Dense! It’s what’s for dinner! And we can’t wait for the rest of y’all to devour the diabolically delicious sounds that Amiensus is cooking up for your earholes when their latest arrives on April 26th through M-Theory Audio.
Following on 2020’s Abrecation comes a new effort that unbelievably expands on the already lush textural hybrid sound that Minnesota the outfit excel at. And in case the title didn’t already give it away, folks, this is only the first part of the Reclamation journey! From the start with “Blink of the Moment”, especially when compared to the last opener in “Beneath the Waves”, fans of the band can already tell that this is something different with an even more focused approach, gargantuan soundscapes, precision drumming, monstrous riffs, Prog-like bass passages, and vocal approaches like night and day with one channeling the heavens and the other, well, the other place.
“Reverie” was the first taste of new Amiensus way back in December and manages to fit nicely into the Reclamation: Part 1 matrix with a Post-Metal feel that’s like Junius venturing into Black Metal while “Senses Amplified” is a symphony of shred. “Sun and Moon” carries on with the symphonic elements at times but is also Prog and heavy AF with “A Consciousness Throughout Time” greatly ramping up in intensity toward song’s end to brilliantly segue into “Vermillion Fog of War” which is a divine headbanger that’s layered in playful pluckings and blast beats reminiscent of Amorphis and the Tuonela age.
“Spoken Into Will” highlights the dichotomy of Amiensus that works so well delivering soaring vocal lines one moment with gnarly screams to answer next and can almost be compared to The Moody Blues or Bee Gees with the kinds of vocal harmonies on display here accented even more by the serene passages that weave in and out of the heavy. But how do you end a banger such as this? With an epic instrumental closer called “Transcendence Through Grief” of course as acoustics mix with some rambunctious riffs to finish this clusterfuck of collaborative sounds off nicely.
Reclamation: Part 1 arrives on April 26th through M-Theory Audio. Pre-orders are live now and can be found in a variety of physical and non-physical option by clicking here. For more from Amiensus, follow them across the interwebs when you head here, here or here.