Following 2021's extraordinary Revelator album and Solipschism companion EP, Australian extremists The Amenta bring forth a new work. Plague Of Locus, a 42-minute EP featuring a combination of originals and cover versions of artists which have inspired their inventive existence, is now officially released on vinyl and digital.
Listen below.
Composer and keyboard player Timothy Pope comments:
"Plague Of Locus is a very special recording for us. So many artists and bands over the years have been inspirational to us and our brand of ugly extreme music, it feels right to take some time to pay tribute to just some of these artists, by taking their original tracks and warping them in our own filthy way. This release features tributes to bands who were both inspirations and local heroes/friends such as the twisted black metal of Nazxul and the crystalline brutality of Lord Kaos, or local artists who were still mysterious to us like the Melbourne noise/doom duo Halo.
Of course, there are some international, well known, inspirations here too. I'm sure we are not the only extreme band inspired by Alive In Chains or Killing Joke. I am particularly proud of our cover of Diamanda Galas' 'Sono L'Antichristo'. Erik reworked it into a black metal epic and it works perfectly with the original lyrics. I am looking forward to hearing how the Wold Eyes cover divides people!"
Plague Of Locus is released on vinyl via the band and digitally via Debemur Morti Productions. Orders are possible via Direct Merch (vinyl) and via Bandcamp (digital).
Tracklist:
"Intro"
"Sono L'Antichristo"
"Asteroid"
"Angry Chair"
"Plague of Locus"
"A Million Years"
"Crystal Lakes"
"Rise"
"Totem"
"Black God"
The Amenta is ugly, dissonant, electronically-lacerated Extreme Metal from Australia, featuring the core creative line-up of Cain Cressall (Vocals), Erik Miehs (Guitars) and Timothy Pope (Keyboards, Samples & Effects) with Dan Quinlan (Bass) and drummer David Haley (Psycroptic, ex-Aborted) rounding out the lineup.
Early experiments with dissonance resulted in 2002’s Mictlan MCD. Two years later, the band had signed to Listenable Records who released the debut full length, Occasus. Next came 2008’s divisive
n0n album. n0n was a dense, ugly, sprawling hymn to urban decay. A filthy paean to political manipulation. It was anti-everything.
Upon returning to Australia after extensive European and American touring The Amenta, recorded a free download of a huge multimedia release in 2011 entitled “V01D”. The release featured the new title track, re-recordings of tracks from the two previous albums, as well as professionally filmed and recorded live performances and film clips. The new song showcased one of many new directions The Amenta could take. Epic chords held in stasis by drones. Melody where before there had only been dissonance.
In 2013, The Amenta released Flesh Is Heir. The most organic and open of The Amenta’s releases to date, Flesh Is Heir built huge sculptures of sound from decayed choir loops and found percussion, the strongest riffs and guitar hooks in The Amenta back catalogue and an immaculate vocal performance.
After taking a hiatus from live performance in 2014, the band resumed activity in 2019. Inchoate rumblings slowly took shape. In 2020, The Amenta is excited to announce a partnership with Debemur Morti Productions, a label whose name is synonymous with art and with the most forward thinking bands in extreme music.
