Amenra

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File:AmenRa1.jpg

Amenra was formed in 1999 in the West Flanders city of Kortrijk.{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0001047978 | title=Amenra Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More | website=AllMusic }} It was founded by vocalist Colin H. van Eeckhout, lead guitarist Mathieu Vandekerckhove and bassist Kristof Mondy. The three had been in the hardcore punk band Spineless that split up in 1999 and wanted to create music with more "heart and soul".{{cite web | url=http://www.brusselnieuws.be/nl/nieuws/etherische-postmetal-van-amenra-klinkt-als-pletwals | title=Etherische postmetal van Amenra klinkt als pletwals | publisher=Brussel Deze Week | work=Agenda Magazine | date=12 December 2012 | accessdate=20 November 2014 | author=Peeters, Tom|language=Dutch}}{{cite web | url=http://www.dewereldmorgen.be/artikels/2012/12/21/wij-zijn-een-en-al-boodschap-amenra-presenteert-nieuwste-cd | title="Wij zijn één en al boodschap": Amenra presenteert nieuwste cd | publisher=DeWereldMorgen.be | date=21 December 2012 | accessdate=20 November 2014 | author=Devriendt, Christophe | language=Dutch | archive-date=29 November 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129061637/http://www.dewereldmorgen.be/artikels/2012/12/21/wij-zijn-een-en-al-boodschap-amenra-presenteert-nieuwste-cd | url-status=dead }}

The group released their debut studio album Mass I in 2003. Van Eeckhout suggested in 2017 that each Mass is created out of necessity to reflect on a certain experience or phase in the band members' lives and thus they never know which album will be their last. He also described 2005's Mass III as a "keystone moment of [Amenra's] existence" at which they "found direction". The band's next "turning point" came when they joined Neurot Records to release Mass V.{{cite web | url=http://www.terrorizer.com/news/news-news/studio-report-amenra/ | title=Studio Report: Amenra | work=Terrorizer Magazine | date=14 June 2012 | accessdate=20 November 2014 | author=Yardley, Miranda}}{{cite web | url=http://www.terrorizer.com/news/news-news/amenra-sign-with-neurot/ | title=Amenra Sign With Neurpt | work=Terrorizer Magazine | date=12 July 2011 | accessdate=20 November 2014 | author=Yardley, Miranda}} The label was founded by Neurosis; a band that has been influential in Amenra's style and career.{{cite web | url=http://focus.knack.be/entertainment/muziek/concertverslagen/amenra-abbox-luid-maar-zuiver/article-review-208449.html | title=Amenra @ ABBox: luid maar zuiver | work=Knack Focus Magazine | date=23 December 2012 | accessdate=20 November 2014 | author=Steenhaut, Dirk|language=Dutch}}{{cite web | url=http://www.humo.be/humo-archief/197873/wat-schaft-de-pod-de-favoriete-platen-van-amenra | title=Wat schaft de Pod? – De favoriete platen van Amenra | work=HUMO | date=20 November 2012 | accessdate=20 November 2014|language=Dutch}} Produced by Billy Anderson,{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/amenra-mass-vi-album-stream-a8002161.html|title=AMENRA – MASS VI: Album Stream|last=Dedman|first=Remfry|work=The Independent|date=16 October 2017|accessdate=16 October 2017}} Mass V has received moderately positive reviews from critics.{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/mass-v-mw0002415701|title=Mass V – Amenra; Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards; AllMusic|author=Eduardo Rivadavia|publisher=AllMusic|accessdate=29 April 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/167202-amenra-mass-v/|title=Amenra: Mass V; PopMatters|author=Craig Hayes|publisher=PopMatters|date=15 January 2013|accessdate=29 April 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/compact_discs/amenra/mass_v/index.html|title=Amenra: Mass V (staff review) at UG.com |author=Lou Vickers |publisher=Ultimate Guitar Archive|date=27 November 2012|accessdate=29 April 2016}}

Amenra's fourth album Mass VI was released in 2017 and became the band's first to enter the Belgian Album Chart, at No. 19.{{Cite web |title=Belgium Albums Top 50 (October 28, 2017) – Music Charts |url=https://acharts.co/belgium_albums_top_50/2017/43 |access-date=31 December 2023 |website=acharts.co}} For the band's fifth album De Doorn, released in 2021, Oathbreaker lead singer Caro Tanghe contributed as an additional vocalist.{{Cite web |last=Kilroy |first=Hannah May |date=23 July 2021 |title=Behind the rituals that informed Amenra's new album De Doorn |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/behind-the-rituals-that-informed-amenras-new-album-de-doorn |access-date=31 December 2023 |website=louder |language=en}} De Doorn entered the Belgian Album Chart at number three, behind only Camille Dhont and Olivia Rodrigo. It also charted at No. 68 in Germany.{{Cite web |title=Offizielle Deutsche Charts – Offizielle Deutsche Charts |url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/album-details-478785 |access-date=31 December 2023 |website=www.offiziellecharts.de}}

In August 2021, professional wrestler Malakai Black began using Amenra's song "Ogentroost" as his entrance theme in All Elite Wrestling.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2021/08/video-malakai-blacks-entrance-on-aew-dynamite/|title = Video: Malakai Black's Entrance on AEW Dynamite| date=4 August 2021 }}

Remfry Dedman of The Independent wrote that the band's "avant-garde post-metal" music "push[es] the boundaries of extreme music by being heavy in practically every conceivable way; sonically, emotionally and spiritually."{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/amenra-mass-vi-album-stream-a8002161.html|title=AMENRA – MASS VI: Album Stream|last=Dedman|first=Remfry|newspaper=The Independent|date=16 October 2017|accessdate=16 October 2017}}

Though calling himself agnostic, Colin H. van Eeckhout acknowledges the presence of spirituality and religion in the band's work.{{cite web | url=http://snoozecontrol.be/interviews/5350/ | title=Interview Colin H. Van Eeckhout| work=Snoozecontrol | date=19 March 2016 | accessdate=29 June 2016}} Shortly before the release of Mass VI, he wrote for The Independent:

We have one story to tell and it is always the same. I always write about life's pain. I always use personal experiences as a reference to relate as truthfully and as honestly possible, from the heart. I try to bend the darkness into the light. ... From the beginning, our intention with the Mass albums was to devise a platform for self-reflection, to set a base for introspection; that moment when you're on your knees and you ask questions that don't have answers.

Amenra often collaborate with visual artists and choreographers, including Willy Vanderperre{{cite web | url=https://www.nowness.com/story/amenra-a-mon-ame | title=Amenra: A Mon Âme | work=Nowness | date=23 March 2014 | accessdate=29 June 2016}} and Berlinde De Bruyckere.{{cite web | url=http://amenra-official.tumblr.com/page/3 | title=AMENRA/MADENSUYU split picture disc 10" on Consouling Sounds | work=Tumblr | date=25 July 2014 | accessdate=29 June 2016}}

Around the release of Mass III in 2005, Amenra founded a collective of like-minded artists named Church of Ra. It includes friends who share a DIY ethic,{{cite web | url=https://www.doornroosje.nl/event/church-of-ra/ | title=Church Of Ra | work=Doornroosje | accessdate=29 June 2016}} collaborating on various artistic projects. In a 2014 interview, van Eeckhout traced the development of the collective:{{cite web|title=Interview: Amenra|url=http://echoesanddust.com/2014/04/interview-amenra/|last=van den Driesche|first=Sander|publisher=Echoes and Dust|date=9 April 2014|accessdate=5 January 2017|quote=}}{{cite web|title=watch new Amenra video featuring Neurosis' Scott Kelly|url=http://www.brooklynvegan.com/amenra-releases-1/|last=|first=|publisher=BrooklynVegan|date=12 November 2012|accessdate=5 January 2017}}

We started working together in different projects with Amenra and sideprojects Kingdom [including van Eeckhout and Vandekerckhove], Syndrome [Vandekerckhove's solo project], etc. When Lennart Bossu [of the band Firestone] (guitars) and Levy Seynaeve [of the band Black Haven] (bass) joined Amenra, Oathbreaker [including Bossu] and Hessian [Seynaeve] got formed. We worked together with Tomas Lootens and Valentijn Goethals from Webecameaware for layouts artwork etc, they are also in The Black Heart Rebellion. Treha Sektori from Paris also works with us a lot. I started talking to him in 2009, and soon thereafter we formed Sembler Deah [van Eeckhout, Vandekerckhove]. New projects CHVE [van Eeckhout's solo project], Harlowe [van Eeckhout, Bossu], Caan [van Eeckhout, Vandekerckhove], Darak [van Eeckhout, Vandekerckhove], Wiegedood [Oathbreaker members] are being formed. Through the years photographers like Stefaan Temmerman, Jeroen Mylle, Thomas Sweertvaegher worked with us as well, dancer choreographer Thomas Steyaert, visual artist/graphic designer Tine Guns and so much more.

One recurring musician in the collective is Tim Bryon, the drummer of Kingdom, Hessian, and the Black Heart Rebellion. In 2015, Vandekerckhove formed Absent in Body with Scott Kelly of Neurosis, joined in 2016 by van Eeckhout; they released one single, "The Abyss Stares Back – Vol. V", in 2017. In 2020, van Eeckhout and Bossu released the single "A Faint Young Sun" with techno DJ Gianmarco Cellini, as Eyes of Another. In 2021, Caro Tanghe of Oathbreaker joined Amenra and contributed vocals to the album De Doorn.

• Colin H. van Eeckhout – vocals (1999–present)
• Mathieu J. Vandekerckhove – guitars (1999–present)
• Bjorn J. Lebon – drums (1999–present)
• Lennart Bossu – guitars (2008–present){{Cite web|url=https://hypertensionrecords.com/2008/12/amenra-has-new-guitar-player/|title=Amenra has new guitar player|website=Hypertensionrecords.com|date=31 December 2008|accessdate=15 November 2020}}
• Amy Tung Barrysmith – bass (2025–present) (touring member 2024)

• Kristof J. Mondy – bass (1999–2006) (touring member 2009)
• Vincent F. Tetaert – guitars (2003–2008){{Cite web|url=https://hypertensionrecords.com/2008/08/amenra-part-ways-with-guitarist/|title=Amenra part ways with guitarist » Hypertension Records|date=5 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805162417/https://hypertensionrecords.com/2008/08/amenra-part-ways-with-guitarist/|accessdate=15 November 2020|archive-date=5 August 2016}}
• Maarten Kinet – bass (2006–2012) (touring member 2014, 2024)
• Levy Seynaeve – bass (2012–2020)
• Tim De Gieter – bass, backing vocals (2020–2024)[https://www.facebook.com/churchofra/photos/d41d8cd9/10155074148486371/&usg=AOvVaw2l-UKXP8KTrfPpWagX4fD_] {{dead link|date=November 2020}} (touring member 2017–2020)
• Caro Tanghe – vocals (2021){{Cite web|url=https://amenra.bandcamp.com/album/de-doorn|title = De Doorn, by AMENRA}} (touring member 2009, 2012)

• Kristof J. Mondy – bass (2009)
• Gilles Demolder – guitars (2009)
• Thomas Vandingenen – percussion (2009)
• Caro Tanghe – vocals (2009, 2012)
• Maarten Kinet – bass (2014, 2024)
• Femke de Beleyr – viloin (2014, 2024)
• Sofie Verdoodt – vocals (2014)
• Tim De Gieter – bass (2017–2020)
• Amy Tung Barrysmith – bass (2024)

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• Mass III (2005)
• Mass IIII (2008)
• Mass V (2012)
• Mass VI (2017)
• De Doorn (2021)

• Mass I: Prayer I-VI (2003)
• Prayers 9+10 (2004)
• Mass II: Sermons (2005)
• Afterlife (2009)
• Het Dorp / De Zotte Morgen (2020)
• De Toorn (2025)
• With Fang and Claw (2025)

• Live (2012)
• Live II (2014)
• Alive (2016)
• Mass VI Live (2020)
• Acoustic Live (Vivid) (2020)
• Live at Dunk!2021 (2022)

• De Doorn (Version 2) (2022)

• Vuur / Amenra 7" (2004)
• Vuur / Amenra / Gameness / Gantz CD (2004)
• Amenra / Hitch 7" (2007)
• Amenra / Hive Destruction 10" (2011)
• Amenra / The Black Heart Rebellion 12" (2011)
• Amenra / Oathbreaker 7" (2011)
• Amenra / Hessian 7" (2012)
• Amenra / Madensuyu 10" (2014)
• Amenra / VVOVNDS 12" (2014)
• Amenra / Eleanora 10" (2014)
• Amenra / Treha Sektori 10" (2014)
• Amenra / Sofie Verdoodt 7" (2015)
• Amenra / Raketkanon 7" (2017)
• Songs of Townes Van Zandt Vol. III" (Amenra, Marissa Nadler & Cave In) (2022)

• The Cradle: Demos (2019)
• A Flood of Light: Soundtrack (2020)

• Mass III (Hypertension Records pre-order special) (2005)
• Church of Ra (2009)
• 23.10 (2009)
• 01.06 (Fortarock 2013) (2013)
• 22.12 (Ancienne Belgique 2012) (2013)

• "Nowena 9|10" (2012)
• "Boden" (2012)
• "Amonâme" (2014)
• "Charon" (2016)
• "Children of the Eye" (2017)
• "A Solitary Reign" (2017)
• "Trahn" (2020)
• "The Summoning" (with Kreng) (2020)
• "Song to the Siren" (Tim Buckley cover) (2021)
• "De Evenmens" (2021)
• "Voor Immer" (2021)
• "Day is Done" (2021) (Nick Drake cover) (2021)
• "Roads" (2022) (Portishead cover) (2022)

• Church of Ra (2008)

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110914072142/http://neurotrecordings.com/artists/amenra/amenra.php Amenra at Neurot Recordings] (archived)
• {{allmusic}}
• {{discogs artist}}

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Category:Post-metal musical groups

Category:Belgian heavy metal musical groups

Category:Belgian post-rock groups

Category:Sludge metal musical groups

Category:Doom metal musical groups

Category:People from Kortrijk

Category:1999 establishments in Belgium

Category:Musical groups established in 1999

Category:Hypertension Records artists

Category:English-language musical groups from Belgium