Year: 2022
Total Time: 34:39
Label: Massacre Records
One of the well hidden gems of the Greek Metal Scene is definitely AMKEN. Although they were founded in 2011, they released their debut work “Theater Of The Absurd” in 2017 and “thanks” to the corona virus, their second work “Passive Aggression” has appeared in the spotlight a while ago.
To say that AMKEN perform Thrash Metal would be a generalization, if not inaccurate. The opener “The Underdogs” grabs you right in and puts you in the deep end with its German aesthetic ,where one would reasonably expect to hear toxic, dog howls, a pleasant Death Metal touch changes the entire canvas of sound colors.
The eight compositions and the minimization of tempo changes gives a seriousness and a solidity, a solid sound. “I Am The One” with its wonderful video clip and the participation of actor Erikos Litsis is also a significant composition. However it would be a mistake to focus on separate songs, since the record can be heard all at once. What is certain is that “Passive Aggression” – an apt and mocking title – does not let the anger overflow, but guides it into more creative channels, commenting on the fact that in the modern age of social media, internet users take out the shovel and the pickaxe as other oppressed colleagues….
The rhythm section is tight and well prepared, the guitars in some places soar with intriguing riffs and in others they scatter the melody, while the duo of singers gives this informal contrast that distinguishes AMKEN from the crowd and ranks them primarily as an extreme Metal band and secondarily as a thrash one. Of course, the very clean production/sound engineering by Fotis Bernardo contributes to this as well as the mastering by Giorgos Neratzis who manages to graft any old-fashioned tendencies manifested by the group together with the necessary innovations. The artwork has been edited by Adam Burke, (you will probably know him from his work in VEKTOR) and in general the whole effort of these guys show commitment and professionalism, with the help of course from Massacre Records which seems to be supportive to this project. It’s an opportunity for these young guys to take advantage of the momentum and start “plowing” the festivals and live performances, so as to establish their name. We as fans have to support where we can, I see something good coming…
Rating: 7,5/10
Editor; Dimos Karadimos
Related Link: AMKEN – Facebook page
