Amaranthe Just Released the Best / Most Annoying Pop-Metal Hit of the Year

When I think of Amaranthe, the first and only thing that pops into my head is Axl’s headline and Photoshopped graphic about green farts from a few years back. That’s as far as my knowledge goes with this band, but a couple of quick listens to some of their material from that era confirm that Axl’s assessment that Amaranthe “never heard an early-Aughts In Flames riff that they couldn’t recycle” is spot-on. I’ll never doubt his judgment again; sorry! His knowledge concerning farts is usually right on the money, anyway.

But, HO BOY, this new Amaranthe song is an entirely different bag! There’s nothing Re-Swede about it at all; “That Song” — a pop song name if ever there was one — is exactly that, just a big ol’ pop song dressed up in light metal clothing. And my God, it’s catchy! It’s stuck in my head after just two listens (thanks, Spotify auto-repeat). Like, stupid catchy — you’re gonna hate me for introducing this song to you as it buries its ear-worm deep inside your skull. It’s basically a Maroon 5 jam but with some distorted guitars and a vaguely Van Halen-esque guitar solo (think: his guest spot on “Beat It”).

And, I’m not gonna lie… it’s pretty good. If “That Song” just came on Z100 in the car, instead of being sandwiched between stories on a metal website about Anaal Nathrakh and The Dillinger Escape Plan, I’d probably like it. So… fuck it. I like it.

Maximalism comes out October 21st via Spinefarm; pre-order here.