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| Elize Ryd |
Vocalist Joacim
"Jake E." Lundberg and guitarist/keyboardist Olof Mörck had performed in various bands in their native Sweden
when they joined forces to form a new melodic power metal band in 2008. This
band, originally called Avalanche
before changing the name to Amaranthe
in 2009, was to be different in that it would alternate three types of lead
vocalists. Amaranthe's present line-up consists of Lundberg on clean male
vocals, Elize Ryd on clean female
vocals, Henrik Englund on unclean
vocals, Mörck on guitars and keyboards, Johan
Andreassen on bass and Morten Løwe
Sørensen on drums . Following three studio albums, Amaranthe released a compilation,
Breaking Point - B-Sides 2011-2015,
on October 30, 2015, consisting of b-sides and bonus tracks.
Amaranthe headlined tonight at the Marlin Room at Webster Hall as part of a 22-date North American
Massive Collision Tour. Lundberg bowed out of the tour due to a family
emergency, however, and Chris Adam Hedman Sörbye,
the lead singer of Swedish rock band Smash into Pieces, replaced Lundberg on clean male vocals. The three
vocalists frequently sang on the same songs, with the Ryd and Adam dual-gender clean-singing
effect contrasting sharply with Englund's death growls. The band opened with
newer songs, "Digital World" and "Trinity" before digging
into the catalog with "Hunger" from 2011's debut album. Ryd then
expressed approval of the intimate setting of the small venue; indeed, she had
already reached out and touched many fans during the opening songs. While most
of the music was radio metal for the masses, the band periodically hammered
some crunching power chords, which were quickly offset by floating synth lines
and Ryd's soaring vocals for an epic sound. The mix constantly hovered between
light and dark, dwelling mostly on the sunny side. Perhaps more than any band
before it, Amaranthe mastered the unlikely combination of commercial power
metal with elements of underground metal in doses small enough to challenge without
going over the edge. Marketed to the right audience, Amaranthe could be huge.
Visit Amaranthe at www.amaranthe.se.
