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Band: Amiensus
Album title: All Paths Lead To Death [EP]
Release Date: 19 May 2017
Label: Apathia Records
Tracklist
01. Gehenna
02. Mouth Of The Abyss
03. Prophecy
04. Desolating Sacrilege
05. The River
Following their successful full-length Ascension, which was released in 2015, this Minnesota (USA) based band Amiensus returns with a new EP, and those of you who follow our website should have already heard it as it was available for full streaming some days before its official release, otherwise you can still check it out over HERE.
The album is adorned by artwork named 'Satan Presiding at the Infernal Council' made by the famous English painter John Martin and blends maleficently with the lyrical theme’s, while the layout has been made by Manum Diaboli Art. Since the first album that was released in the early 2013, Amiensus have shown an insane commitment with the style with multifaceted music in intense tones and behaviors that flows changing directions but keeping the tracks on the road.
Amiensus on this EP show a bit more rude, brutal and darker EP than are all their previous releases. There are 29 minutes distributed along 5 very heavy tracks. Their multifaceted textures are built on a black metal foundation that slips sometimes into atmospheric progressive post metal style. The "end of times" frequencies that we experience with all that heavy and dark atmosphere it’s a celebration to the second’s wave of black metal bands. With this malefic album, Amiensus, brings for the fans of Agalloch, Enslaved and Dissection a refreshing "souffle" of early years, yet in a couple of moments it reminds a bit to the magnificient Austrian post black metallers Harakiri For The Sky.
With all these grim and cold tracks, captivating dissonant melodies approaching us in a surreal desperate drama and with vocals that are so sharp with vicious shrieks and roars, we feel sometimes like walking in the fields of Hell. Passion was what I felt in the faster parts of this album. Firing blast beats, relentless riffings and tempos working in a linear way and the choral voices were very pleasant to hear.
Some more changes can be found in this new material aside what I describe above if compared to their previous releases. The keyboards and the clean vocals were suppressed and this I could notice since the opening track "Gehenna". High fevering riffs and drums matching with that terrifying screams and bear of hell roars as the haunting clean vocals forwarded by a beautiful instrumental performance makes this track one of my preferred ones. “Mouth Of The Abyss“, the second track, is also one that is worth the note. It's harsh from the beginning to the end. Vocals in this one reach a violent ferocity and as in "Gehenna", moments before reaching the end we are wrapped in a chilly melancholy.
My mind felt threatened and I was absorbed by density of "Desolating Sacrilege". The bass lines here made my jaw drop. “The River“, the end of a deep and dark journey specially brightened the atmosphere here by the magnificient work of drummer Chris Piette; excellent job done man! I also liked a lot the mix of clean and ferocious vocals. Was pleasurable listening to this album, this last track, closes with a golden key inside this apocalyptical land constructed by Amiensus.
Review written by: Felin Frost
Rating: 8/10
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