Dynamic duos are a moribund breed; I mean duos that are at all decent, especially among the metal fraternity where the standard code of conduct is usually built around a much bigger lineup. So, it is rather refreshing to come across a 2-piece that has something very interesting brewing in the cooker – something like the soundtrack-metal endeavor, AMPLITUSION, whose founding father James Sheehan is based outside of Toronto, Canada, and lead guitarist Matti Meri-Huhti (VANSIDIAN, MOONLIGHT SORCERY, SANDMAN), who was introduced into the duo on the previous, third album, “The Human Zoo,” (2018) is from Finland. On February 20th, 2023, this dynamic duo released a new studio outing, “Galaxy of Sound,” via Sheehan‘s own independent label and the album title should provide a hint of what this duo is all about – interstellar sonic explorations. Inspired by pedigree metal acts such as METALLICA and DETHKLOK as well as movie composers such as John Williams, Sheehan‘s signature sound is comprised of story-telling symphonic style with elements from black metal, death, and thrash – adorned with Meri-Huhti‘s trademark vicious fretboard poetics. After a few spins, it becomes quite easy to see why AMPLITUSION rather shortly after its inception achieved headliner status with the debut, “Darth Brutalus,” in 2010. One of the highlights on the debut, “MantiSinthesis,” featuring Tarah Elliot on vocals, can still rock your socks off! There is something very endearing about this sort of mixture of movie soundtrack antics and good old metal mayhem, indeed.
The new six-track offering kicks off in a similar manner to “The Human Zoo” as the opener, “Hit Like Stone,” first rolls out a cinematic intro that soon transforms into a somewhat old-schoolish thrash-riff maelstrom. The vocals are mostly spoken, or sermoned, to be more precise; Sheehan also exhibits a prominent tendency toward the more grunted and guttural manners of goblin-speak, which resonates with the subtle air of DIMMU BORGIR here and there. There’s more than a good pinch of the vintage, 1980s-tinted heavy-metal aesthetics at play on this song, as well as throughout the album; so, just how smoothly the album does go down your alley depends largely on whether or not this sort of vintage code of conduct is your cup of tea. I find it rather enchanting but, then again, I grew up listening to this sort of stuff. Those who weren’t might still find AMPLITUSION‘s music exciting, if only through some sort of anemoia – that is, the nostalgic sense of longing for a past you have not lived yourself. The thing is – this type of old-school metal has not exactly been in vogue of late, so these thrash onslaughts are layered with a distinct ”out of this world”-vibe.
The cinematic bursts factor in quite remarkably to the album’s general appeal; “Lift the Weight,” for instance, begins with a brief string staccato motif that instantly triggers flashbacks of some fantasy films à la Harry Potter – only to be soon bulldozed over with a tight thrash riffathon reminiscent of vintage ANNIHILATOR and the like. Then, “What Do You Fear Now?” channels even more profound vibes of the good ol’ days of heavy metal (that you are probably too young to have known, personally). The only minor blemish you might start noticing the deeper you plunge into the album has to do with the drum department – the drums sound as though having been programmed, or played with the electronic kit, the sound of which lacks some depth and punch. It becomes apparent in the most rapid double-kick rolls, in particular. Then again, the drums did sound rather thin on some of those metal efforts back in the 1980s, but I would reckon AMPLITUSION needn’t pay that much homage to the sound of yesteryear despite all the nostalgic meanderings.
That said, the songcraft is solid enough to compensate for the occasional lack of percussive punch. In fact, with the production budget of some major metal label, “Galaxy of Sound” would be a straight-up 10/10 album for the vintage-minded metal connoisseur. Even as it is now, it is worth checking out, especially if old-school metal blended with some cinematic flavor rubs you the right way – if you can identify yourself as a young, aspiring wizard standing at the King’s Cross railway station, clad in a thrash vest and wearing some corpse paint while waiting for the Hogwarts Express.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Hit Like Stone
- Lift the Weight
- What Do You Fear Now?
- Judgement Daze
- Phaedrus
- No Tomorrow
Lineup
James Sheehan – vocals, drums, bass, rhythm guitars, classical arrangements, mixing and mastering
Matti Meri-Huhti – lead guitars
Label
James Sheehan Music
