Alchemist standing head and shoulders above the rest for a long time and Disembowelment's "Transcending Into the Peripheral" album still being the greatest achievement by an Australian band even after more than 10 years since its release.



So it came as a rather big surprise to find the members of The Amenta are from Sydney, as I've never heard of them at all. What's even more surprising is that "Occasus" is a huge sounding, heavy as hell slab of industrial death metal. To give you an idea of what The Amenta sound like, I would say that they are a cross between the industrial death metal of Zyklon and the industrial black metal of Aborym, backed up with Dimmu Borgir's operatic extremity and a singer that sounds a bit like the guy from Cryptopsy. If I'd heard that description before hearing the album, I would have expected a fantastic album, and "Occasus" really delivers.



Let's get something straight though before I move on. This is brutal and not for the faint of heart! But unlike many brutal releases, this one has an amazing production that allows the listener to hear exactly what's going on at all times. Some people may have a problem with the triggered sound of the drums, which comes across as very artificial sounding. Personally I think they sound fantastic and they really work within the spacey industrial realm that The Amenta call home.

Also, the band understands the need to mix slower atmospheric sections with their brutality. The second track "Mictlan" showcases this perfectly by following up straight out attack with an atmospheric interlude and a mid paced melodic section, while never losing its way.



I have to be fairly pedantic to find faults with "Occasus', as I'm totally blown away by it, but I must admit that it does get slightly repetitive, and Cessium 137's vocal style, while never losing its intensity, does lack the variety that would push the band into higher accolades.



To conclude this review I would like to send a big "cheers" to The Amenta for proving me wrong in regards to the local metal scene within my homeland. I stand corrected, and look forward to viewing your ascendancy towards to stars which seems inevitable."