September 2020 Album of the Month: Amaranthe’s Manifest

Sunday, 18th October 2020 By Katarina McGinn

It was a real close one this month, with a few titles like Vanishing Point and Amiensus also vying for some attention, but ultimately Amaranthe’s Manifest won out. A deserving victory, as the band’s one of a kind modern metal approach is displayed in top form with their latest full length. Moving back into some heavier territory, some initial vibes of their debut effort surfacing and combining with their latter day dabbling into more pop and electronic influences. Quite possibly their strongest release to date, Manifest really captures Amaranthe at their most anthemic and iconic, not to mention their most addictively catchy.

An excerpt from Kyle McGinn’s 10/10 review, which posted on September 22nd:

No doubt about it, Amaranthe has been moving modern metal forward since the release of their self-titled debut in 2011. Taking an idea that shouldn’t have worked – utilizing three vocalists and merging a sound into a melodic death metal meets power metal meets cyber/electronic beats with more than a sprinkling of pop sensibility – and turning it into a breakout success. Whether you liked it or not, you can hear the growing number of bands trying to tap into that elusive formula but none seem to be able to handle it in quite the way that Amaranthe did from their debut. It was a fresh and exciting vibe, and something that you can still hear loud and clear with Manifest.

Simply put, Manifest is Amaranthe’s most definitive mark to date. No one can match their futuristic version of modern metal that deftly balances frenetic melodic death riffing and pulsating electronics with soaring melodies to create a sound that’s well, massively addictive. This one should not only bring back some fans that may have jettisoned the act in recent years, but launch them into far greater successes with this razor-sharp approach.

Read the entire review HERE
Check out our interview with vocalist Elize Ryd about Manifest HERE