Masters of melodic metal Amaranthe released their latest epic “The Catalyst” on Feb 23rd through Nuclear Blast and I caught up with Drummer Morten Sorenson to talk all about the forthcoming album.
Triumphs, tragedies, rebirths and upheavals… Life is often defined by its moments of revelation. 15 years into a career that has seen them become one of metal’s most ruthlessly individual and uplifting bands, AMARANTHE are about to make their most definitive and revealing move. Three years on from the widely acclaimed Manifest, Sweden’s masters of thunderous, melodic futurism are about to unveil The Catalyst.
One major contributory factor to this impressive forward stride is the arrival of AMARANTHE’s latest new member. Slotting in neatly alongside Elize Ryd and Nils Molin is the band’s new master of growls, Mikael Sehlin. As the remorselessly inventive likes of new tunes ‘Outer Dimensions’ and ‘Ecstasy’ confirm, AMARANTHE’s newly rejigged vocal force has never sounded better. Once again, The Catalyst is very much a product of irresistible change. “Our previous growler Henrik was at home for the first time in nine years and he realised that family was where it’s really at. We said, ‘Sure, dude, that’s what you should do!'” says Mörck. “It was super amicable. Early last year we started to look for other people, but Henrik is just one of the best in the world, so how do you replace God on growls, you know? We toured with Mikael back in 2015, and we didn’t really think about him because he hasn’t been active in the scene for a few years, but when his name cropped up, I thought, ‘Okay, yeah, he’s the guy!’ I called him, he said ‘Fuck yeah, absolutely!’ We knew he was the guy, 100 per cent.” Now fully installed as the sixth piece of the AMARANTHE jigsaw – alongside Olof Mörck, Elize Ryd, Nils Molin, bassist Johan Andreasson and drummer Morten Løwe Sørensen – Mikael Sehlin can be heard revelling in his new creative partnerships on The Catalyst. Meanwhile, both Elize Ryd and Nils Molin casually scale new heights of inspiration, invigorated by the arrival of their new cohort. “Nils and Elize have become a lot closer after being in the same band for six years. They worked great as colleagues, but now that they’re really close friends, the way that they interact on this album is fantastic,” notes Mörck. “We’ve all known Mikael for maybe eight years, so I think that one of the strongest parts of the new album is the three singers’ collaboration, and the way they’ve gotten along and the way they cooperate. It doesn’t always happen that way! [Laughs]”
Visit AMARANTHE:
www.amaranthe.se
www.facebook.com/amarantheband
www.instagram.com/amarantheofficial
www.twitter.com/amaranthemetal / amaranthetv www.nuclearblast.de/amaranthe
