AMETHYST
“Throw Down The Gauntlet”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

Amethyst are a heavy metal band from Switzerland formed in 2020 releasing their debut E.P. ‘Rock Knights’ in 2023, and debut full length album ‘Throw Down The Gauntlet’ in 2024.

Founded by bass player Miguel and guitarist Yves – the bands line-up is completed by singer Freddy, guitarist Ramon and drummer Eldo, the band emerging onto the metal scene by performing at a number of music festivals across Europe, including Sweden’s Muskelrock and Germany’s Keep It True Rising. Amethyst deliver a blend of classic heavy metal and hard rock, and for forty two minutes and eight songs, the bands new album is foot to the floor all the way from song one to eight! The band launch the album at a canter with ‘Embers On The Loose’, progressing to a gallop as it gets going proper, Amethyst planting one “foot on the monitor” to adopt the iconic pose of heavy metal. An infectious opening gambit, ‘Throw Down The Gauntlet’ just gets more infectious with the incredibly melodious ‘Stand Up And Fight’, the band keeping the hammer down with a firm hand!

The opening brace have stood right in the heart of metal territory, leaning heavily in the direction of hard rock, Amethyst striving to straddle the border wall between metal and rock but remaining firmly rooted to the spot – the bands singer oozing a rock roar more than a metal one! And that’s not a bad thing don’t get me wrong, his voice is well suited to this style of melodic heavy metal. And still with their foot planted heavily on the monitor, Amethyst stride on with the heavy rocking ‘Won’t Do It Again’, the sound of late seventies, early eighties heavy metal rising high in the air! The three songs heard so far have all been immensely infectious, bringing smiles a mile wide to the faces of every listener, fan and follower in the world – and for a young band from mainland Europe to project a fifty year old British metal and rock sound, it just goes to show how far the influence of the pioneering bands of the good old days has reached! Kudos Amethyst, kudos!

There’s even a party vibe going on here too, the energy and pizzazz fizzing around is electric, everyone everywhere thoroughly enjoying the music on show – I know I am! And picking up the “good time” baton (for a good time is what’s going on here), ‘Running Out Of Time’ enters the fray at a more mid tempo pace than any other song heard so far, building to a crescendo ready for the band to change through the gears and accelerate forth like a champion race horse galloping hard for the finish line! And just like a champion race horse, Amethyst are also in fine fettle, delivering precision heavy metal music with sky high levels of majesty and elegance! ‘Rock Knights’ maintains the albums all consuming grip on listeners, the sound of the early eighties and bands such as Angel Witch, Iron Maiden and Girlschool seeping outta the bands sonic array – an array that’s glistening with polished metal! And suddenly all the pace and power of ‘Throw Down The Gauntlet’ disappears in favour of a mellow meander, ‘Queen Of A Thousand Burning Hearts’ progressing to roar like it’s the nineteen seventies all over again when the burgeoning rock and metal revolution was taking hold.

Are the Swiss outfit a retro band? I don’t think so, not in the full sense of the word anyway – yes they’ve got an old school sound, but there’s a fine line between retro and paying homage to an era a long time ago, Amethyst in my mind paying homage to the greats of the seventies and eighties – the greats that gave us the glorious rock and metal sound that we all love and listen to today! And with an electrifying surge of pace and power ‘Take Me Away’ roars louder than anything heard up to this point, the head bangers of the world rocking their heads back and forth at a very high rate of knots. And that mid-song breakdown, just wow! ‘Throw Down The Gauntlet’ is brought to a close with the longest song on offer, ‘Serenade (Under The Rising Moon)’ clocking in at six and a half minutes in length. And what a song, the band throwing everything they have in their vast arsenal at listeners – from the tension fuelled intro to the old school gallop and everything in-between, ‘Serenade (Under The Rising Moon)’ rounds off the bands debut album in glorious style.

Overall, a fast amble across metal territory with tonnes of head bang ability and an infectious level second to none.

TRACKLIST

Embers On The Loose
Stand Up And Fight
Won’t Do It Again
Running Out Of Time
Rock Knights
Queen Of A Thousand Burning Hearts
Take Me Away
Serenade (Under The Rising Moon)

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