De doorn

I have to confess that I didn't know Amenra until last year when I stumbled upon them on a festival somewhere in the south of Germany. Captivated by the spell of their incredible live performance I stopped by and watched the quintet from Belgium in awe. Over the past year their albums became a steady companion on my long drives to work and back, so I think it's about time to review their 2021 release "De Doorn".

Why am I reviewing this album? Well, I think this one is capturing the magic of Amenra best. Being written completely in Flemish (the mother tongue of the musicians) this release presents us a mix of depressing acoustic melodies, spoken word passages, high pitched yelling and incredibly hard yet melodic riffs. Paired with the poetic, dark lyrics you've got yourself an album in which open minded black metal fans and hardcore kids can find joy alike. Now don't get me wrong: Amenra fully understand how to mix those genres together without losing their unique sound. While many bands fail to ride the fence between modern metal sounds and dark black/death metal passages the Belgians are proving their talent with every single release - especially with this one. The vocals, oh my dear! I guess Mr. Van Eeckhout definitely has some demons. It's not just his screaming that drives right through heart and soul, the spoken word passages (De Evenmens) also trigger an absolutely terrific, uncomfortable feeling. I also want to mention the drumming. Being slightly above average on all others of Amenra's releases, I find it absolutely outstanding on this one. Walking a narrow edge between blast beats and silent passages the drums help to trigger an immersive feeling, while the guitars and bass are mostly carried by hard rffing and acoustic passages.

Mixing all of these things together might just as well be the downside of "De Doorn" - it has some length to it. The impatient metalhead could get bored with the long intros (Ogentroost) or the monotonous melodies (Het Gloren). I fully undestand that building atmosphere and feelings is the main tool for Amenra, but sometimes less is more - especially in this case.

Production wise there is nothing to complain about. The mixing is good - nothing more nothing less. What really stands out for me though is the album cover (as with every Amenra album). I can't help to find it absolutely stunning. One would say, that the cover artwork has nothing to do with the music itself. Yeah well in this case it catches the whole feeling and atmosphere of the release perfectly. Like a thorn, hurting, uncomfortable in black and white solitude. To whoever designed this: Kudos to you!

To conclude matters: This one is not an absolute banger or even Amenra's best release, but it is atmospheric, artsy and melodic. Good enough to give it a very positive review. This also underlines Amenra's high potential to be a very special band and their status as Belgiums most talented metal group.