AMORAL – Reptile Ride

AMORAL - Reptile Ride
  • 7.5/10
    AMORAL - Reptile Ride - 7.5/10
7.5/10

Summary

Spikefarm Records
Release date: August 15, 2007

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Prior to releasing their first album Wound Creations in 2004, Helsinki, Finland-based Amoral played Thrash covers for several years. When they decided there was more to their musical life than playing other people’s music, the four-man band started writing and recording their own, which brings fans to the “Progressive, Technical and Melodic Death-Thrashing” masters’ newest release, the nine-song Reptile Ride.

So yes, this is Death Metal, and pretty much all that it entails: hoarse, raw, bellowed vocals, loud thrashing guitars, loud rapid-fire drumming, loud everything, all pummeling you at the same time in a race to see which one will make you submit first. If you’re not a Death Metal fan, there’s probably not much here for you to like.

But if you’re a fan of Melodic Death Metal or are willing to take a chance on something different, Reptile Ride is a worthwhile album. Yes, it’s brutish and noisy (it wouldn’t be a Death Metal album if it wasn’t), but at the same the songs have lots of energy and momentum; each tune comes roaring at you like a rocket-powered locomotive fueled by 100% proof adrenaline. It’s hard not to get caught up with Reptile Ride‘s full-blast enthusiasm, even if normally you turn your nose up –- and stick your fingers in your ears — at this sort of music.

Another big factor in Reptile Ride‘s success is the musicianship of the band; it’s really good. The twin guitar attack of Silver Ots and Ben Varon is very effective; the duo has come up with plenty of strong riffs and flashy six-string pyrotechnics to keep listeners entertained. The twosome knows how to play, and the instrumental “Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Fun” shows off their skills to good effect.

Amoral also shows that even though they’re a band in a genre known for tuneless songs and lots of screaming (unfair of a stereotype as that might be), they know how to write hard-hitting, well-structured songs with plenty of rhythm and melody; you could easily plug another type of vocalist into these tracks and they’d still sound good, albeit in a different way. Lead belter Niko Kalliojärvi fits the band well; possessing a lot of power in his voice, and he’s somewhat more intelligible than lots of other Death Metal vocalists.

Once again, Amoral is a Death Metal band, and Reptile Ride is a Melodic Death Metal album. A well-done Melodic Death Metal album mind you, but Death Metal just the same. If you’re not a fan of this style of music you probably won’t care for Reptile Ride very much, but fans who can’t get enough of this sort of thing will definitely enjoy it.

Author

  • Gary McLean

    Gary was a reviewer here at Metal Express Radio, based out of the small Ontario, Canada town of Sault Ste. Marie, right on the border of Michigan, USA. When it comes to Metal and Hard Rock, Gary likes quite a few different bands, from stalwarts like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, to newer, hard-hitting groups such as Primal Fear, Hammerfall, and Paragon. Other favorites include the likes of Nightwish, Running Wild, Therion, Accept, Stratovarius, Dream Evil, Helloween, Rammstein, Dirty Looks, Crimson Glory, Tristania, and Gamma Ray. He thinks AC/DC deserves a paragraph all their own though.

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