AMORAL – Reptile Ride

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.