Amplifier (Progressive Rock/Space Rock) - New Album "Mystoria" is out now!

[pain of occupation]

i'm actually spinning some HAL right now...aspects of Everyday Combat actually reminded me of The Tea Party.

ha! awesome; i guess i thought the same thing 2 years ago.

[Zantera]

It's nice to see the thread bumped though. Hopefully the new album will come out in the second half of 2014.

[pain of occupation]

seriously, who releases better EPs than these guys?! im just hoping SunRiders lives up to the previous 3...

long story short, i ordered the 'Special Edition' of Echo Street from an online store and it didnt come with the EP (nor the full booklet).  but i just took advantage of amplifier's 33% off sale in january and should have the real deal on its way, along with a bevy of other items. 

[Zantera]

Sunriders is another really nice EP. The title-track quickly became a favorite, and the other songs on it are stellar too.

[The King in Crimson]

seriously, who releases better EPs than these guys?! im just hoping SunRiders lives up to the previous 3...

I honestly really don't care for Fractal at all. It's nice I guess, but it's not a patch on their regular stuff.

I haven't listened to Sunriders yet, so maybe that one is a bit better.

long story short, i ordered the 'Special Edition' of Echo Street from an online store and it didnt come with the EP (nor the full booklet).  but i just took advantage of amplifier's 33% off sale in january and should have the real deal on its way, along with a bevy of other items. 

I picked up Echo Street off Amplifier's store and they were kind enough to sign my copy for me! Pretty cool.

[dparrott]

Good stuff, a bit of shoegaze in there too.  Thanks.

[pain of occupation]

seriously, who releases better EPs than these guys?! im just hoping SunRiders lives up to the previous 3...

I honestly really don't care for Fractal at all. It's nice I guess, but it's not a patch on their regular stuff.

I haven't listened to Sunriders yet, so maybe that one is a bit better.

oh, you know what, i completely forgot they even did  that Fractal EP!  its actually the only thing of theirs i havent heard. i now remember that i wasnt super interested in it, as The Octopus (era) is the only album (era?) i didnt like.
so ya, i was thinking HAL, Eternal, and the Bonus EP from the debut album as their only EPs.

I picked up Echo Street off Amplifier's store and they were kind enough to sign my copy for me! Pretty cool.

hopefully i get a signed copy. (hopefully i didnt offend when i asked for a "banger in the mouth" to replace the t shirt i ordered that wasnt available.)

[Zantera]

Time for a bump! Since I'm unofficially the biggest Amplifier fan on the board, I feel responsible with updating news and so on, and since they dropped a lot today let's keep the thread updated.

New album "Mystoria" will come out on September 8.


01. Magic Carpet
02. Black Rainbow
03. Named After Rocky
04. Cat's Cradle
05. Bride
06. Open Up
07. Meld (Summer Of Love)*
08. OMG
09. The Meaning Of If
10. Darth Vader *
11. Crystal Mountain
12. Crystal Anthem

The two songs with stars after are bonus tracks on the special edition version of the album, the normal version has 10 songs. The album will also (much like Echo Street) be available on black vinyl. You can pre-order the album here: https://www.omerch.eu/shop/Amplifier/

I'm really excited myself. I really liked Echo Street, and I feel like every album the band has done (even Insider, which I know gets some hate) have been interesting and great in their own unique ways. The debut remains my favorite, but the catchy songwriting on Insider was great, the epicness of The Octopus and the more Pink Floyd-sounding Echo Street was sweet. I'm stoked for this. 

[ariich]

Agree that Echo Street was a bit more Pink Floydy, it's a good album but still sits behind the debut and Octopus for me.

Recently discovered the Eternity EP from 2009, which is really nice! Presumably you've heard it, Jimmy?

[Zantera]

Agree that Echo Street was a bit more Pink Floydy, it's a good album but still sits behind the debut and Octopus for me.

Recently discovered the Eternity EP from 2009, which is really nice! Presumably you've heard it, Jimmy?

Yeah! It's quite a nice EP. I like it. It's not as good as The Astronaut Dismantles HAL EP, but still a solid release. Just for the fun of it, (and to get some more activity in here), here's how I would rank their discography with EPs included:

Amplifier
The Octopus
The Astronaut Dismantles HAL
Echo Street
Sunriders
Insider
Eternity
Amplifier EP
Fractal

I actually really like all of these releases, but Fractal is the only one where I feel I need to listen to it a bit more. As it stands now, that's the one EP I don't remember much from.

[pain of occupation]

I thought I remembered Zantera naming The Octopus his favorite...maybe just til the romance of it wore off(?)

anyway, I haven't pre ordered Mystoria yet, but I shall do so post haste. only listened to the first song released just once. didn't totally blow me away, but it sounded fun, and i'm sure it'll grow upon further spins.

i'm pretty sure they described Mystoria as "the most progressive grunge album ever", way back when before they got sidetracked with Echo Street. made me think they were trying to top the debut album. that would be sick, but i'll try not to let my lofty expectations get in the way of loving it regardless.

[Zantera]

I tend to hold The Octopus and Amplifier on the same level, the main difference that makes me feel like the debut has a slight edge, is because of the concept/epic idea behind The Octopus. It kinda works for good and bad, but the album is a 2 hour concept album. Sometimes that's awesome, sometimes 2 hours can be long to sit through, even if the songs are great. It kinda depends on the mood. While it is a really strong double album, and probably the biggest achievement by the band, I think the debut is probably their best overall. It has no weak moments at all, where I would say The Octopus might have one or two duds, but it's more forgivable since it's a double album.

[Zantera]

Alright so Mystoria is out, I got my package with the T-Shirt, CD (Digibook version) and Vinyl (the limited White one) earlier and both the CD and Vinyl were signed. I really like the album so far after 2-3 listens. It's a bit of a departure from Octopus and Echo Street but still sounds very much like Amplifier. I would say it probably sounds the closest to Insider sound-wise. Overall it needs some time to sink in, but I'm happy with it.

[ariich]

Insider is by far my least favourite of their full-lengths, but I don't think that's anything to do with the sound so much as the songwriting not grabbing me. So I'll hold out judgement until I hear the album.

I quite like Echo Street, but it definitely felt a bit more straightforward and not as exciting/unusual as the debut or Octopus. How does the new album stack up in that regard?

[Zantera]

Well, IMO Echo Street was a bit more on the progressive and light side, whereas Mystoria is more of a straight-forward rocker. No long or spacey songs, but they're a bit more focused songwriting-wise. As always there's groovy riffs, catchy melodies and a nice blend of guitar attack and soft elements. I would agree that Insider is their weakest studio album (for me it starts off pretty strong but loses steam in the second half/middle), I think structure-wise there are similarities though. I think the longest Mystoria track is 6 minutes something, so they're a bit shorter and a bit more focused. And Mystoria (like Insider) also starts off with an instrumental that leads nicely into the second song. I still miss the spacey elements of songs like Airborne or UFOs, but overall I think this is a pretty great effort at making an Insider-like album but with better writing overall.

I do recommend getting the Digibook version with the two extra songs though. After the few listens so far, those two tracks are among the better ones IMO. 

[ariich]

Sounds pretty good. I agree that Insider starts well, the first two tracks are probably my favourites. Fingers crossed I like Mystoria!

[Zantera]

Sounds pretty good. I agree that Insider starts well, the first two tracks are probably my favourites. Fingers crossed I like Mystoria!

Let's hope so! I have a feeling Mystoria will need some listens despite the straightforwardness style of the songs. On my second listen I unveiled some new layers of some songs that I didn't hear on the first go.

[pfillion]

New song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4PoflfAMEo

[LordCost]

I will listen to it soon. I like that Silvio is on the record, I liked that track when it came out 3 or more years ago.
I didn't like Mystoria and Echo Street was good but not at the level of The Octopus and the debut.

Has anyone heard Residue? Part 2 is great for me.

[twosuitsluke]

These are the sounds my ears have been searching for! Pretty sure this is going to be an instant buy after I finish this first listen. So, Amplifier, which album should I try next?