So I had the pleasure of seeing Amaranthe live for the first time ever, yesterday night at Gramercy Theater in Manhattan. They are a Swedish melodic metal band with three distinct vocalists: Elize Ryd (pop rock), Jake E (hard rock), & Henrik Englund (death metal). By combining three distinct styles with upbeat fast tempos, the music they create are fun, energetic, and makes you want to dance and headbang at the same time. The rest of the lineup include Olof Mörck (guitars & keys), Johan Andreassen (bass), & Morten Løwe Sørensen (drums).
Amaranthe are currently on their Massive Addictive North America Tour promoting their latest studio album Massive Addictive. Unfortunately, Henrik Englund's not participating in the N.A. tour due to him being a father next month! Instead, Olle Ekman from Deals Death is his replacement for the time being.
Along with Amaranthe are two opening bands: Santa Cruz & I Prevail.
First Opener: Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz is a Finnish hard rock band and is the first opener for Amaranthe. Their lineup includes Arttu "Archie" Kuosmanen (vocals & guitar), Joonas "Johnny" Parkkonen (guitar & keys), Mitja "Middy" Toivonen (bass), & Tapani "Taz" Fagerström (drums).
With all sporting long locks and a style that seems to be a tribute to Guns and Roses, this was a really fun band to watch. The band members were constantly moving, jumping up and down, doing kicks, and were really engaging with the crowd. They seriously set the vibe for the entire night.
Go check out their song: "We Are The Ones To Fall."
Second Opener: I Prevail
I Prevail is a Detroit post-hard rock band that has been picking up steam recently ever since they did a cover of Taylor Swift's Blank Space. They are the second opener for Amaranthe and features four members: Brian Burkheiser (vocals), Eric Vanlerberghe (vocals), Steve Menoian (guitar), & Lee Runestad (drums).
So, this band is actually really new - they recently signed with Fearless Records and released their debut album in December last year. Their inexperience showed in their performance (they are a bit more static compared to Santa Cruz), but at the halfway point of their performance, they started to warm up a bit more and even went into the crowd. They put on a good show and man... I really did not expect to see the poofy curly fro Eric had going on under his cap. The best part of their performance was that they didn't take things seriously - they were just having fun.
I expect many good things from this band! Do check out their song, "The Enemy."
Main Act: Amaranthe
Super fun band with lots of energy - Amaranthe stole the show and ended it with a bang. It was amusing seeing Elize headbang and swinging her hair everywhere while wearing 3-inch heels. Olle was a great replacement and fit well with the band, interacting with everyone easily. After seeing how he performed, I will love to see how Deals Death performs live. Jake was a bit static but his vocals... they were so clear and soothing that you can overlook his performance.
I will definitely recommend people to see them live. The show was so upbeat; everyone was either jumping or pumping their fists in the air. The band members really knew how to interact with the crowd. It was also very sweet of them to stop at one point to sing Happy Birthday to a girl who turned 15 that day, with Amaranthe being the first rock concert she had ever been to.
I have videos of some of their performances. I should have them up soon.
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The band lineup for the tour is seriously amazing. Openers are usually a hit or miss, but with this show, they were both hits. It'll be awesome to see how Santa Cruz and I Prevail both grow. I've been checking out I Prevail's other songs and they are all pretty good. I'm already thinking of getting their CD as well. If Amaranthe comes back to NYC, I'm definitely going to see them live again.
Check out the following poster to see if they will be playing near you!
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