Amon Amarth
With Oden On Our Side
Metal Blade
Just don't mention Spam
If there’s one theme in metal that has proved especially resilient, it’s the appeal of mighty ancient Norsemen—though we’ve certainly come a long way since Yngwie convinced poor Jeff Scott Soto to hilariously declare to all that he was a Viking back in 1985. Enslaved may have taken a classy approach to Nordic mythology, but nobody sings songs about life as a Viking with as much fervor as Amon Amarth.
The conviction with which Johan Hegg belts out his first-person tales is enough to make us believe he just landed on the coast of Newfoundland on a longship, ready to lay waste to any and all comers. In fact, so furious is the band’s seventh album that we join Johan and his mates mid-battle. “My sword cuts through clothes and skin, like a hot knife cuts through snow/ I smile as the bastard screams when I twist my sword,” he bellows during the vainglorious, relentlessly catchy opener “Valhal Awaits Me.” Seriously, you can’t say that’s not awesome.
Amon have never sounded better on record, the massive mix here befitting a bunch of rampaging Viking dudes. There’s more focus on brute force, as on the ferocious “Asator,” but the band’s signature guitar melodies always return. The pillaging “Gods of War Arise” boasts a mighty groove, and “Runes to My Memory” almost gets teary-eyed in its death-before-dishonor sentiment. It’s the kind of sincerity that makes Helga Hat-wearing Minnesota football fans look like idiots. Oh wait, they already did. —Adrien Begrand
