This is the special edition of Amaranthe’s debut album, released several months after the original release of the album. So what’s the difference between this and the standard edition? Well for a start there are two extra songs on this version, and secondly there is a DVD included with music videos, behind the scenes footage and a tour documentary.
If you havent heard anything by Amaranthe yet then you’ve definitely been missing out. A quick glance at the photo on the cover might give the impression that this is a typical female fronted band, but nothing could be further from the truth. Amaranthe are probably unique in having three lead vocalists – two lead singers doing clean vocals – one male and one female, with another male singer doing the screams and growls. This gives Amaranthe a richer sound than most female fronted bands where they have a single female vocalist doing clean vocals and a male vocalist for the growls. Musically Amaranthe are fairly unusual again with only Dead by April doing anything comparable. Their music is a blend of power metal, death metal and pop which sounds like a strange mix but it works amazingly well and the result is a very radio-friendly form of metal. Its too metal to be called pop, and its too poppy to be called metal – its one of those sounds that just doesnt fit into a nice neat genre.
When I first listened to the album I enjoyed it, but the more I’ve listened to it over the last few months, the more its grown on me – its gone from a good album to being a really great album in my opinion. Live, the songs are sounding fantastic as well – I’m looking forward to seeing the bands first UK headline show in a few weeks time (12th December 2011 at the Borderline, London).
So what’s the verdict – is it worth buying? Well that’s a tricky one. If you havent already got the album then yes its definitely worth buying – this is a fantastic album and the extra bits included in the special edition make it an obvious choice compared to the standard edition. What about if you already own the standard edition? Well that’s a tough call – its going to depend how much of a fan you are. For a casual fan then the extra tracks are worth having, but these days you can buy them separately on itunes and the like. For bigger fans then the DVD probably makes the Special Edition worth buying, but its a decision you’ll have to make yourself.
Track listing (CD):
1. Leave everything behind
2. Hunger
3. 1,000,000 lightyears
4. Automatic
5. My transition
6. Amaranthe
7. Rain
8. Call out my name
9. Enter the maze
10. Directors cut
11. Act of desperation
12. Serendipity
Bonus tracks:
13. Breaking point
14. A splinter in my soul
DVD Contents:
”Hunger” music video
”Amaranthine” music video
Behind the scenes – the making of Hunger
2011 European tour documentary
Album recording studio diaries
