The roots of Amaranth took form in the summer of 2003 when I decided to start writing some black metal songs shortly after I got my first guitar. I had previously played bass in various bands like Reign and Haterix, however found myself wanting to play guitar more and more, and the style I played was clearly black metal in essence.

 

A friend of mine, Chris Breit, was an amazing guitar player, influenced by the greats like Malmsteen, Satriani and Freidman to name a few. He would always come visit as I was listening to black metal, and after I showed him the classical/melodic style of Dissection he became instantly hooked. He wanted to learn their songs, but instead he brought his guitar over and I showed him some of the riffs I was working on. We decided that he would play lead and we started working on a few songs in my basement. I had also bought a rugged used drum kit, and the guitarist for the band I sang for Fleshcraft, Jean-Guy Demers, had recently took an interest in playing drums. We had the idea to put together a black metal band and started to jam out the songs a bit, but eventually I had to move out and lost the jam space, as well as my drum kit. 

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A few years later, after Fleshcraft had went on hiatus and I had started to sing for Wolven Ancestry, I decided to kick the project back into gear and ended up writing the song structures for what would eventually become the first Amaranth album, "Towards the Sixth Extinction". It was recorded by Darren Favot at his home studio, Sardonic Moon Studios, and I learned a lot about album production during this time.

 

Since I didn't really play drums well at the time, Darren decided to do the drums and portions of the album were improvised in the studio to complete the songs. After the album was recorded, it was posted on Myspace and since we were both in Wolven Ancestry, we were quite busy touring, so I didn't focus too much on promoting the project or the first Amaranth album. 

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It was not until around 2010-2011 when I had some free time to start working on a new Amaranth album, but I wanted it to be even more melodic this time around. I was discussing the album with David Gold from Woods of Ypres and asked him if he would be interested in doing the vocals for the album. To my surprise, he agreed, and the last message I received from him was his confirmation in wanting to do the vocals. Unfortunately, he tragically passed away before it could happen and I decided I would do them myself, just as with the first album.

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This time around I wanted to focus more on writing songs with fluent structure, as well as creating a concept album. I wanted to have guest musicians on the album as well, so I wrote all of the songs and lyrics and was ready to record. When it came time to start tracking the album, Darren's brother Dan offered to record the drums this time around. His girlfriend Alex also performed flutes on some songs, and once the initial tracks were recorded, a couple of them were sent to Moonlike Blackest Orchid, an operatic vocalist from Toronto, to record some guest vocals. The second Amaranth album "Reflections of Somber Times" was finally complete, and it was well received by those who heard it. It was definitely a step up from the first offering, and it was finally released in 2012.

 

Shortly after that, me and Darren recorded a cover of the Woods of Ypres song "Allure of the Earth" to be included on the Heart of Gold tribute album, in tribute to David's memory. Wolven Ancestry also performed at his memorial shows in Toronto and Sault Ste Marie, and we became quite busy in our lives afterwards with other projects and family obligations. I eventually ended up opening my own music venue and had little to no time to work on any new materials, so unfortunately Amaranth was quiet for over a decade.

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That all changed when in 2024 I began writing materials for a new Amaranth album. In the meantime, I had been learning to play drums and became much better than I was in previous years. For the next Amaranth album, I wanted it to be a complete solo album, where I would perform and record all instruments on my own. After writing all of the materials and finishing up the recordings, I sent the album to Glen Drover (ex-Megadeth, King Diamond, Testament) to master the songs and it was finally released to the world in the summer of 2025. ​​