Hailing from Sydney, Australia, The Amenta were formed over a decade ago and have made their way through a considerable number of members in that time including contributors to the somewhat better known Blood Duster and Psycroptic.
The precise brutality of the latter is perhaps a good comparison point for those who have yet to hear the band, though the continued presence of founding member Timothy Pope is undoubtedly a defining factor, his samples and programming helping to maintain the cold industrial colouring despite a shift on this album towards more organic sounds.
It could be argued that pushing in the opposite musical trajectory – further exploiting the industrial overtones with more obviously electronic beats à la Aborym or Blacklodge – might make this more original (particularly given how mechanised current death metal is) but still, this is suitably punishing in its own right. A slow grower, the album requires persistence but ultimately rewards, the icy riffs and pummelling percussion lending the material a brooding intensity while blurring the line between death metal and post-90s black metal.
