Usually when a band describes their music as something new and hard to describe, it’s a load of bullshit. Amnistia is no different, then. The band’s own biography describes their music as being “without a main focus on trends in the clubscene.” And then immediately afterward, it says “kickdrums, hard basslines, snaresounds, discreet but striking placed samples and a charismatic voice are the attributes of their sound.” Is it just me, or did they completely contradict themselves there? I think they did. And a quick sampling of the music on their MySpace page confirms that all of this talk about sounding different and unique is meaningless. There are lots of bands that sound almost exactly like them. Why try to trick people into thinking otherwise?

The saving grace
You’re probably wondering by now if this band is even worth a listen, given my harsh criticism so far. Is it best to simply avoid Amnistia all together? No. Actually, their music is pretty good, and I would suggest having a listen. It may not be anything new, but a band’s sound doesn’t have to be new to be good. It just has to appeal to you, and if you like dark electro-industrial music, you will probably like Amnistia. So go and have a listen. Their new album Blackguard was just released on April 11th and is available at all the typical webshops.

The point
The whole point of my criticism is to show the stupidity of typical marketing campaign that tries to turn a band into something it’s not. Don’t lie (or let others lie for you) about your sound because you will be called out on it every time. You only stand to lose the respect of lots of would-be fans by doing this. You don’t have to be humble, just be genuine. Let people listen to your music and let them decide what genre you fit into or what bands you do or don’t sound like. Because at the end of the day when all is said and done, bands don’t place themselves into genres, fans do.

Amnistia - Blackguard tracklisting:
01. init²
02. emulate
03. anger management
04. blackguard
05. komplex
06. creed
07. fractured
08. zu staub
09. menacing
10. outrage
11. cold
12. our darkest path
13. scars [not just words]

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 7:11 pm and is filed under Amnistia, EBM, Electronic, Marketing and Promotion, Release Dates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.