Amethista
Realitale
6.9
In an effort to agitate all of the metal purists in our audience, I will now devote a few paragraphs to a promising band out of Italy that plays a symphonic variant of black metal that even manages to incorporate operatic female vocals. Amethista walks the line between the boisterousness of Cradle of Filth and the delicateness of Elis. Normally this combination of elements would turn me off, but their use of electronic instruments and groove reminds me of the excellent Shade Empire.
Realitale is produced cleanly and effectively, with all instruments coming through loudly but clearly. Their keys sparkle, the drums add cadence without overpowering the mix, and the guitar tone has some bite, although it could be more fearsome. A vocal duo alternates between pretty, classical female vocals and an elfish male rasp, a’ la Gollum from LotR.
“The Whim of Rha” opens the album with a haunting passage that could have come from a Nile intro. Eventually, the pace intensifies with a thrashy verse backed up by very pointed keys. At ten minutes, the song has plenty of time to be adventurous and does just that with numerous tempo and vocal changes. “Soul’s Vibrations” also plays the heavy symphonic sound right, although the general pace is much choppier than the rest of the album. This is completely counterbalanced by “My Moment is Eternity”, which is a gothic ballad of sorts, complete with acoustic guitar, a song that could play backup on a Nightwish disc.
While Amethista's release may not be as in-line with current trends as a new Dimmu Borgir album, they write an enjoyable album. I will certainly insert a few of these songs in my rotation. While many of us would do without the soft moments, they are not jarring transitions. For those who enjoy flamboyant black-ish metal, Realitale is a debut album that is worth a glance.
