- Not to be confused with their song, Amaranthine
Amaranthe | |
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Amaranthe performing in an aftershow party after their victory in Gothenburg | |
Background information | |
Origin | Sweden and Denmark |
Genres |
Power metal Melodic death metal Metalcore |
Years active | 2008–present |
Labels |
Spinefarm Records Universal |
Associated acts |
Dragonland Nightrage Kamelot |
Website | www.amaranthe.se |
Members |
Elize Ryd Jake E Olof Mörck Morten Løwe Sørensen Johan Andreassen Henrik Englund |
Past members | Andreas Solveström |
Amaranthe is a Swedish/Danish band that fuses melodic metal with pop melodies. Formed by Jake E (Dreamland, Dream Evil) and Olof Mörck (Dragonland, Nightrage) in 2008, the project began taking shape when singers Elize Ryd (toured with Kamelot) and Andreas Solveström (Cipher System, Within Y) signed on, as did drummer Morten Løwe Sørensen (The Cleansing, Koldborn, Mercenary). Bassist Johan Andreassen (Engel) joined after the photoshoot for the Leave Everything Behind demo but before the recording of the first album Amaranthe.
History[]
The band was originally called "Avalanche", until May 2009, when the band was forced to change their name, due to legal issues, to "Amaranthe". They later released their first demo, Leave Everything Behind.
The band's debut album, Amaranthe, was released in April 2011 and reached a peak position of 35th on Swedish charts and 16th on Finnish Charts. The album received mixed reviews, with reviewers tending to either love it
Their second album, The Nexus, was released in March 2013. Guitarist Olof Mörck described the album as having greater contrasts, a more controversial mix of genres, and featuring more creative freedoms than Amaranthe. According to Olof, the band "took everything [up] to eleven" in the new album. The album reached 6th on Swedish charts, 4th on Finnish charts, and reached a peak of 12th on the US Heatseekers charts.
In October 2013, harsh vocalist Solveström left the band and was replaced by Henrik Englund (Scarpoint).
Their third album, Massive Addictive, was released on the 21st of October 2014.
NVSC 04[]
Amaranthe were revealead as the fourth Danish representatives in the North Vision Song Contest. DR had previously invited the band to represent the country in the contest, however they declined due to their tour. Elize Ryd, who was the Danish spokesperson in the third edition said that she would like to represent Denmark in the contest after their unsuccessful attempt to represent Sweden. Their song, "Amaranthine", was presented on 5 August 2013 along with their tour's dates.
Amaranthe performed twentienth in the second semi-final, as Denmark returned in the semi-finals. They got the fourth place and qualified to the grand final where they got one hundred and seventy-five points, making Denmark the winner of the fourth edition in Sweden. Even though it's Denmark's best result, Medina with "Kl. 10" held the record for the top scored Danish entry at that time.
NVSC 11[]
Amaranthe participated in the seventh edition of Dansk Melodi Grand Prix as the returning act selected by DR. They performed "Drop Dead Cynical" which went on to win the edition and therefore represented the country in the eleventh edition. A few days after the results of the selection the band started The Hunger Tour – Chapter 2. The tour was the continuation of the band's first promotional tour which was also for the contest.
Amaranthe performed twenty-first in the first semi-final and qualified in the fourth place with 95 points, just like in the fourth edition. After performing last in the grand final, Amaranthe managed to bring the second victory of Denmark with 231 points, setting a new record of points.
Musical style[]
Amaranthe's music is generally considered a mixture of European power metal and melodic metal, though it has also been described as containing elements of pop music, metalcore, and even eurodance. Lead singer Elize Ryd acknowledges the difficulties in trying to ascribe their music to one specific genre and describes Amaranthe's sound as "dance-metal with a taste of death and modern/melodic metal," though she admits that, unlike death metal, their focus is on "positive energy" and "open[ing] up minds [and] give[ing] passion, strength and love", which is a defining feature of Power metal music. Amaranthe's slick, processed sound has earned the ire of certain portions of metal fandom, with some going so far as to say that Amaranthe is "not metal" with it being more akin to "techno dance beats done in metal form."
Band members[]
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Discography[]
Studio albums[]
Title | Album details |
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Amaranthe |
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The Nexus |
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Massive Addictive |
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EP's[]
Title | EP details |
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Leave Everything Behind |
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Singles[]
- "Hunger" (2011)
- "Rain" (2011)
- "Amaranthine" (2011)
- "1.000.000 Lightyears" (2012)
- "The Nexus" (2013)
- "Burn with Me" (2013)
- "Invincible" (2013)
- "Drop Dead Cynical" (2014)
- "Trinity" (2014)
Music videos[]
Year | Title | Director | Album |
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2011 | "Hunger" | Patric Ullaeus | Amaranthe |
"Amaranthine" | |||
2012 | "1.000.000 Lightyears" | Johan Carlén | |
2013 | "The Nexus" | Patric Ullaeus | The Nexus |
"Burn with Me" | |||
"Invincible" | |||
2014 | "Drop Dead Cynical" | Massive Addictive | |
2015 | "Digital World" | ||
"True" |
External links[]
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