Amenra have always been biblically huge in proportions, even if much of the world has yet to sit up and take notice. 'Mass V' may change that, however, as here Amenra are so colossal that they sound set to engulf the whole musical spectrum in their bleak embrace. Only four tracks long, 'Mass V' pushes Amenra’s music ever further into the depths and, as a result, becomes a record of gargantuan strength and intensity.
Although comparable in a sense to recently released records by the likes of Dragged into Sunlight and Neurosis, 'Mass V' sees Amenra solidify their own unique character more effectively than ever before. Darker and more meaningful than any black metal band in the world, anywhere, ever, Amenra cultivate intensity in a different way to the majority of ‘sludge’ or ‘post-metal’ bands plying their trade today. For this Belgian quintet the sounds grow and come into bloom perfectly naturally, in a manner that is more akin to ambient music than it is post-rock. It peaks with fearsomely heavy moments, but its general musical makeup is a little more understated than one might expect. The brutal kick-in of the thirteen minute 'A Mon Ame' may come out of almost nothing other than droning feedback after nearly three minutes but it feels entirely natural. Perhaps more than any other bands around at the moment, Amenra do not just capture intensity in sound but also in feeling and the world around us.
Whereas the likes of Isis and the aforementioned Neurosis have based their sound on musical dynamics, Amenra seem more content than ever to flow gracefully like a black stream of emotion pouring through the heart of their listeners. This is fiercely evocative music but it is hard to describe just how so. It makes no sense, but in a way the most powerful moment of the whole record is when Colin H. van Eeckhout reverts from his usual anguished shrieks to unusually decipherable clean singing during the opening passages of album closer 'Nowena I 9.10'. It is perhaps the quietest and most accessible moment on 'Mass V', but nevertheless it rips through the listener as potently as the densest, heaviest sections of the record.
It does not seem fair to judge this record in the way one judges most records. It is what it is, something disturbingly other and yet something restlessly familiar. 'Mass V' proves better than ever why Amenra are not just a band but, in many ways, a faith and a symptom of nature. This truly is the music of prayer, and Amenra are the preachers that the world so desperately needs. For that reason alone it necessitates only the highest of praise.
'Mass V' is out on the 26th October via Neurot Recordings.
An interview with Colin H. van Eeckhout of Amenra will be published on Stereoboard next week. Be sure to pop back and have a read.
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Although comparable in a sense to recently released records by the likes of Dragged into Sunlight and Neurosis, 'Mass V' sees Amenra solidify their own unique character more effectively than ever before. Darker and more meaningful than any black metal band in the world, anywhere, ever, Amenra cultivate intensity in a different way to the majority of ‘sludge’ or ‘post-metal’ bands plying their trade today. For this Belgian quintet the sounds grow and come into bloom perfectly naturally, in a manner that is more akin to ambient music than it is post-rock. It peaks with fearsomely heavy moments, but its general musical makeup is a little more understated than one might expect. The brutal kick-in of the thirteen minute 'A Mon Ame' may come out of almost nothing other than droning feedback after nearly three minutes but it feels entirely natural. Perhaps more than any other bands around at the moment, Amenra do not just capture intensity in sound but also in feeling and the world around us.
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