Australian extremists The Amenta have revealed a video for their hymn to Satan – "Sono L'Antichristo".
"Sono L'Antichristo" is a reworking of the Diamanda Galas composition. While the original version bewitches with brooding ambient and shocking noise, The Amenta build a cold, devastating extreme metal armor around obscure and hysterical chants - including blasting drums courtesy of David Haley (Psycroptic).
The Amenta's keyboard player Timothy Pope narrates: "Diamanda Galas is an artist who should need no introduction. Her voice is incomparable to any other and her work is sui generis. 'Sono L'Antichristo' was originally on her incredible Plague Mass album which was the first album of hers I had heard. Not long after hearing this album, Erik and I found out that Diamanda Galas was playing in Sydney at the Opera House. We jumped in the car, desperate to see a live performance of this wild and soul-scouring work, but by the time we got there the show had started and the doors were locked. On the way to the bar to drown our sorrows, we passed the merch store which proudly displayed Galas' book The Shit Of God (later I found this to be a line from 'Sono L'Antichristo') and we knew we had missed a life-changing performance."
"Later, at the bar, we would watch scores of well-dressed, well-to-do people, streaming from the exits at intermission, never to return. She had driven them out. On top of her more 'avant-garde' work, Diamanda Galas is one of the greatest interpreters of classic song and it is in this spirit that she is, in some ways, the patron saint of the whole Plague Of Locus release. Our version of the song, and the film clip we now release, can be seen as not only a tribute to an artist who has greatly inspired us over the years, but also a glimpse into what we imagined was happening behind those closed Opera House doors. The fever dreams of two disappointed metalheads."
Plague Of Locus is available now via Debemur Morti Productions. Vinyl orders can be placed at this location. Save your digital copy here.
The artwork for Plague Of Locus was created by Metastazis (Paradise Lost, Ulver), who also provided art for both of The Amenta's 2021 releases, Revelator and Solipschism.
Tracklisting:
"Intro"
"Sono l'Anticristo" (Diamanda Galas cover)
"Asteroid" (Killing Joke cover)
"Angry Chair" (Alice In Chains cover)
"Plague Of Locus"
"A Million Years" (Wolf Eyes cover)
"Crystal Lakes" (Lord Kaos cover)
"Rise" (Halo cover)
"Totem" (Nazxul cover)
"Black God" (My Dying Bride cover)
Mixed by the band's very own Erik Miehs, and mastered by Maor Applebaum (Faith No More, Abbath), the EP builds on the claustrophobic heft of Revelator, resulting in a phenomenal sound that is heavy and crushing, yet natural and organic.
To enter the atmosphere of the new EP, The Amenta unveils an eerie and obscure video clip for their self-composed title track.
The Amenta covers "Angry Chair" by Alice In Chains:
The Amenta covers "Asteroid" By Killing Joke:
Plague Of Locus is filled with violent and hysterical extreme metal arrangements, intelligently combined with groovy elements, dramatic hooks, infectious vocals, and noisy soundscapes – the perfect soundtrack to all nightmares!
Composer and keyboard player Timothy Pope narrates about the new EP's genesis: "Listening to Plague Of Locus immediately triggers a nostalgic shiver. To me, it has some of the same cold bite as our material from the 2008 n0n album. Of course, it takes that initial familiarity and twists it beyond recognition with wailing theremin and an open, epic mid-section with an inspired vocal from Cain but the seeds of something nostalgic remained. To complement the song, we decided to surround it with covers of songs that have inspired us, particularly our 2021 album, Revelator. In fact, two of these tracks were recorded during the Revelator sessions."
Reveling in the moment The Amenta embark on a long overdue Australian headline tour, including a performance at Adelaide's biggest and best metal festival, Froth & Fury. The Plague Of Locus 2023 Tour will see The Amenta's first headline shows in over ten years. Known for uncompromising, suffocating and overpowering performances, this boundary-pushing horde are keen to bring their full assault to all shows. The Amenta is thrilled to be joined by blackened sludge miscreants LO! on select dates.
November
16 - Sydney, The Crowbar
17 - Melbourne, Stay Gold
18 - Adelaide, Froth & Fury Festival *
December
1 - Brisbane, Soapbox
2 - Perth, Amplifier *
* LO! not appearing
