Amorphous: A Perfect Evil

Amorphous is a band with a long back story. They've been trying to make something happen since the early 90s, but really became a presence in the metal world in the late 2000s with the release of their debut album Return from the Dead. A Perfect Evil, their second full release, has actually been in the works for several years, but sounds like a solid, effortless, blend of songs. It is a solid blend of death, thrash, and doom metal that should grab some much-needed attention for these guys.

Musically, there isn't much here that hasn't been done before, but I'm not inclined to critique them too much for that. Sometimes the best thing a band can do is to show off their chops within established conventions. The biggest draw, for me, was the strong guitar playing by Pajak, who also shares vocal duties. His playing is mostly characterized by low-end riffing. Instead of the traditional death metal droning on a single string, though, Pajak plays power chords that bring to mind the heyday of early thrash. His soloing, though, was the real highlight of this recording, particularly on the album's second half. After hearing several straightforward death metal songs, I was nearly shocked to hear melodic lines developing across the gloom. Check out tracks like "Escape" and "The Abyss of Nothingness" for examples of what I mean. In these tracks (and a few others), the melodic solos don't sound out of place; instead, they bring a much-welcome relief from the pounding drums and the growly vocals. In "Agony, Part II," the guitars double-up on some strong harmonic lines, only to turn to some speedy scale patterns. The result was a nice blend of death metal with something bordering on the traditional. It made for an interesting listen.

Track Listing:
1. Psychosis
2. Deception...Lie...Forgiveness
3. Shred
4. My Revenge
5. Lonely Reality
6. Escape
7. The Abyss of Nothingness
8. Discouraged
9. Let's Paint the Death
10. Agony: Part II

Added: August 9th 2012
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1866
Language: english

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