Amaranthe's 'Helix' - Album Review

The Swedish six-piece pop metal act Amaranthe are now much more than a simple curio. After bursting onto the scene back in 2011 with their self-titled debut album, the band have become pretty big hitters in the metal world - known chiefly for their unique sound that mixes power and melodic death metal with shiny pop music. On paper this is a combination that probably should not work, but somehow the band have continued to make the mix of genres hold together. Now, seven years after the release of their debut album (which in my opinion is still their best work), the band have unleashed their fifth studio album entitled Helix onto the world. While Helix does not exactly depart far from the band's trademark sound, it does sound fresh. While I have enjoyed the past couple of Amaranthe albums on a more casual basis, both 2014's Massive Addictive (which I reviewed here) and 2016's Maximalism (which I briefly talked about here) felt somewhat stale when compared to the band's first two albums. Both of the recent albums contained strong songs, but overall they just lacked the spark of the band's early work. Ideas were being rehashed, and things were just becoming a bit predictable. It seemed that one of the band's founding members, clean male singer Jake E agreed as he left the band last year and has since started the melodic metal outfit Cyhra. This left Elize Ryd as the only one of the band's original three vocalist still in the band, but Amaranthe soldiered on with Nils Molin (Dynazty) being recruited to replace E. It is this new version of the band which has produced Helix, and it sees the band sounding more vibrant than they have for a few years. It is probably the band's best work since 2013's The Nexus, and sees the band taking their music in a slightly heavier direction. Harsh vocalist Henrik Englund has been a part of the band since 2013, but his role in the band (as was his predecessor's) has always been somewhat tokenistic. His growls were always used sparingly, but it seems that a more conscious effort has been made this time around to make more use of his talents. Englund is even credited with co-writing a couple of the songs here, which has helped to pick up some of the slack left by E who was historically one of the band's main songwriters. Now that burden largely falls to Ryd and guitarist Olof Mörck. Mörck in particular seems to be embracing this slightly heavier sound with some more heavy-handed guitar work throughout, but his synths still make a big impact. As always the ever present bassist Johan Andreassen and drummer Morten Løwe Sørensen round out the band, and both do their bit to make sure that Helix sounds as big as it does.

Opening with The Score, and it's swirling atmospheric and spoken word intro, the album gets off to a fine start with a crushing mid-paced metal riff and juddering synths. Anyone familiar with Amaranthe's sound will instantly recognise all of their tropes here, with the three vocalists all featuring early on - with Ryd taking the lion's share of the spotlight here with a sugary chorus that sees the synths from the intro return. The verses are sometimes a little more sparse than average, with Andreassen's bass dominating the mix, but elsewhere the band's usual wall-of-sound approach is intact. A heavier section late on makes the most of Englund's vocal talents, before Mörck launches into a short guitar solo that is packed full of plenty of little tricks. Lead single 365 is much poppier, with Ryd again dominating vocally and fuzzy synths permeating everything. The guitar riffing is heavier than usual, and does quite a lot of heavy lifting in the background, but the vocals are really pushed to the fore to ensure that the big melodies stand out. The band's trademark mix of heavy riffing and poppy vocals has been emphasised even more than usual here, and takes Amaranthe's sound to new extremes. The chorus is one of the most memorable moments on the album, with Ryd's chirpy, high-pitched vocals carrying the melody perfectly while Englund storms in occasionally with some barks. Much of the riffing here is out of the tech metal school of angular patterns, which is something new for the band but it is a style that seems to fit well into their established sound. Inferno picks up the pace and sounds more something that would have been found on the band's early albums. There is more of a melodic death metal influence here with lots of vocals from Englund and some fast, intricate drumming from Sørensen. While the song is not as catchy as the big hitters found on those early albums, this is still one of the most instantly-memorable songs here. The chorus is packed full of big melodies, and is sure to go down well live, and the longer verses allow for all three vocalists to hold onto the spotlight for a little longer. A crushing instrumental section late on is dominated by some sparking synths, before Mörck adds a little bit of metal shredding for effect. Countdown feels a lot more like Top 40 pop than anything else on the album, but with all the attitude of metal. Ryd's seductive vocals enhance that poppy feel with a sultry delivery, but the chunky riffing adds a certain groove behind her that keeps things fairly heavy. More techy, mechanical riffing can be found in the song, and this shows off Sørensen's skills behind the kit with some stuttering double bass rolls.

The album's title track follows and is more of the band's typical sound, with sparkly synths dominating during the intro and Ryd and Molin duetting perfectly during the verses. Some parts of the verses strip everything back, leaving just a delicate synth backing for the vocals, whereas other parts feature booming, walking basslines from Andreassen that form the perfect mechanical backing for Englund's growls. Everything is wrapped up in a catchy, stadium-worthy chorus which shows just shows how musically diverse Amaranthe can be - especially when one looks beneath the surface. There is a lot going on in this short song, and it is one of the best moments here. Dream slows things down somewhat, and relies on a slow-paced doomy riff to drive the song early on, before a simple synth and drum backing allows for some vocal dominance. Ryd sounds great as always, but I am not sure that Englund's attempt at a half-rapped/half-screamed delivery really works. Rapping, when not done right, can be embarrassing - and while Englund's efforts are not quite on that level, I think it is fair to say that they are not great! The song's chorus, again sung by Ryd, is pretty strong however and sounds like something that your average pop star would include in a ballad with the addition of heavy guitars. It does redeem the song somewhat, but the strange verses mean that this is one of the album's weaker offerings. GG6 is not great either, and features some of the worst lyrics the band have ever written. I am not expecting Chaucer when listening to an Amaranthe album, and most of the band's efforts are fairly inane and/or cheesy, but GG6 is on a whole other level. Musically the song is quite strong, with techy, stop-start riffing and late 90s mu-metal synths creating a trippy and new sound for the band. Englund turns in a strong harsh vocal performance, and dominates the song, but the words coming out of his mouth sound like something a third division rapper would come up with on the spot. A sugary chorus improves things somewhat, but the lyrics are just as bad here - making the song another dud! Breakthrough Starshot is better and returns to more of a mid-paced sound with a strong driving riff from Mörck that keeps everything going. Molin, who has largely been a supporting player up to this point with only a few lines in each song, seems to have been given a bigger role here and tackles the first verse and shows what a strong vocalist he is. The clean male vocalist and harsh vocalist seem to have swapped places here, with Englund getting a lot more screen time than previously and Molin having a much lesser role than E ever did. This suits the album's heavier feel, but means that Molin's voice feels underused. It is great to see him in fuller flight here, and the song's chorus is another winner.

My Haven is another slower-paced song, but the grinding heavy guitars in the background stop it from ever being a ballad. The verses are quite sparse again, with Ryd's vocals standing out early on before Englund takes over as the heavy instrumentation comes crashing back in. This is the second of the two songs that Englund has co-written (the first being GG6) and this one certainly shows that he could become a big contributor to the band going forward. This is a song that sounds a little different from the average Amaranthe song without ever deviating too far from the band's established sound. The grinding, heavier sound works for the band and there are still plenty of chances for the big vocal melodies to shine. A trippy, techy instrumental section shows off a somewhat progressive side to the band also, which helps to make this song another highlight. Iconic picks up the pace again with the thrashiest riff on the album that certainly showcases the band's melodic death metal influences. Molin's vocals here are excellent, and he starts off with a bit of power metal scream that works really well. He and Englund take much of the vocal spots early on, with the parts with the latter also sounding great. They are possibly the heaviest the band have ever sounded, with raw riffing and fast drumming that sounds like something found on an early Arch Enemy album. Ryd joins in for the choruses, which are packed with the band's signature melodies that really stand out and soar - rising the song to even greater heights. Unified is the closest thing on the album to a true ballad, and is a bit of a vocal showcase for Molin who takes the lion's share of the vocals here. Sombre piano melodies mix in with the usual droning heavy guitar lines and punchy drums, but the song still manages to create a strong atmosphere despite this mix of styles. The band have done better ballads in the past, but this song helps to create a bit of a true change of pace at this late stage in the album. There are still some heavier moments however, but these are mostly kept to a minimum to allow the gentler side of the band to shine through. Mörck takes the chance to lay down a slower, more emotional guitar solo here too but sadly it is all too short! The album comes to an end with Momentum which again showcases the band's more typical sound, meaning that the album closes out as it began. All three of the vocalists are featured fairly equally here, with the two clean vocalists often joining forces and Englund adding the occasional growl here and there. It is an instantly-memorable song that ensures that listeners will have the song in their head long after the album has finished, which is sure to encourage repeat listens. Overall, Helix is a strong album from Amaranthe that seems to re-establish them as metal heavyweights after a couple of somewhat lacklustre albums. I like it that the band has taken a few risks here and there, not all of which has paid off, but it ensures that Helix remains consistently interesting and benefits from repeated listens.

The album was released on 19th October 2018 via Spinefarm Records. Below is the band's promotional video for 365.