Amon Amarth - Surtur Rising (2011)

My personal relationship to the work of these Viking death inheritors has fluctuated through the years, reaching peaks of affection with The Avenger and With Oden On Our Side, but sinking into domestic squabbles with the far less impressive Fate of Norns. Three years back, though, another climax arrived in Twilight of the Thunder God, which was probably their best, most accessible album. The songs were almost unanimously memorable, the production immense, and despite the Norse Cliff Notes lyrical incentives, there was clearly an immense passion for the subject matter. If anything, this is expanded upon with Surtur Rising, the 8th Amon Amarth album, almost a twin brother to its predecessor.

Yes, they can hardly be accused of poetic license to rival the Eddas themselves, but it's obvious that Johan Hegg and his band of Swedish sea reavers feel a strong connection to the source material which they have invested here, in tales of the great fire giant and the Gods on high. The lyrics are a little better. It's safe to say that many of the band's ever broadening fan base would have been satisfied with a near carbon copy of Twilight of the Thunder God, and to a large extent, such an effort is made manifest in this. The studio standards are enormously high, without succumbing to the sterility that often plagues other large budget, melodic death entities. The riffs are simple but effective as they were on the last two albums, the Swedes never biting off more than they feel they ought to chew. The guitars ring loudly and often, the rhythmic battery of Fredrik Andersson a perfect, churning millstone of tempo, and the plunking of Ted Lundström adequate if not engrossing. You'll hear no lightening of the load in the vocal department, as Hegg continues to bluster out his gut busting grunts.

That said, there are a number of tunes marring the surface here that did little to draw in my attentions. "War of the Gods" is emotional but predictable, and the crushing but pensive sequel to 2006's "Hermod's Ride to Hell', titled "Töck's Taunt - Loke's Treachery Part II" is a standard mid-paced Amon Amarth swagger with little compelling hiding out in its depths, not even the calm and clean segue. "Destroyer of the Universe" picks up the momentum, with a surge not unlike the Twilight of the Thunder God title track. Honestly, though, it's not until "Slaves of Fear" that I started to bang my hammer and become absorbed to the simple, melodic thrashing and its transmutation into the arching, forceful bridge. "Live Without Regrets" has one of those catchy, folk epic notation patterns in its first riff, and a decent if predictable Viking breakdown; but then "The Last Stand of Frej" arrives, synthesizers gleaming with the grace of lost heroes behind the hammering double bass, and perhaps the climax of the entire album. Honorable mentions should also be imparted to the atmospheric closers "A Beast I Am" and "Doom Over Dead Man", which are also quite phenomenal.

Are they as good as "Guardians of Asgard", "Twilight of the Thunder God", "Tattered Banners and Bloody Flags", or "The Hero" from the last album? Nah, but then they're really nothing to scoff at either, and should easily survive a good number of spins. There are also a number of cover tunes here on the various versions. "Balls to the Wall" (Accept) and "War Machine" (KISS) are functional, but the most surprising is the iTunes bonus, a fucking System of a Down cover! Not something one would expect from these Swedes, and yet somehow they transform "Aerials" into a product their own, with all the atmosphere of the rest of the album. If you weren't aware of the original (which I'm happy to say I wasn't), you might not even realize the band had drawn it from an external source.

Ultimately, if you've loathed everything this band has released since whatever sufficiently secure and obscure stopping point (say, Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds), then you are unlikely to feel much differently about Surtur Rising. But if you loved the last effort, then you'll probably want to peel another twenty spot from your wallet to acquire a horn or mug. Gods know, you'll want to be swinging it to most of the songs here, even if it does land somewhat short of the last two shores.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.amonamarth.com/

Amon Amarth - The Avenger (1999)

Contrary to popular belief, Amon Amarth was not the first of the Swedish Viking death metal bands, as Unleashed predated them for some years; however, they have certainly been the most successful, in recent years their albums like With Oden On Our Side and Twilight of the Thunder Gods have been huge, with an appeal that has spread even beyond the core metal crowd. Granted, many of these noobs would likely have enjoyed metal all along, if they only sat down to listen, but Amon Amarth has become a gateway band, or a 'return' for so many that have veered away to their placid hipster lives and listening rotations.

Come 1999, they were a rising force, but not yet at their peak level of popularity (which we still may not have experienced). The Avenger was their 2nd full-length offering, and the material written was a bit catchier than that found on their debut, Once Sent from the Golden Hall. It was also the first album to feature the huge line-up that the band has maintained to this day, with Johan Söderberg joining on guitar and Fredrik Andersson behind the drums. This is a seasoned, powerful album, with only 1-2 tracks slacking behind the rest, and it's honestly better than most they have released since (at least until the past few efforts, which have been stunning).

Amon Amarth take the term 'melodic death metal' to an entirely different medium, for while the band is making almost constant use of melodies over the bludgeoning death metal base, they aren't the kind of jumpy and spotty riffs used by In Flames or Dark Tranquillity. These are woven right into the foundation of the band's crushing force. Hegg is a true jarl of the north, easily shifting from his distinctive death metal growls to a blacker rasp without losing any of the thrust; Andersson is a beast; and while Mikkonen and Söderberg do not often indulge in complex riffing, they know how to level you with straightforward, hammering rhythms that best fit the band's Norse lyrical theme. Speaking of the lyrics, they've never been this band's strength, instead a pastiche of rather simplified Viking/Norse mythology which is presented to be accessible. But The Avenger is far from the worst of them.

Making way through blades and spears
We attack at dawn
The glory scene is near
From northern gods we're spawned

The album wastes no time in kicking your ass with the thundering "Bleed for Ancient Gods", a song they are still making today, a decade later. Gorgeous, glorious rhythm riffs and an unending barrage of crashing drums will send you this straight to your memory. "The Last With Pagan Blood" has one of the most inspiring song titles I've ever seen, and the song itself is one of my favorites from the album, with its spear formation walls of biting sorrow. The following track "North Sea Storm" is not only the best of the album, but my favorite Amon Amarth song to date, a warlike rhythm collapsing into an eternal and distinct verse rhythm which heralds both an emotion of loss and wonderment, and a futile, atavistic clarion to battle. The band even manages to pull off a chug-down without me becoming restless, that is how good this song is, and the standard by which I just much of their other material. "Avenger" is fashioned from more subtle textures, surely the driving power of the band continues, but it thrives off its cascade of golden, fading sunlight and the plodding of its bridge rhythm.

"God, His Son and Holy Whore" was not one of my favorites here, but it maintains the thundering largesse of the album and I did enjoy the first riff. "Metalwrath" is a rather notorious track, as the band makes a jab at countrymen Hammerfall, who they supposedly had some minor feud with. The song itself is decent, but not one of the stronger on the album. "Legend of a Banished Man" thankfully bings back the glory of the first half of the record, with some great bass work by Ted Lundstrom, and a heavy as hell chugging ballast which transforms into dynamic, march-like drumming. My version of the CD also includes the bonus track "Thor Arise", which is faster than much of the other material, and not quite so memorable.

The Avenger really rides off its stronger material, but it's not an entirely kickass album. "Bleed for Ancient Gods", "The Last With Pagan Blood" and "North Sea Storm" should belong to any compilation of Amon Amarth's greatest hits, and I still listen to these today, but on the whole, the band has released superior work since (especially Twilight of the Thunder God). Viking death metal is surely not as commonplace as Viking black metal, so a band like Amon Amarth has always been welcome, and reaped the niche that Unleashed (and, to an extent, Bathory) had first carved out.

Highlights: Bleed for Ancient Gods, The Last With Pagan Blood, North Sea Storm, Avenger

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (no more sun, no more light)

http://www.amonamarth.com/

Amon Amarth - Versus the World (2002)

Versus the World is the fourth album from Amon Amarth, and it's one of my favourite albums they ever released. For this album the guys decided to go for a slower and more melodic sound. This change is also accompanied with a unique production sound like no other album in their discography - choosing instead a sound that is reminiscent to Bolt Thrower.

What I'm trying to say is that this album is Amon Amarth playing songs they've written after listening to a lot of Bolt Thrower. But they still write about their usual topics: death, Norse mythology, war, etc. And it's awesome.

The opener "Death in Fire" is a classic Amon Amarth song, with a chorus that I just can't get enough of - and I doubt the crowds can either. "For the Stabwounds in Our Back" is another fast song, and it showcases the first hints of the more melodic sounds heard later in the album in "Where Silent Gods Stand Guard," "Across the Rainbow Bridge," "Thousand Years of Oppression," and "...And Soon the World Will Cease to Be." All really melodic songs, with really great lyrics. "Down the Slopes of Death" is a doomier song, with some great bass from Ted Lundstrom and drums from Fredrik Andersson. "Bloodshed" is another fast crushing song and the title track, "Versus the World," is probably my favourite song on the album with its thundering Amon Amarth sound that is just so killer.

This album is great. Better than anything they released before, better than Fate of Norns (...), and equal to the latest two With Oden on Our Side and Twilight of the Thunder God.

Editors Note: Listen to it with a loose neck and at least 2 barrels of mead nearby (tap optional(?)).

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10] (DEATH IN FIRE)

www.amonamarth.com/

Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God (2008)

For their 7th full-length, the Swedish Viking lords offer their catchiest effort yet, just surpassing their previous album With Oden On Our Side. While it took me a few spins to truly appreciate, others seemed to gel with it immediately, and it's not hard to figure out why.

Each of the 10 tracks here is extremely memorable, striking the perfect balance between melody and brutality, as well as a flair for classic metal riffing throughout. The opening riff of the title track feels almost as if the band is channeling Iron Maiden's plucky melodic guitar style, though it soon gives way to Amarth's dense, patented strain of somber and glorious death metal. It also manages to wedge a pretty kickass thrash riff into the middle. "Free Will Sacrifice" has a great driving melody parting into a grooving melodic death metal riff. "Guardians of Asgaard" is a raging, throw your meadhorns up in the fucking air track plodding at a mid but unrelenting pace. "Where is Your God" is a another rager with some busy melodic hooks weaving into the milieu. "Tattered Banners and Bloody Flags" is classic Amon Amarth, with a fantastic, subtle, sorrow-filled riff I await in each verse with anticipation. "The Hero" is another of the best tracks here, triumphant and catchy.

The production is superb, it sounds good on everything I've played it on. The guitars are mixed perfectly, weaving their simple and effective melodies over churning rhythms. Johan Hegg's brutal vocals are in perfect form, at the perfect level in the mix. The lyrics are quite simplistic, occasionally bordering on dumb, but these guys have never been poet laureates to begin with. They are never intrusive, a great match for the music, and nothing more. Thematically the album is focused on the Norse mythos, you might call it "Norse Myth for Dummies". Regardless, the music is extremely effective in provoking this cultural nostalgia.

Put simply, this is the best overall Amon Amarth album I've heard to date, and if I had to compile a list of my favorite tracks from the band's career, close to half of the list would originate here. It should be extremely pleasing to the band's loyal fan base and probably convert many more to the cause. And it's well worth your money.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10] (and water crashed the rails)

http://www.amonamarth.com/