Shape of Water is Rox Capriotti and Luca De Falco who met in 2004 in their hometown of San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy. Relocating to Manchester, England, they are an electronic art rock band formed in 2018 and cite Queen, Muse, Depeche Mode, Coldplay, The Killers, and Radiohead as their influences.

The band’s new album, Amor Fati, Latin for “Love of Fate,” was released on 28/10/2022.

This is an album that covers many genres but one that has a very unique alternative rock sound that mixes electronic bites into the mix. This creates a strangely weird vibe but one that is also captivating.

Ultimately Shape Of Water are a rock band but one that leans towards the art-rock, avant rock side of things. There is a dynamism to the album that a lot of other bands lack and this shows just how talented the two guys really are.

The music is very complex and technical, lending it to the progressive genres, and a sound like this coming from just two of them is actually quite immense.

The lyrical content of the album is breathtakingly stunning and is delivered in such a beautiful way that the listener is really pulled into the music and the album as a whole. The vocals are raw yet powerful and, despite the complexity of the music behind them, are never overshadowed. The singer has a delightful voice, solemn and melancholy at times, yet strong and commanding at others.

This album is diverse, each track being completely different from the previous, and this is such a wonderful thing as the listener never knows what is coming next, but it is also such a great album to listen to.  The guitar work is sleek and smooth when it needs to be yet heavy riffs kick in when they are needed. The keyboards are elegant and are interchangeable with the guitars as they often sound so similar, the drumming is spot on and electronic synths give us a taste of nostalgia from time to time.

I have seen this album being described as a masterpiece and I have to say this is a word that jumped into my head too. I admit I was a bit sceptical when I heard the first track but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I was wrong.

I absolutely adored this album and it is definitely one that is now on my playlist. I am so glad I have heard Amori Fati as I really feel anyone who doesn’t hear it is missing out big time!

Please go and check out this fantastic duo. I am smiling from ear to ear after hearing this album and I just want to listen to it on repeat for the rest of the day.

I don’t give scores out of 10 for any reviews but if I were to, this album would definitely be an 11!!

Track Listing

1) Starchild

2) Falling

3) The Snoot

4) Don’t Leave Me In The Dark

5) When All This IS Over

6) Numbers

7) A Ghost In Manchester

8) Everybody’s Gone

9) Terraformer

10) Words In Eternity

This review is purely the property of The Metal Asylum