AMENRA’s first release for Relapse Records is at once a departure and a momentous act of deliverance. Stepping outside the run of albums titled Mass I-VI, De Doorn casts a 21-year journey from the heart of Belgium’s crusading hardcore scene to world-renowned, spiritually guided innovators in an enthralling new light. Ritual, remembrance and hard-won rebirth have always been at the heart of Amenra’s colossal, soul-purging approach. Centered around frontman Colin H. Van Eeckhout, but marked out by a transcendent unity of purpose, their albums have acted as totemic, personal marker points, a means to process individual grief as a shared, cathartic experience. Their live shows are acts of incendiary, communal exorcism that reach a cusp of sublime, out-of-body experience. A closely knit collective, they transport you to a febrile state where confrontation of pain, transformation and true healing can occur. Amenra have always been profoundly bound to their hometowns around Flanders, the weight of that area’s war-torn history. The sacrifice and sense of a larger purpose that bridges the fragility of humanity and the pull of an immaculate ideal is carried as an ever-present resonance. No more is this apparent than in the spectacular, commemorative events the band have performed in recent years - to mark ending of the First World War; the band’s 20th anniversary; and the departure of long-time band member Levy Seynaeve. At the SMAK Museum Of Contemporary Art in Ghent’s 19th-century, monument-strewn Citadelpark in May 2019, they offered a communal recognition of loss and letting go. Here, audience members were invited to make their own offerings, placing personal notes of acknowledgment in wooden structures created by Indonesian artist Toni Kanwa Adikusumah, before they were brought out into the park and set alight as an act of recognition and release - a forging of hope from the flames. Written for the purpose of that rite, De Doorn (‘The Thorn’) occupies a place between Amenra’s recorded and live work, less a testimony to the band’s individual bereavements, more an invitation for others to come forward, and to pass through darkness into light. Where the Mass albums have taken the form of solitary struggles whose fearless honesty has aligned itself to the most intrinsically human of chords, the dynamics of De Doorn are as stricken by destiny as ever, but sonically looser. Guided to a lesser extent by the band’s characteristically immense, behind-the-beat traction, it’s more lush, immersive, steeped in sonorous, cathedral-echo ambiences amplified to the point of static-infected instability and carrying passages of deeply intimate spoken-word that feel like being drawn in to the most hallowed of confidences. Its themes of dialogue and the passing of knowledge are echoed in the combined vocals of Colin and Oathbreaker’s Caro Tanghe. Her spectral presence on the opening Ogentroost acts as both counterpoint and complement to Colin’s stricken howl as the song cycles between enervation and helplessly compelled momentum. Their whispered devotions in the following, vast, hallowed atmospheres of De Dood In Bloei leave you feeling as though you’re bearing witness to the most private of conversations. The first Amenra album to be sung entirely in Flemish, De Doorn imparts a universal power by digging deep into local customs. Not just allowing for a greater range of expression through the intimacy, allowances and layers of meaning granted by your native tongue, it takes inspiration from Flemish forms such as Kleinkunst, a folk-based musical wave driven by storytelling, and the passing of wisdom through generations. Yet as with every Amenra release, De Doorn is an act of observance that recognises the path travelled by fully experiencing the moment, as a rite of consummation, reckoning and deliverance. That state of transition is exemplified in the closing Vor Immer, a hushed, plaintively wracked coda that bursts into newborn, world-in-your eyes transfiguration where sheer, sense flooding experience becomes a blazing threshold where rupture and rapture become one. The thorn is the most potent of symbols - in religious terms, a reclamation and an agony as a mark of transformation. It’s the nagging reminder of vulnerability and it’s the violent protector, without which beauty cannot thrive. For the cover of De Doorn, it’s been cast in bronze - a thing of value and a memorial, each band member given their own piece to symbolise their own pain and their belonging to the greater whole. In bronze, it is both nature and something else - a mark of singularity and a portal to a continuity that we all share. As Amenra have acknowledged once more, it’s one that hears our call, even when we feel we are at our most alone.

@centralnysasquatch37dogman69

3 жыл бұрын

Great Soulful write up!

@lemurien7895

3 жыл бұрын

You forgot to put an ad in the middle of your comment.

@francescoferri7062

2 жыл бұрын

Me lo traduce in italiano xfavore!?

@The1stMrJohn

2 жыл бұрын

O

@mrcrandberry6115

2 жыл бұрын

I was completely wrapped up in reading this whilst the static-opera blared through my mind. It was an unearthly experience. It actually made the reading feel more personal, even more than it already was. I have only recently been introduced to AMENRA, but I am sold on this. Ogentroost was my introduction to them and that song is just a gripping experience, this is a journey.

I still remember seeing them live in Milano a few years ago, in front of an incredibly small crowd of twenty or so people in a quite small venue. They played a full set and after each song no-one clapped, no-one talked, no-one moved, no-one whispered anything to their friends. Total silence. Total immersion in their act. Total respect for what they were delivering. It was more of a ritual than a music concert. Only after the last song we all exploded in clapping and whistling that lasted minutes. It was a relief, such an emotion i almost cried. Will remember that show as one of the best experiences of my life, and i am sure there is twenty more people sharing that with me. I feel deeply sorry for all those who missed such an opportunity. Thanks AMENRA!

@fabionovelli3136

2 жыл бұрын

Dal vivo specialmente sono bestiali, l'unico gruppo che si avvicina ai Neurosis

@timoeusintimi5673

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah i believe too that such a sound can b therapeutic...🤔4 some white dudes 🙂

@91stinger

Жыл бұрын

i truely fell that. saw them 3 times, an acoustic set in a small church and 2 Metal concerts and its such a good way for me to close all tabs open in my mind and just listening and feeling this wonderful music. such a relief for all the stuff inside.

@Jernptrs

Жыл бұрын

@@timoeusintimi5673 what does color even have to do with this?

@timoeusintimi5673

Жыл бұрын

@@Jernptrs 'What has it2do with colyour..??!;Much.If u'd would ever see black people in the audience of such music,than these persons are grown up among⚪peoples,no black person go to this kind of sound..&of course,U can only know that,when u want to see it. When you want to open your eyes.If you don't want2see that,like many do in ⚪ world..then it's another case.. Black people don't say just like that:'It's ⚪ man's music. Sorry 🙂. (Sorry for my English,i'm not anglophonic,but francophonic). francophonic,my e

Man am so glad this band exist. Such a rollercoaster of pain and happiness

@fixxxer3983

2 жыл бұрын

I dont see any happy in amenra

@ciikh

Ай бұрын

I only see or hear pain in their music. But I fukkin‘ luvvv it! It’s outstanding what these guys do. On my bucket list: see Amenra live

Amenra reaches an emotional depth that few bands reach

@David-nn8ud

2 жыл бұрын

No other band reaches

@johnwalter6410

2 жыл бұрын

Listen to Evoken. This shit is boring

@k9_1008

2 жыл бұрын

i recommend the album maaäet by tenhi

@anli1040

2 жыл бұрын

@@k9_1008 Thanks for this, incredible album.

@k9_1008

2 жыл бұрын

@@anli1040 youre welcome =)

everybody seems a big fan of minute 8 and further, but f*ing 4:01 , singing for 5 seconds in between the talking parts, give me goosebumps every time I hear it !

@waleedmorgan9846

3 жыл бұрын

Right? Colin absolutely killed it on the clean orchestration.

@flothchtronk2068

2 жыл бұрын

He sounds so fragile and raw (in a beautiful way).

@Finngrinder

6 ай бұрын

There are only few things more beautiful than the segment from around 3 until 8 minutes, thank you, Amenra

Ik ben Italiaans maar Nederlands klinkt fantastisch en poëtisch in dit nummer. Wat een onderschatte taal. Epische nummer 👌

I must’ve sounded like Owen Wilson while listening to this for the first time. “Wow. Wooow. WOOOOOOOW. Wow.”

@rvfiasco

3 жыл бұрын

Ikr? Hehe

i wasn't ready to cry my heart out today... most intense. most touching. most beautiful. all my love for amenra. voor immer. ♥♥♥

Om stil van te worden. 🖤

Amenra is art

you know what is everything? this song is. so much. Thank you Amenra!

The great Belgium legacy.

I feel trapped in a zone between life and death and in the distance in hear the echo of this melody. Its like a magnet, calling me to get closer, calling me to get out of this inner void. Listening to this its like a ritual, it hurts so much but at the same time it feels like a good pain, a pain that needs to come out and when it does, the relief is immense and I can just feel grateful to Amenra to reach my heart with such depth.

I cried my heart out, again. I'm no dutch speaker but I can tell, this is another GRAND AMENRA album. Thanks to the band, for the emotion, the music, the art, everything. 🙏🏻

@poopshit807

3 жыл бұрын

It's not dutch

@sebastiaanx7867

3 жыл бұрын

@@poopshit807 *facepalm*

@poopshit807

3 жыл бұрын

Sure

@nnelaure

3 жыл бұрын

@@poopshit807 then rather of using the negative form, please formulate it differently: "it's [insert language here]". Goodwill always makes a difference! :)

@poopshit807

3 жыл бұрын

Ok

This kind of art is just for the ones that speak with their souls

@rvfiasco

3 жыл бұрын

Indeed

@carlborman5165

3 жыл бұрын

Yep. So , 0,0000001 % understand this

Amenra always feels personal

Devastating... Holy masterpiece. Impossible to describe... Congratulations, Amenra! The world is small for you. A new reign. Uncrowned . thank you, Masters! xx

@NotaFiskal

3 жыл бұрын

uau o.o

@FaceOfOden

3 жыл бұрын

Couldn't have said it better, cuz it's true!

@thr404

3 жыл бұрын

and please come to Brazil after covid pandemic ends (:

@robertaprado87

3 жыл бұрын

@@thr404 yes! please! it was the best concert of my life! we cant wait for it. xxx

@hudsunn1837

3 жыл бұрын

Que inveja, conheci a banda esse ano, o show deve ter sido maravilhoso :(

Happy to hear Caro Tanghe voice again! Masterpiece

Hits me so hard and deep in my soul without knowing a single word they're singing/speaking.

Best amenra song?

Finally, there is a place I can call home.

Emotional beacon rising from deepest torment to smoldering hope. Great arrangements, sensitive verses, deeply expressive and without a glance at mass marketability and mainstream.

I saw AMENRA in Richmond VA at a show with a hell of a lineup including YOB and Voivid. I have to tell you the entire show was amazing, Richmond has a bad ass metal scene. But AMENRA was a whole other level to see play live. Words cannot express it! You have to feel it for yourself.

@pwincessiris

2 жыл бұрын

I watched them yesterday night, they were absolutely insane

I saw Amen Ra with no idea of what I was walking into and It was such a powerful experience I left shaken. They are not a band performing club music rather they are a complex artistic experience that touches your being.

"The destiny of men is designed for happy moments (every life has those), but not for happy eras." FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE (15 October 1844 "A.D."- 25 August 1900 "A.D.") I. BUY the MUSIC... II. SUPPORT THE ARTIST(S) & the SCENE...

Did not think something could touch me more than Razoreater's acoustic rendition. But then I witness this prayer live and am way more fucked for live with grief than I already was

This was beyond intense. I feel like a tidal wave of raw emotions and sounds just smacked into me.

Beautiful and brutal. I wasn’t expecting it to come crashing in like that after that calm first half. Actually I should have because it’s Amenra. Can’t wait for the new album.

Cet album est un chef d'oeuvre, un voyage, une expérience, qui laisse.....sans voix

MANIFIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAA

Voor Immer. Forever. Ikuisesti. Thank you.

EVER peace. ripped apiece by time perished. an orphan child cherished I lean on you, my lifeline don't leave me my life on the line longing for longer the crow's last flight to flee its nest aflame sighing. mouths crying the river. broad and wide swallows sweeping all asunder single-minded sin seeping into the land peace - praying for release fare well and have faith stay now by our side walk with us as our guide buried ashes to ashes. dust on the wind we tremble in the face of evil spare us all from bad blood spare us from bad blood fare well and have faith a tomb is sealed and there is no one left around me here it all ends to fall and rise under merciless skies light and grace lines marring her face wounds inflicted by love scarring our skin. here and above our home. a blemish on the land cuts fading to the softest trace outstretched. a beggar's hand one last poem and letters unread it ends here. and weighs us down like lead I stumble I fall my eyes to the ground one last sigh, a silent sound a tombstone poem earth muffling its letters unread there is love there is grace there is love and grace but I avert my face there is love and grace but I avert my face forever on my own in your embrace I am alone forever on my own for our sins we must atone have faith in happiness beyond have faith there is happiness beyond I live for you remember my whispered words I may come and go but I alone will remain for better for worse eternal coming and going lingering love eternal coming and going lingering love rejoice

@valkaany

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@dwightk.schrute8696

3 жыл бұрын

Nevermind my previous comment, I just had to keep scrolling through the comments. This is an amazing piece of poetry, I can only imagine how much more impactful it is if you actually speak Dutch and can grasp the original. One more question if you don't mind, the heavy part starts with the "I live, for you, remember, my whispered words" verse?

@thesickbeat

4 ай бұрын

​@@dwightk.schrute8696 the translation of these lyrics are very poorly translated. The lyrics are actually Flemish, not Dutch, but it's very similar to Dutch. The heavy part happens after "Heb goede moed, Je hebt geluk tegoed". Closest translation in my opinion is "Have good faith (be optimistic...), you're owed a fortune". The part you're referring to is: "Ik leef voor jou, en ik wil dat je dit onthoudt", which in English would be "I live for you, and I want you to remember this". But this is followed by "I am the only one that comes and keeps going, in goodness, in rest, the finite (,) coming and going". It's sung in such a way that you can't definitively state where a sentence starts or ends. It's also meant to be poetic which makes translation of it difficult. A bit like we translated the bible but forgot the original intent.

Beklijvend prachtig!! Kippevel van kop tot teen... een krop in de keel... wow... de zwaarst onderdrukte emoties worden gewoonweg opengereten!!

Goed bezig jongens. De beste Nederlandstalige plaat van het jaar.

Спасибо группе за эту (финальную на альбоме) песню, ибо теперь перестал плакать во время Новены. Чтож... Теперь буду ждать следующий альбом, чтобы вырваться из ослепительно нежных безпощадных лап этого шедевра. Всего-то лет пять, да?))

this must be a new record for longest intro to a song ever.

@TheKinchaos

3 жыл бұрын

I think it's a real Nice part of the song and of the album

@UnclePhillyMyAss

3 жыл бұрын

Its not an intro

Amenra was the last show I saw before the viral apocalypse. This music brought so many memories from this day a man oh man I hope to see them live again when all this passes!

@Genesis222777

3 жыл бұрын

Same. Even if we get to see live music ever again, I feel like concerts will never be the same with those masks and shit. And I'm glad I got to see the best live band in activity for my last pre-covid show.

@zerberus1097

2 жыл бұрын

I'm gonna see them tomorrow

@jaumbz

2 жыл бұрын

@@zerberus1097 Have a good one!

@zerberus1097

2 жыл бұрын

@@jaumbz thanks man, I just came home a few hours ago and the show was mindblowing!

@jaumbz

2 жыл бұрын

@@zerberus1097 Nice! They are really amazing live!!

Grand. Harmonious. Crescendo added with taste. Majestic. Diverse. Painful, sad, hoping, expressive, emotional. This is no metal, rock, sludge - this is AMENRA.

This album is already a fantastic achievement.

My holy Amenra!!! ♥️♥️♥️

Thank you 🙏🏼🙇🏼‍♂️♥️🐝

I really liked Caro's touch on De Evenmens, but I'm glad this is mostly a Colin track with her just making that little cameo towards the end. Colin is just on another level when it comes to his screams.

@UnclePhillyMyAss

3 жыл бұрын

Shes on the beginning too

@chopchop080808

3 жыл бұрын

@@UnclePhillyMyAss Where abouts?

@UnclePhillyMyAss

3 жыл бұрын

@@chopchop080808 2.30

@chopchop080808

3 жыл бұрын

@@UnclePhillyMyAss Oh, nice catch

@UnclePhillyMyAss

3 жыл бұрын

@@chopchop080808 Missed it myself until I put headphones on man!

9:12 this part is epic 🖤

@kanoeyuuko195

3 жыл бұрын

Is it me or is there second set of vocals/ line in the background? am I hearing things?

This beauty comes from an abyss that contains the whole world. The addition of Caro's vocals is an excellent addendum. This album is going to be beautiful, once again.

Soooooo beautiful 😭😭😭.......

Prachtig, ingetogen en zo intens explosief.

Der Loord... I'm fine with the slight clipping... that's when I got chills and came - true masters of the kcraft

Thank you for your art Amenra

What a journey this song has

This is such an amazing band. Saw them live a few years back - extremely intense show.

ZAEBIS’ 🔥

I'm speechless. Well done!

I have a few songs that I want to be played at my funeral ... this is one. This is most probably the outro. Intro would be Paysage d Hivers "Offenbahrung" ... music is so wonderfully true, so wonderully beautiful. So intrinsically human ... and godly. Dammit, life IS beautiful!

I realized that this is *Epic Post Metal*

Eu fico sem verdadeiras palavras para poder descrever o tanto que eu sinto ao escutar esse álbum. Definir cada emoção que brota no decorrer de cada música é um trabalho que não ouso despender o tempo, pois é valioso demais somente deixar sentir e escorrer cada parte desse sentir. Eu já chorei e levantei eufórico da cadeira, já tentei cantar junto, ou somente gritar junto, fiquei em silêncio e deixei correr o som pelo corpo todo, pois não foram somente os ouvidos que receberam esse som. É devastador, mas nem por isso ruim, muito pelo contrário... é quase uma verdadeira sensação de liberdade e descoberta. Muito obrigado por essas música AmenRa! Ainda mais em um ano tão difícil e complicado quanto esses últimos. Eu sinto um verdadeiro amor e sensação de gratitude por existir no mesmo tempo em que vocês.

@Forsvinne77

2 жыл бұрын

Belas palavras ❤️

Eternal.

I just hope I was there to also place things in the Pyre but this song felt like Cleansing once again. AmenRa delivered once again . They are truly one of the greatest if not the greatest band of modern time..

too beauty and deep and sublime destruction of all hopes. tears. first time hearing them here. 2nd song by them I hear. \m/ from São Paulo.

So, so beautiful. Can't wait

Incredible piece of art

For Ever

Glorious!

Magnificent!

Visuals genuinely impressed me, also music is great! AMENRA!

The darkest of masterpieces, crafted from a tormented soul, scarred and beaten by death's unyielding leash itself. A frothing yet subdued canvas framing a tortured existence, devalued of any hope or happiness, reflecting the cold absurdity of life. One might say this is the musical seance we needed in these times of great heed and upheaval, I say - dare I say? - this is the sonic ritual we deserve, writhing and clawing our way aimlessly through the mud and excrement, always ultimately utterly alone. It is said great pain can bring into existence something transcendental, something before unseen or unheard of - I am now sure of that. For through the billowing thick mist, obscuring most of this wretched, purposeless pastime we dare call "living" - we all know it's dying all the way down - I can now, briefly, sense an all-enveloping soothing. Soothing for these aching bones and this derelict frame - not asked for, but given. Moeten er nog USB-sticks zijn, jongens?

@kevindevos4698

3 жыл бұрын

Kan iemand mij die usb joke eens uitleggen? want zie die vaak passeren haha

@chvaneeckhout7016

3 жыл бұрын

@@kevindevos4698 We hebben ooit ns een artfilm/audioding op usb/tripod paternoster uitgebracht in het verleden ipv op dvd of bluray. En de anonieme @brackmetaw vindt dat nog altijd een supergoeie mop ofzo :)

En nu wachten geblazen tot Colin de tekst comment.

@PhilipTheHunter

3 жыл бұрын

Kwam net kijken of het nog niet gebeurd was 😉

Excellent

True Art exists

Great sound. Very broad and rich

Love this track, amazing!! Playing it on this weeks show \m/

it is a unique masterpiece. Nietzche metal this.

Thanks for this nice piece of art Amenra. I somehow needed it today. Probably for tomorrow and the rest of the time too...

Love.

Saw them on Graspop '22 again, seen them many much times before. I need to see them at the end of the year in Waregem (Belgium, EU). It realy physically hurts not to see them... Still trying to watch the whole performance...Have to run out 'caus Colin seems to be the only person on this planet that found the words that I suffered for. Good luck touring all over the world guys. Hoped to see you in Portugal, come on, do it 2 weeks earlier 🙂See ya in december in Woarehem. Take care, love ya!!! Have a great tour!!! Just come back... Can't live, if living is without you. 😉

I'm fucking dead inside but this song always makes me human again. Every time.

Love it

awesome

I hate it when i'm in the flow and a commercial kicks in two times. Great song again tho.

@sonofbruce2

3 жыл бұрын

Adblock Plus for Firefox blocks all those ads

@edoardolillo

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah that was very disappointing

@jrottendevil

3 жыл бұрын

@@sonofbruce2 better yet, Brave browser does it without a plugin

@robertaprado87

3 жыл бұрын

Adblock

@whatthefuck1011

2 жыл бұрын

If you're watching on mobile and using a android device, try youtube vanced.

🔥🔥🔥😍

Reminds me a bit of early Anathema, and maybe a hint of Burzum? Good stuff!

@jonasdecoster9365

3 жыл бұрын

I was thinking of it too. Much Burzum hints! Awesome good

I was not expecting that hard of a beat drop

Great

Minute 8 is so intense! Damn..

🔥

Thanks 🙏

Tellement intospectif... si ça existe...

🖤

🖤🔥🖤

Очень красивые мелодии, эпично. Диды в общем дают жару.

@Squirtoslav_999

3 жыл бұрын

🤡

🙏🖤

Prachtig. Fe-no-me-naal 🤍

This is one of the heaviest fucking things I've ever heard, sonically and emotionally

❤️

🖤🙏🏻

You helped me today

AmenRa x Hypno5e : best crossover ...

That was different.

8:00 bro i was playing de doorn on shuffle while on the bus and that scared the shit outta me

4 commercials during 1 song? KZread! Have you gone mad?

É outro nível.

@theprinceofdarkness_

2 жыл бұрын

Exatamente