Evildead - The Underworld (1991)

Annihilation of Civilization was hardly a breakout suffusion over the thrash-starved masses of the late 80s, but it gleaned enough press and attention that the band had earned a rightful mention along the same West Coast surge that vaulted Exodus and Forbidden fairly high into the underground consciousness. For their sophomore, still through Steamhammer, Evildead would evoke a more practiced, surgical and technical veneer to their compositions that was adjoined to higher production values and cleaner tones. Imagine Forbidden's Twisted Into Form with a less impressive, less melodic vocalist at the fore. Unfortunately, though there are some diamonds in the rough here, taking the form of a few individual riffs I found superior to the debut, the album seems to grow progressively less exciting the deeper you go...

Shit begins with a creepy intro, "Comshell 5" that blends some feedback, ambiance and horrific vocal samples into a promising smoothie, then betrayed by the all too standard, mid paced gait of "Global Warming". As you can tell from this title, Evildead were fully in check with the big ticket issues of the late 80s/early 90s, so it's no surprise that they take on the environment, crime, the situation in and surrounding Iraq ("Welcome to Kuwait"), and even a pre-emptive jab at bastards like yours truly ("Critic/Cynic"). But as for the song itself, its easily forgotten beyond the decent lead. "Branded" brings about the thicker bass tone of the album; this and "Welcome to Kuwait" compensate for the rather mundane riffs with some tight fills and increased energy levels, which escalate even further through "Critic/Cynic" and "The 'Hood", utilizing a similar momentum to Vio-Lence on their superior sophomore Oppressing the Masses. There's a cover of the Scorpions' "He's a Woman/She's a Man", which is simply not as confident or fun as the Texan Helstar rendition, and then a trio of solid but ineffective thrashers which don't deviate from the first half of the album.

Of course, some points are given to Evildead for staying pretty true to their motives. We would not be hearing a lame groove-metal mutation out of this act like a Skinlab or Machine Head (fueled by members of Defiance and Vio-Lence, respectively) and the band instead decided to hang up the towel when it was clear there was no future (recently reforming). The Underworld is not lacking for effort, and certainly not mechanical execution; think of it as a tighter, polished interpretation of their debut. But what it does lack is inspiration. The songs here simply don't gel that well at all. None of them scream out for a replay. The debut itself was not exactly a stunner, but it at least had a voracious and driving quality about it that made it pleasing to experience, whereas this successor seems to drown in its own architecture, never offending but also never distending the reach of Evildead to the genre's diminishing audience of the day.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://www.evildeadofficial.com/

Evildead - Annihilation of Civilization (1989)

California thrash was already very near capacity by the time the Evildead rolled out their debut album, several of its pioneers having achieved enormous international success. Whereas overseas, bands like Coroner, Kreator and Mekong Delta were expanding the very notion of what the genre could accomplish, the West Coast artists, which, aside from a few New York area standouts would represent almost our entire thrash vanguard, and they seemed to dwell on little more than amplify the aggression level of their primed predecessors. Such is the case for Annihilation of Civilization, a lethal and competent enough effort that suffers simply from having already been handled better by artists like Exodus, Testament, Vio-Lence and Forbidden.

Don't get me wrong, this is not at all a bad release, and in fact it remains my favorite from Juan Garcia's 2nd most prominent project (after Agent Steel, of course). Authentic, savage guitar work is driven to the point of collision through a number of dynamics, greatly expanding upon the teasers from the prior Rise Above EP. They tend to mix up the speed sequences with mid paced, writhing riffs ala "Living Good", "Future Shock" or "Parricide", but this album works best when its meting out high amounts of testicular fuel via "Unauthorized Exploitation" or "Gone Shooting", each of which would have sounded right at home on Eternal Nightmare with Sean Killian singing. Often, they'll just blow the mold entirely and batter the listener with sheer, blustered force as in "Bend Over, Here It Comes Again (aka B.O.H.I.C.A.)" and opener "The Awakening".

Combined, the contents present a fully functional third string thrash band that can easily sate the cravings of those who pine for the artists I name dropped above, but rarely if ever do the individual riffs stand out as monoliths of memorable writing. I also must admit that I'm not the biggest fan of Flores' vocals here. He's enforced by shouting backups and has often sauces them with a respectable sneer, but otherwise it's your stock shouting reminiscent of crossover bands like D.R.I. or early Suicidal Tendencies. I've always appreciated a bit more character to my thrash front men, and this guy simply was not an Araya, Baloff or Hetfield. That said, despite the thin and crisp production of the guitars, and the lack of any particular 'cult classics' that I'd want to experience repeatedly through the decades, this is not a half bad headbanging if you're one to invest in the Bay Area's spectrum of 80s hostility.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10] (we're only destroying ourselves)

http://www.evildeadofficial.com/

Evildead - Live...from the Depths of the Underworld (1992)

I'm not going to take a guess at why a band like Evildead would rate a live album after only two studio full-lengths, neither of which was all that impressive. Alas, the Californians were not the first case of such puzzlement and not the last. To their credit, though, they really make the best of it here with a solid mix of dense, thrashing guitars and bitter Phil Flores barking. This was all recorded in '92, the same year it was released as part of their Steamhammer deal, and it's never a bad thing to experience a performance of this style, a meaty fist plunged into the corpulent jowls of changing times. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that The Underworld material recorded in this set is superior sounding on stage than the studio.

There are nine tracks in total, eight of which we've heard from the studio full-lengths, one more ("Darkness") which was new to us. Surprisingly, the band have decided not to incorporate their Black Flag or Scorpions covers into the selection here. You figure they'd be live staples, popular with a less demanding audience. But no, these are all originals here, and they sound properly punishing. They include the intros to both albums, "Comshell 5" opening the proceedings, and then in an interesting twist, the "F.C.I." intro being used to herald "Welcome to Kuwait" from the sophomore, rather than it's normal slot preceding "The Awakening" on the debut. Otherwise, Live...from the Depths of the Underworld is culled fairly evenly from both Annihilation of Civilization and The Underworld. We've got "Gone Shooting", "Parracide" and the title track from the former, and "Global Warning", "The 'Hood" and also the title track of the latter.

My preference is definitely for "Annihilation of Civilization" and "Gone Shooting", which crush with the density of the later 80s Exodus stuff, but even tracks I did not care for so much from the second album are punctual and heart pounding here. The unreleased track, "Darkness" is comparable to The Underworld in style, straight hammering mid paced West Coast thrash, but aside from the cool chorus (a tribute to the film franchise that inspired the band's moniker) it's not all that great. I wouldn't call this a mandatory purchase unless you're incredibly enamored of the band's studio manifestations. It's not nearly on the level of Destruction's Live Without Sense, a crime of taste to live without, but it's certainly not a cock up by any means, and gives the appropriate impression that Evildead were no slouches on the stage.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://www.evildeadofficial.com/

Evildead - Rise Above EP (1988)

In the US in the 80s, it was a fairly common practice for a metal act to release a short-form EP as a teaser, but a little unusual to revolve that around a cover track. This is exactly what the Los Angeles riot police Evildead did with Rise Above. Granted, this was a product of guitarist Juan Garcia, who had formed this straight thrashing squad in lieu of Agent Steel's separation after Unstoppable Force, hardly a newcomer to the field. You won't feel the same sense of hyper and howling anxiety here that you felt with John Cyriis in the wings, as Evildead pursue a more street savvy, darkened style akin to a Rigor Mortis, Testament or Gammacide, but they still rip out some quick licks and furious Bay Area -style violence.

The issue here is really that the two original songs are vastly superior to the band's cover of Black Flag's "Rise Above". I'm not incredibly opposed to the selection, as it makes a lot of sense for a California thrash band to cover a legendary hardcore band from the same shore, but despite the Anthrax-like punch and steady gang shouts, you can file it under the fun but forgettable pile along with "Got the Time" or "Antisocial". The plucky clean guitars and excess lead thrown into the bridge do little for the song. Far better are the stylistic samplers of what the band will deliver on their following Annihilation of Civilization album. "Sloe-Death" is the better of the two, with brutal, tearing guitar work and the melodic, descending mutes around 1:30; Phil Flores shouting along like a hybrid of Tom Araya and Excel's Dan Clements. His vocals have a bit more bite on "Run Again", and I liked the opening rhythms and leads, but not so much the crossover velocity burst in the vein of D.R.I., Cryptic Slaughter, and Excel (though they toss another great lead and melody in there).

There's also an entire, if brief track devoted to a Suicidal Tendencies riff cover (from "Institutionalized"), which is utterly worthless. All told, the Rise Above EP has very little value, unless you can acquire it as bonus tracks on the reissue of Annihilation of Civilization. However, the original tracks show quite a lot of promise that the band would manage to fine tune into that full-length debut. In particular, Juan Garcia and Albert Gonzalez do a great job of composing some searing, vicious guitar work, though the chorus sequences are not quite up to par with a lot of the Californian speed and thrash that was incredibly hot at the time (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Testament, etc.).

Verdict: Indifference [5.25/10] (we are tired of your abuse)

http://www.evildeadofficial.com/

Hrizg - Anthems to Decrepitude (2011)

Hrizg might on the surface seem like another voice in the infinite choir of misanthropy that is the black metal spectrum, but by no means should the man (or band) be casually written off. Hailing from Spain, he handles all compositional and instrumental elements of this album, no easy task in of itself, but more importantly he manages to bridge the gap of atmospheric aesthetics and cult fervor. Anthems to Decrepitude is not a nexus of novel ideas, featuring the same black blazing guitar dynamics we've heard a thousand times over since the earlier years of the 2nd wave in Norway. But given such a spacious and tangible effusion of darkness here, they are once more endowed with the dark and pleasurable elation of spite and obscurity.

Hrizg tends towards a darker, ominous vocal tone that conveys both the dingy dust of primordial death as well as the more inherent, carnal rasp of this genre, and along with the sodden grace of the synthesized backing choirs ("Opposite to Light") or the ambient sequences (the intro to "The Infernal Scripture", the numbing ritual synthesizer swells of finale "Broken Shield" or the acoustic/rain duet of "Invierno") they create a convocation of beckoning shadows. The guitars are in general predictable, but there are some points at which they take you by surprise, such the forceful, dire melodic agony of "Necrosanctum" for one, or the stern, doom-like strains of "Angercraft", or the gleaming arc of depression "In Solitude". In addition, a fluid sense of dynamic variation permeates the experience, meaning that you'll never hear quite the same song twice, a relief among a cloudy haze of similar artists. A few of the tracks feature have some less interesting guitars embedded within them ("Into the Caves of Earth", "I Hate" for example), but even these shift towards vile hypnosis after a few cycles.

These Anthems to Decrepitude do require a few complete listens to sink themselves into the listener's conscience, not that they lack accessible components, but it might be easy to ignore their overall, ebbing flow of bitterness. Like most of the better atmospheric black metal acts, Hrizg is not openly confrontational. It haunts you from the corners, from the depths of the unseen, from an ancient corridor that most fear to tread alone. The solitude of the artist who wrote and performed this is conveyed fully through the leeching effect it has on the witness, and while it's perhaps not the most inspired example of its class, it at least demands repeated listens, especially when one can set the proper mood and atmosphere to indulge it.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/hrizg

Obscura - Omnivium (2011)

Having produced one of 2009's more enticing progressive/tech death albums in Cosmogenesis, Obscura proved they were a band to pay close attention to; perhaps a supplement to the niche left void at the passing of Death, the mutation of Cynic, or the rebirth of the Dutch Pestilence to more brutal fundamentals. For surely, the Germans' cosmic and philosophical leanings are an extension of Schuldiner's Human vision, or Spheres, or Focus (they've even got Jeroen Paul Thesseling playing bass). However, they had created a sophomore album so impressive and compact that it might not have held up to direct recycling for its follow-up, and thus Omnivium introduces a few outside elements that were not so obvious on the predecessor.

The most noticeable of these are likely found in the opener "Septuagint", which is essentially a melodic death piece with an opening sequence of clean guitars that recall such usage of artists like In Flames or Metallica. Once the slightly tech melodic death surge arrives, I was reminded heavily of Canada's Quo Vadis, a band I've never really been impressed with. You'll still hear the twisting, interstitial structures of Cosmogenesis riffing, but I found this track to grow sour on me pretty quickly. I had heard it before the album's release, thought it interesting, but ultimately it's not so enduring. "Ocean Gateways" is another swerve into variation, with a straight burst of double bass rolling, thick Thesseling bass manipulation and jangling guitars that create a cystic wall of spacial spears. Once again, it's a curious piece, but after a handful of listens it just fell out of favor. Both "Euclidean Elements" and "Vortex Omnivium" are more in line with the material from Cosmogenesis, but I found neither to be wholly engrossing, as the band tend to incorporate too much into the creative lifestream without much individual distinction.

However, the other half of the album is quite the opposite in quality. "Prismal Dawn" creates a mesmeric effect, almost psychedelic (ala Cynic), with the clean vocals and glorious, scientific precision, almost as if one of those episodes of The Universe on History channel were adapted to a tangible, musical flesh. "A Transcendental Serenade" returns to clean guitars, but they are swollen in volume swells and erupt into well placed, crushing mutes and a scintillating tapestry of bass and guitar melody. I also found the majestic "Celestial Spheres" and the woeful, ponderous "Velocity" to hold their own thrills, and the closer "Aevum" serves as a qualitative bridge between the stronger and weaker material. There's also a bonus track on the deluxe edition of the CD, Cacophony's "Concerto", originally found on their Speed Metal Symphony LP. An interesting choice, and surely the Germans are up to the task of adapting Friedman and Becker into a slightly more brutal context, but apart from the novelty, it doesn't add a lot.

I was really torn with this album. It's got the same, superlative modern production aesthetics that will either absorb the prog-seeker or send the modern tech-death hater screaming away in fits of agony. To some extent, this is necessary, as the band are hurtling ideas faster than some listeners might be able to comprehend them, and at least you can get a clear grasp on them. I found the cleaner vocals to be rather nice here, but the gutturals level with Cosmogenesis. Yet as a whole, the content seems fairly inconsistent. Its predecessor might not have promised the same level of adventure and variation as Omnivium, but it overall more impressive than this. I can certainly picture myself returning to "Prismal Dawn", "A Transcendental Serenade" and perhaps a few of the others on a regular basis, but the first half of the album offers only a brief flirtation with curiosity, and no further compulsion. Overwhelming proficiency and potential yield mixed results here.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.myspace.com/realmofobscura

Artillery - My Blood (2011)

All trains must come to a stop. Or at least, we've yet to discover an infinite, self-perpetuating combustion system to keep them on the tracks forever. Thus is also the case for Artillery, but their sixth full-length My Blood is thankfully not a complete halt, just a cautious deceleration. Not in actual speed, mind you, but quality. The reasons are numerous, but the most telling is this is the first album which seems not to add anything new, or rather, not anything new and welcome. From Fear of Tomorrow to Terror Squad there was a positive evolution, from Terror Squad to By Inheritance there was a massive leap into genius. When they reformed in the 90s, B.A.C.K. was a fresh and modern mutation. In the 21st century, they silenced the opposition with a fine performance from new vocalist Søren Nico Adamsen.

There is simply nothing all that compelling to be drawn from My Blood, an in listening through I've felt like I had just taken a trip to the Red Cross to donate my plasma, only to be turned away because the banks were full for my type. Most of the trademarks of When Death Comes are intact: generic album title, fantastic production, bright and melodic thrash interspersed with a few clean guitar sequences, but the songs simply cannot match up. You will hear quite a few, thinly veiled self-referential hints in the compositions that hearken back to By Inheritance ("Death is an Illusion" in particular, or the very Eastern intro to "Mi Sangre/The Blood Song") or the groovy havoc of B.A.C.K. (as in the preview tracks "Monster" and "Warrior Blood"), but they don't offer anything intriguing to the formula. My Blood is not void of variation, as the band rove through ardent thrashers, rock-spliced ballads ("Ain't Giving In") and cheesy crowd pleaser anthems ("Thrasher"...ugh!), but none of these fields are conquered here, unless production and musical proficiency are your only measures of success...

To that effect, Artillery are still quite on fire. Morten and Michael Stützer still blaze know how to blaze trails with busy riffing and excellent lead technique, but I can't think of more than a half dozen riffs on the entire album that brought me back to that salivating state I was zoned into as recently as When Death Comes. Adamsen's siren-like nasal potential is once again realized, and to be fair he's practically the only memorable element on several of the tracks ("Dark Days" and "End of Eternity" are examples), his power metal roots shining straight through. Though I've been disappointed with his performance of the band's classics in the live format, he doesn't make a hack job out of the energetic remakes of "Show Your Hate" and "Eternal War" from Fear of Tomorrow (included as bonus tracks in the digipak). The rhythmic duo of Thorslund and Nielsen is tight as ever, and the mix is so spotless you can see your reflection in more than just the back of the CD.

In summation, the album's polished, substantial deluge of content is simply not on par with what I've come to expect from the Danes. It's good enough to separate itself from the thoughtless, derivative droning of so many throwback thrashers, but it's not above a moment or two of brain death itself. Clean as a whistle, just as piercing, and sometimes as irritating. Not a letdown as far as the constituents' individual skills are concerned, and not a necessarily bad or even mediocre album, but a dearth of truly memorable writing from men who generally carve out a far larger slice from the pie of passion.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.artillery.dk/

Havok - Time is Up (2011)

Havok is not the sort of band that epitomizes any revolution or renovation of classic 80s thrash ideals, but they celebrate the genre without the fashionable pomp and circumstance, and I'm sure I'm not the only person who finds this a relief. The Coloradans are also very well versed in two of the fundamental tenets that have been present in most impressive thrash metal works of the past 30 years: 1) the riffs must, by all means, propel the listener into a hair whipping frenzy (in my case, skull whipping, as the pleasures of copious scalp protein fled my person many years ago), and 2) the vocals need to sound fucking pissed! Yes, Time is Up understands such concepts with punishing youthful clarity, and they're a huge reason why this sophomore album not only trumps the debut, but most of the other American retro thrash along with it.

Two icons. Two words that get the spine shivering and the blood stirred. One is Exodus. The other is Destruction. Havok fall directly between these two poles, invoking the viral speed and street warfare of the former in their legendary 80s works Bonded by Blood and Pleasures of the Flesh; while also channeling the strong structure and clinical evisceration of the latter. Vocally, David Sanchez straddles the line between Paul Baloff and Schmier, with a dash of Atrophy's Brian Zimmerman for good measure, and an angry, punctual percussion is thus created atop the onslaught of quality riffing and heart stopping rhythm section. The band is not opposed to some variation, as long as the central thrust remains intact: a good example of this being "D.O.A.", which streamlines some fresh, melodic/death metal guitars into the intro, and then becomes so propulsive during the bridge that it hinges on old school death. They also season in a few pure, unadulterated crossover/punk riffs (like the chorus to the opener "Prepare for Attack"), gang shouts in full effect.

But the larger fraction of the material is just true, barnstormer thrash that will tear you the fuck out of your seat: "Fatal Intervention", "No Amnesty", "Covering Fire", "Out of My Way" and the slower "Killing Tendencies" all hit the spot, but nothing is necessarily filler. Each is adorned with at least 1-2 guitar riffs that remind us of everything we love in this genre: the excitement, the surprises, the brash prophesies of our material and social flaws, the authenticity. Sure, Havok might be seen to be as derivative as the next lot, but they're not exactly assailing the laws of gravity or atomic physics here. They are creating a blood rush to the head, honoring the sounds pioneered by their forebears, and having fun in the process, just like you will be, when you go out and buy this record. They have outdone themselves, making short work of the 2009 debut Burn. It's not perfect, but along with Bonded By Blood's latest Exiled to Earth, this is easily one of the brighter flames to ignite under US thrash in years.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

http://havokband.com/

Benighted - Asylum Cave (2011)

I haven't been exposed to much of the Benighted backlog, with the exception of the past two albums Identisick (2006) and Icon (2007). I found neither to be all that impressive. Nonetheless, the band's technical execution, raw ability and incessant extremity seem to have won them a lot of high praise, and certainly their sound is not all that common among the French hordes. I'd most compare their output to Napalm Death's recent streak, incorporating elements of grindcore and death metal, but this mayhem factory is not above incorporating downright hardcore riffs, slam death, melodic guitar solos and other nuances into the killing spree for an invigorating, diverse effect that helps the attention span from teetering into unconsciousness among the monotonous blasting.

In other words, Benighted whips up a carnival of controlled chaos here that couldn't be tighter if it wore a chastity belt. I can't claim that all of the individual riffs the band conjures up are that interesting, but there's enough of them that several are bound to stick. Take something like "Let the Blood Spill Between My Broken Teeth", with its rampant, cavorting rhythms, brutal bite and bark vocals, melodic breakdown and walls of chords, all powered by a whirling human furnace of energy in drummer Kevin Foley. The further into the core of the Asylum Cave, the more crass and punishing, yet intriguing the content becomes, like the maddening grinder "Prey", the curious samples and storming mosh breakdowns of "Fritzl", the driving pig squeal saturated death of "Unborn Infected Children", or the hurricane bottoming of "A Quiet Day" with its timely spurts of melody. When you consider that the French are essentially battering you stupid for 45 minutes, you come out of the experience surprisingly lighter, as if they've clipped a great weight from your shoulders: nothing that happens to you today will be this brutal, so try and relax...

There are not many areas in which I found the material here lacking. Perhaps the vocals are a little too obvious and typical of the style, unable to evoke much distinct character, just the latest in a long strain of Carcass and Napalm Death worshipers. But there's no question that they function within the milieu, punctuated with enough percussion that they won't distract you. And perhaps a good percentage of the guitar riffs feel rather bland on close scrutiny, but they do compensate with some scorchers. The production of the album is intense, fully exposing you to the sore and twisted, swelling joints of its composer. There are a couple of guest vocalists, too, including members of Devourment, Aborted and the bizarre act Pin-Up Went Down. I'm not going to say that I loved this record as if it were my newborn child, but the compositions are beyond competent, and I've had more fun here than their other full-lengths I've experienced.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/brutalbenighted

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/