Release date: 24. 10. 2025
Self-released
Production: Ambra (mix: Ben McLeod (All Them Witches), mastering: Mikey Allred)
Genre: Alternative Metal
Rating: 9.0/10
Ambra, the alternative metal outfit from Ljubljana, are back with their second studio album, “Remnant”. This is a record that should have come out on one of the bigger international labels, because in terms of sonic polish it hits the standards of plenty of established bands who have spent years pushing the sonic and expressive boundaries of trendsetting extreme metal with their fearless exploration. “Remnant” is a beast of its own kind, one that boldly and confidently chases the cutting edge set by the globally established names in the metal world.
The band has studied the culture of sonic destruction down to the last studio detail. “Remnant” is a successful blend of several genres. It’s a melting pot where elements of doom and stoner metal shake hands with hardcore punk, and where the band’s musical direction experiments with ideas so successfully that it comes close to the thrill of progressive metal. The atmosphere on the album is downright crushing, often laced with a corrosive nihilism (especially when it comes to the vocal delivery).
The six-year gap since the debut “Cor” (2019), which saw the band glide into the realm of the scene’s new musical oddballs and grab everyone’s full attention, has produced a swarm of new ideas. On the new album they come across with an artistic maturity, and an upgrade on the debut, that’s clearly audible all the way through. Ambra are a crew with a sharply defined focus and musical vision, and “Remnant” is a work of great cohesion in that respect. It’s extremely compact in format. A record with a clear common thread. From start to finish. This quintet knows exactly what it wants to serve up with its musical vision! When the opening seconds of the album grab you, the whole album grabs you.
A massive, reinforced-concrete wall of sound from low-tuned guitars that thunder, drone and howl without compromise chases the above-mentioned cutting-edge standard, set (or still being set) by bands like Gojira and Mastodon, among others! But Ambra go much, much further in the expanses of their strikingly dark soundscapes! The album “Remnant” is led by a leaden wall of sound through which not a single ray of hope shines. As you travel through the album, it feels like you’re falling through the darkest abyss with no end in sight, and your fall never reaches the bottom. The album is richly contrasted and intensified by the vocal performance, let’s call it an outstandingly lived-in vocal performance, from the band’s new singer Jakob Rejec, which literally brings this rocky, slowly rolling stomp of brilliant, practically flawless production polish to life! With the new vocalist, Ambra have landed the ideal vocal acrobat. He slips skillfully and deftly into every role he’s given. He’s a vocal chameleon of a thousand faces. That’s a rare virtue, but Rejec has it, and he delivers it on “Remnant” with great skill and distinction. In places, the vibe of the album might also catch the attention of fans of post-hardcore heroes Helmet or sludge merchants Melvins, among others. And last but not least, Alice In Chains too.
Ambra revel in their being, in what they are and what they do! With the focus, or rather the single-mindedness of musical vision, that’s audible on the latest album, they can go far. They’re caustic, they make no compromises, and they’re brutally real! They’re the kind of band you react to straight away with: “Take it or leave it!” They’re developing their own character, their own homegrown essence. The album “Cor”, a definite oddity, brought some badly needed shake-up to the local music scene, proverbially predictable far too often, back in 2019. “Remnant” surpasses the debut’s variety and dares to go further. It’s a record with a seriously strong character. It takes you to leaden expanses of dark enchantment that you’ll keep exploring long after the record first spins to its end in your player!
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Black and Blue (5:54)
2. Remnant (4:13)
3. Void (6:31)
4. Timeless (4:07)
5. Arcadia 404 (5:35)
6. Through My Sky (5:58)
7. Ulysses (4:29)
8. Spark (6:57)
9. The Valley (7:26)
10. Diving Dark (6:54)
11. So This Is It (4:17)
Line-up:
Jakob Rejec – vocals
Žiga Kroflič – guitar
Andrej Blatnik – guitar
Anže Vavpetič – bass
Robi Rep – drums
Additional musicians:
Ben McLeod – guitar solo on track no. 3
Gašper Selko – trumpet on track no. 4
Jani Premužič – vocals on track no. 12, vocal arrangement on track no. 6
