Amaranthe - The Nexus (2013)

Most metalheads who do like this band would be ashamed to admit so. The truth is that while we shy away from anything that seems too "mainstream" and "poppy", most of us can't resist a catchy chorus. I know I have a soft spot for catchiness and this album delivers it in spades. Once you get past the sameness which is to be expected of a "pop-metal" album, you'll find that the all the songs are really solid, there are great riffs, and the vocals are everything you'd want them to be. Elize Ryd is a phenomenal singer who delivers a memorable chorus on every single song. Of course, you have to listen to the album several times to even tell one chorus apart from the other, but you should try not to let that get in the way of enjoying this. The death vocals are rather generic, but they still complement Elize very well and push the band's sound closer to that of In Flames. I'm exactly sure why I'm rating this so high, but it's just such a seductively catchy piece of earcandy that I can't resist.
9.5/10

(P.S. If you like this band, you might want to try Blood Stain Child from Japan as they're pretty similar.)