Amenra : De Toorn/With Fang and Claw
Over more than two decades, Belgium’s Amenra has built up an incredible library of mystically captivating metal. Incorporating elements of doom, sludge, and drone, Amenra’s music captures a profound duality—one of calming and reflective space as well as that of astounding ferocity. This powerful combination of sounds stems from the band’s drive to capture life’s brutality. In a 2017 essay in The Independent, Amenra co-founder Colin H. van Eeckhout writes, “We have one story to tell and it is always the same. I always write about life’s pain. I always use personal experiences as a reference to relate as truthfully and as honestly possible, from the heart. I try to bend the darkness into the light.”
Amenra continue this exploration with two new EPs, De Toorn and With Fang and Claw, the two serving as reflections of that journey, as well as a look at the creative road ahead for the band. Each EP offers an in-depth dive into Amenra’s craft. On De Toorn, which is a thematic successor to 2021’s De Doorn, “Heden” sees the band spending most of their time wandering in vast space. Aside from brief spoken-word segments, the song is devoid of much technicality in a quantitative sense. However, the seeming emptiness creates an incredible vacuum for the listener to be consumed by; it isn’t simply meditative, the soundscape is far more ominous, like looking into a hole where you can’t see the bottom. If there is even a bottom.
Such existential questioning is at the heart of some of the best doom metal ever made, some of which Amenra can take credit for, employing droning, sludgy textures are utilized to create meditative blankets for introspective thought. The spacious blends of drone and sludge Amenra’s music encompasses has an undeniable emotionality to it. The way the group construct their songs invites contemplation—both in the technicality of their music and how the varying levels of tone and tempo offer palpable soundscapes of intense mood. Though De Toorn is not without conventional heaviness among its spacious compositions, With Fang and Claw sees them leaning deeper into that heavier direction.
Embracing their sludgier tendencies, Amenra plow forth on “Salve Mater” with a crushing display of instrumentation. This sort of unrelenting brutality serves as a perfect contrast to the band’s darkly serene compositions. While there’s value in each approach, together they demonstrate the rich depth of Amenra’s artistry. While you can listen to each EP separately—they hold up very well on their own—it’s even more rewarding to experience the two parts as a whole. Following what’s already a strong discography, De Toorn and With Fang and Claw serve as a promising look at Amenra’s future.
Label: Relapse
Year: 2025
Similar Albums:
