The group began releasing their dark Mass albums in 2003 and have been experimenting with both sound and live shows ever since. In 2013, the ensemble joined Neurot Records to release their fifth full-length album. The label was founded by Neurosis; a band that has been influential in Amenra's style and career.
Their origins were tied to traditional sludge with hardcore elements and shorter songs. They began incorporating post-metallisms into their overall sound with the release of Mass II, the first songs displaying this change of direction being 'From Birth to Grave. From Shadow to Light' and 'Ritual'. By the release of Mass III, they had completely embraced this new sound and composed longer songs.
Their 2021 record 'De Doorn', saw them temporarily interrupting their string of Mass albums because they felt this new record was not in line with what the Masses sound like and represent, De Doorn is different from those, yet still very Amenra-like. This is in part due to second guitarist Lennart's more active contribution to the writing process, something of which he had not done much in the past for some reason. He was feeling very distraught and affected due to Oathbreaker's hiatus (a band where he is the primary composer) so the rest of his Amenra mates wanted him to channel all those dark feelings into an album, an experiment that proved successful. This record itself is also different because it was exclusively composed for a string of special live performances and was only going to be a one-off affair, not an actual Amenra record; however, it turned out to be so good to them, that it eventually became their new record. The final and more distinctive aspect of the record is that it is their first sung entirely in Flemish, their native tongue, which very much fits their music. It was their Relapse Records debut since leaving Neurot Recordings.
Recurring themes in Amenra's music are the duality of birth and death, light and darkness, and pain and sacrifice. The band uses psychological and religious motives. Though calling himself agnostic, Van Eeckhout acknowledges the presence of spirituality and religion in the band's work. Amenra often collaborates with visual artists and choreographers, including Willy Vanderperre and Berlinde de Bruyckere.
Colin's clean vocals approach is very much inspired by the one and only Maynard James Keenan from Tool, something Amenra themselves do not try to deny as they have openly covered Tool song(s), specifically on their live acoustic album. Lead guitarist Mathieu is a self-taught musician and as such, many of Amenra's signature riffing and guitar techniques were devised by him alone, he had to figure them out on his own. Additionally, since Oathbreaker is on indefinite hiatus; their vocalist Caro Tanghe and Lennart's colleague, joined Amenra's roster in 2021 as a second vocalist, something that added a new dimension to Amenra's unique sound. She has collaborated with Amenra in the past so her addition was not that unexpected or out of place/nowhere.
Their style encompasses many aspects of post and non-post-influences and even though their music is not pioneering anything or creating new genres; it's still rather unique and uncomparable, proving to be very influential in the atmospheric and post-scenes, with even some 'copycats' springing around. They have a penchant for quiet clean guitar melodies passages wherein Colin's clean vocals are featured very prominently; sometimes singing, sometimes whispering intertwined with emotional and colossally heavy riffing sections wherein Colin screams at the top of his lungs using a quasi screamo-esque shriek that sounds very desperate and pained in nature. Their riffing style is comprised of semi-melodic sludge patterns, memorable and crushing in nature, very distinct and punctuated by Mathieu's own style.
Members:
Colin H. van Eeckhout (Kingdom) - vocals;
Mathieu J. Vandekerckhove (Kingdom) - guitar;
Lennart Bossu (Living Gate, Oathbreaker) - guitar;
Tim De Gieter (Doodseskader) - bass;
Bjorn J. Lebon - drums;
Caro Tanghe (Oathbreaker) - Vocals.
Former members:
Vincent F. Tetaert - guitar;
Kristof J. Mondy (RDS 220) - bass;
Maarten Kinet - bass;
Levy Seynaeve (Living Gate, Wiegedood) - bass.
Official Site
Bandcamp
To Go On.: And Live With. Out.
Amenra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For your eyes alone
All these years now gone
A love so real
Never dies at all
And what i feel
To my child
Carry on
For your eyes alone
A life long and now gone
And all I ever wanted was to hold
You the forgotten way every day
I now belong to heaven,
I could not stay there with you
In a world without salvation
You will pain your way
In my world my salvation
My scream bares your name
All glory no shame
Rest assured that my wings
Can carry you too
Rest assured
That my wings they will carry you
To where ever you want to go
The lyrics of the song To Go On.: And Live With. Out. by Amenra speak of the love between a parent and a child. It is a song full of emotion and deep feelings of loss, grief, and a desire to be reunited with the child who has passed away. The song opens with the lines "To my child, for your eyes alone. All these years now gone." The lines depict a parent addressing their child who has passed away and expressing how their love never fades away.
The lyrics continue with the parent urging their child to carry on and telling them that their life is long gone. They express the desire to hold onto their child every day in the forgotten way, but they cannot stay with them in heaven. The lines "In a world without salvation, you will pain your way. In my world my salvation, my scream bares your name. All glory, no shame" hint at a sense of hopelessness and despair but also a sense of pride at their child's determination to keep carrying on. The song ends on a hopeful note assuring the child that the parent's wings can carry them wherever they wish to go and that they will always be together.
To Go On.: And Live With. Out. is a moving tribute to a child who has passed away, and the lyrics speak of the pain felt by the bereaved parent. The song not only captures the sense of loss but also the hope of reuniting with their child in the afterlife.
Line by Line Meaning
To my child
The following message is dedicated to a child
For your eyes alone
This message is intended for the child's eyes and ears only
All these years now gone
Many years have passed since the last time we were together
A love so real
The love between us was genuine
Never dies at all
This love will never fade away
And what i feel
The emotions I am experiencing
Will not fade away
Are not going away, even after all these years
Carry on
Keep moving forward
A life long and now gone
Although the child has lived a long life, it is now over
And all I ever wanted was to hold
My deepest desire was to be close to you
You the forgotten way every day
I thought about you always, even when you were not present
I now belong to heaven,
I have passed away and gone to heaven
I could not stay there with you
Although I wanted to stay with you, I could not
In a world without salvation
The world can be cruel and offer little hope
You will pain your way
Life will be difficult for you
In my world my salvation
In the world I am in now, I have found peace
My scream bares your name
I cry out your name in anguish
All glory no shame
There is no shame in my love and my life
Rest assured that my wings
You can rely on me
Can carry you too
I will always be there, supporting you
To where ever you want to go
Wherever your path leads you, I will be there to guide you
Contributed by Gabriel E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@MovedToTearsGiselle
For D and K
To my child
For your eyes alone
All these years now gone
A love so real
Never dies at all
And what i feel
Will not fade away
To my child
Carry on
For your eyes alone
A life long and now gone
And all I ever wanted was to hold
You the forgotten way every day
I now belong to heaven
I could not stay there with you
In a world without salvation
You will pain your way
In my world my salvation
My scream bares your name
All glory no shame
Rest assured that my wings
Can carry you too
Rest assured
That my wings they will carry you
To where ever you want to go
@Vavecheese
I'll never grow weary of this song. The message hits me hard. So bittersweet. The sounds, phenomenal. By far amongst your best work so far.
@kejetwitjewel
Beautiful. So beautiful.
@MovedToTearsGiselle
For D and K
To my child
For your eyes alone
All these years now gone
A love so real
Never dies at all
And what i feel
Will not fade away
To my child
Carry on
For your eyes alone
A life long and now gone
And all I ever wanted was to hold
You the forgotten way every day
I now belong to heaven
I could not stay there with you
In a world without salvation
You will pain your way
In my world my salvation
My scream bares your name
All glory no shame
Rest assured that my wings
Can carry you too
Rest assured
That my wings they will carry you
To where ever you want to go
@hypermagical_ultraomnipotence
I know there was an interview with Colin H. van Eeckhout I watched, where he mentioned one of the powerful things for him was to leave his voice and art for his children, which in my opinion makes the makes this so even more powerful, getting that context. First time I heard this song after watching that interview, I was like, "Fuck. This is the most explicit example of that statement in the interview that I can find."
@robertaprado87
Powerful #Amenra
@Corvixius
This is like a mantra to me.
@zigah6729
WAUUUU đ
@DavRiP08
I love it ... this music make me feel so high
@Toymiko
Yesssssssssssssssssss ...................... Toymiko
@PrimitiveInTheExtreme
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