AmartiA - Delicately (2009)

Genre: Gothic / Atmospheric Progressive Metal
Label: Gofannon / Socadis / Pervade / Thundering Records - Manitou
Country of Origin: France
Band Formation: 1999
Band Members:
Vocals: Britta Herzog
Guitars, vocals, keyboards: Vincent Vercaigne
Keyboards: Cyril Carrette
Drums: Nicolas Dubois

Song list:
01. Delicately
02. Grey Circles
03. Not A Detail
04. High-tech Human
05. Don't Be sorry
06. Your Attention
07. Spring Evolution
08. Accuracy
09. Another
10. A Quiet Place
11. Rain's End

Run time: 59 minutes (approximately)

Review: It has been long time ever since I last heard to this band. Their first album, Maïeutics was good. Having said that, most debut albums stand out when they come up with even the slightest difference from the rest in the market.
However, their second album, Marionette was a bit of a disappointment. I reckon it is quite common with bands that incorporate the progressive genre (one of the toughest genres in music) into their music to stand out by being innovative all the time in their quest to sound different. Remember, this band is no Dream Theater.

I am glad to report that their third album, Delicately has brought them back on their feet. They were not famous and that makes me further appreciate their guts to come up with something quite innovative. When they first came out, they had a tough competition to sustain. There was Evanescence, Within Temptation, Epica and Lacuna Coil. Yes, this band too has a female lead and that suits the Gothic genre. I will not be surprised if any of you listeners point out the similarity in vocals too.

The female vocal isn’t as strong as that of Evanescence. But, it fits right between the soothing vocals of Epica and the assertive one in LC. The voice handles the complex singing structures with strong periodic breaks that successfully attempt to give out a new or intelligent perception of the band.

Musically, there are quite some electronic sounds mixed. Besides, you can also enjoy quite a few guitar soli and keyboard runs. They successfully satisfy both the gothic and atmospheric sounds via this album. What about the progressive element?

To simply put it, the general idea of the progressive metal genre is to smoothly progress into a varying beat within a single song. In this album, you will notice the progressive elements have gone passé. That is, in a couple of songs, AmartiA decides to abruptly stop and move on to a different beat rather than using a filler/patch. The change that was unseen in their earlier releases makes me recognise the maturity in the band. Not only is the music put well together via the production, the lyrics too come out strong and are worth exploring. All this collectively take you for a ride on a trip that is both melancholic and dreamy.

There is no hint of commercialism that you shall get an essence of whilst listening to the album. All the lyrics stand out for themselves and keep you engaged with the music and meaning. The major stand out of this album is definitely the vocal lead and the lyrics.

Sophisticated musicians, excellent vocal lead singer and the dark atmospheric sounds successfully contribute to this dark progressive metal album. So, if you are looking for an album with a female lead and something that is slightly different from other bands then this is the album to own.

Highlights of the album: Delicately, Grey Circles, High-tech Human and Rain’s end

Links: http://www.amartia.com/
http://www.myspace.com/amartia

Ratings: 8/10
Originality: 8
Instrumentation: 8
Lyrics: 8

Written for Headbangers India

Copyright © Ajey Padival 2009 (Brisbane, Australia; +61-434360675; ajeypadival@msn.com)