27th January 2022

Review: “MDXI” by Amorous (2nd Anniversary)

Sharing stages with such heavy hitters as Carnifex, Bodysnatcher and The Faceless are Salt Lake City Utah Deathcore crew Amorous. They’d already been around the block a few times before eventually releasing debut EP “MDXI” on 27th January 2020 with at least a pair of these tracks seeing the cold light of day as far back as 2018. Recorded with Dan Whittaker (Chelsea Grin, The Used, Vampires Everywhere) at High Vibe Studios Mixed and mastered by TJ Billmire this record has been followed by a trio of cuts that include “An Apparition” with a guest appearance from Adam Warren of Oceano fame and “Thread(s)” that sees them controversially joined by former Lorna Shore and Signs Of The Swarm vocalist CJ McCreery while being mastered by Will Putney (Knocked Loose, Fit For An Autopsy, Body Count)…

Coughing and heavy breathing in a swirling nightmarish soundscape, perhaps a torture chamber or basement hell creates the atmosphere for “Black Limb“, a barbed, death by a thousand cuts heavy hitter that blends Deathcore with Death Metal influences and oppressive dark atmospherics with some downright evil lead guitar moments. The band have swirling plague wind riffs nailed while the throat splitting vocals combine the shrill and the bowel clenching lows to glass shattering and mirror cracking effect. The interludes help create the darkness of a horror film, as if you’re peering through the murky depths in search of something, that sense of dread that a beast is going to leap from the cold dark waters and rip your face off always present and chilling to the bone. “Wyrre” infuses old school Metalcore influences with Deathcore and offers something eerie and melancholic to bang your head to before bringing the heat in the back end, the build up to the devastating tidal waves of breakdowns unexpectedly melodic without being anything less than heavy. Atmosphere is key on these cuts and with a buried synth giving “Cost of Living” something nasty to build upon while leaning on Metallic Hardcore riffage and razor sharp tempo shifts to maintain the bands sense of direction. The vocals remain harsh but the guitar tone isn’t always as dense as you might expect from a Deathcore outfit, until the breakdowns begin to pile up like bodies in the morgue that is before “Cessation Of Hope” continues the flow from the river into the sea with the kind of heavy hitting rhythms that lesser mortals would kill for. Death will come for us all. [7/10]

track listing