01. Valhall Awaits Me
02. Runes To My Memory
03. Asator
04. Hermod’s Ride To Hell (Lokes Treachery Part 1)
05. Gods of War Arise
06. With Oden On Our Side
07. Cry of the Black Birds
08. Under The Northern Star
09. Prediction of Warfare
Viking Metal giants Amon Amarth arise again, with Oden on their side. The god of war, poetry, wisdom and death gathered a portion of slain Metal warriors in his hall of Valhalla. The coast line was rocky and the sea rough with the wind blowing, but nothing would stop them from returning victorious. As the ship is coming closer to shore, it is time to pick up swords, axes and shields!
After their Fate of Norns release, which received great and lesser ratings, Amon Amarth provide us with a new voyage into the Nordic mythology. And this time, they are truly in a fighting shape. The performance is flawless. The lyrics are bloody. The pathos of death is again perfectly described in songs such as Runes To My Memory. If you take some time to carefully listen through the songs and lyrics, you can feel the fluidness of how Amon Amarth captured the scene’s emotion of battle, carefully connecting melodies to words.
The songs most worthy of mentioning are Valhall Awaits Me, Asator, Hermod’s Ride To Hell (Lokes Treachery Part 1) and Under The Northern Star. They couldn’t have created a better opening track than Valhall Awaits Me. It simply breathes a march to war, inviting every warrior to come and join them in their fight. The album’s most aggressive and fast song is Asator, a dark, Gothenburg-Death-Metal-influenced track. This being followed up by a prime example of pure Amon Amarth Metal, Hermod’s Ride To Hell (Lokes Treachery Part 1): atmospheric, Black-Metal-influenced mid-paced guitar and drum work combined with Johan’s deathly roars. Under The Northern Star is one of the most melodic tracks ever created by our Nordic Metal gods. This makes sure it is not as dark as the other tracks, though without losing the overall emotion of the album. To top this all, the production sound is amazingly clear, making the album even more intense.
If you are looking for a band who is continuously progressing, Amon Amarth probably won’t satisfy your Metal needs. They are happy with their formula, and it works, accomplishing one successful anthem after the other, which is reason enough to praise them. This release will surely satisfy any Amon Amarth fan again. So put on your horned Viking helmet and enjoy Amon Amarth’s metallic bliss once again.
ȋlow the war horns. The Vikings are coming. The Vikings are coming…”
9/10 Points – reviewed by Lyra
official Website: http://www.amonamarth.com