AMETHYST – Rock Knights (2023)
Ah, the old classic style of traditional heavy metal. What to even make of it anymore? With its heyday of being front and center in the media and as the scapegoat of evangelicals long gone and its modern version being more of a costume party and sketch comedy skit more than anything, it certainly is no understatement that finding quality, dedicated material that doesn’t border on both spoof and cringe is nothing short of an ordeal now. A sad, tired, apathetic ordeal at that.
Yet every now and then there are gems to be found, catchy, exciting, fascinating gems of the shiniest kind. Pun very much intended, I found AMETHYST by mere happenstance and the EP the I embraced, while short, demanded multiple replays from me and even a review to help spread their gospel, for it truly stood out in a wasteland of clowns and pretenders.
This band takes their sound from the metal era between 1979 and 1981, and the spirit of said time. And the guys into AMETHYST are still in their twenties. Oh, and if you want a physical copy their debut EP “Rock Knights” – it’s only available on Cassette. Retro? Yeah, and darn good.
Again, simply being an EP, we get four songs that clock in at just over 21 minutes, but the upside is that not even a split second is dull or boring. The band also has a knack for presenting their material on a completely minimalist looking cassette tape and the opening track “Chasing Shadows” even had a promotional music video shot on 4:3 aspect ratio looking as film stock grainy and retro as can be, which to someone like me is absolutely glorious to behold.
“Nightstranger” is what could easily pass for an AM radio knob-tuned find in a Buick Skylark waiting for the latest muck-ridden cheap exploitation film to play at the drive-in at midnight. Sounded like something playing straight homage to any of Judas Priest’s early “S” albums before they became a little more accessible in their sound, “Into The Black” is riff-heavy and spellcasting leather and denim-loving metal done at a high octane rubber meeting the road tempo.
And finally “Stormchild” is fast and loud and uplifting much like what once came out of Western Europe when the continent was split into two camps pointing artillery and each other in a tense decades long standoff that ends with the side of reason winning and welcoming their former enemies with open arms, living now in a state of bitter peace united by the love of one thing – true, passionate, unadulterated heavy metal thunder!
Indeed, this heretofore unknown Swiss five-piece have created something truly captivating that sets them apart from the crowd and gives them a solid advantage over other up and comers in the current heavy metal and NWOBHM-esque throwback world, which is quite plentiful but one must truly dig deep to separate the wheat from the chaff.
I’m very much looking forward to the rest of the magic Amethyst will summon down the road and don’t doubt that their debut full-length, whenever it is set to be released, will resonate hard with many.
Highly Recommended
01 – Chasing Shadows
02 – Nightstranger
03 – Into The Black
04 – Stormchild
Freddy – Vocals
Ramon – Guitars
Miguel Sanchez – Bass
Yves – Guitars
Eldo – Drums
BUY
jawbreakerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/rock-knights
