The Flashcards: Amenra - Mass II (2004/2005)

75/100

Genre: Sludge/post-metal/hardcore

Amenra is a sludge/post-metal giant from Belgium that is impossible to miss. They have remained consistent with their mass conceptual titles, which have now reached their fifth volume. This specific version of Mass II is the 2017 release, which compiles Prayer 9+10 (2004) and Mass II: Sermons (2005).

The musical atmosphere Amenra delivers here is still dirty, raw, and loaded with a wall of noise, as heard on "A Promise to Make," which leans more toward hardcore. Meanwhile, "Offerande" moves at a slower, heavier pace, making it perfectly suited as an opening hook. Following that, "From Birth to Grave From Shadow to Light" utilizes a sort of flanger effect on the guitar during the intro, which feels quite unique—though unfortunately, it eats up three minutes, which is far too long for a five-minute crescendo-based sludge/post-metal track. Clean vocals and guitars finally emerge to build the album's first truly emotional atmosphere in "Ritual I," featuring a riff structure and vocal delivery that mirror the preceding song. "Ritual II" then carries this forward with an acoustic intro, bringing back a snippet of the intro riff from "From Birth to Grave From Shadow to Light"—noticeable from the 06:00 mark onward—with a slight structural expansion in the drum patterns. Honestly, there is a real sense of satisfaction just typing this out.

Interestingly, listening to this album makes me feel as though Amenra isn't a band born out of Europe, but rather the US or UK, which tend to be more heavily steeped in a modern, industrial social-cultural aesthetic. Well, that is likely the heavy influence of the hardcore punk elements they employ.

Highlights: Offerande, Ritual I, Ritual II

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