Well, the new album's been out for a while and I've had time to give it an excessive number of plays, so here we go.
Expectations were running high after With Oden On Our Side. AA have become synonymous with consistency, so it seemed reasonable that the next album - recorded in the same studio with the same producer and written by the same lineup - would essentially be the same but better. Well, scratch that. AA have taken a somewhat different approach on this album. Fortunately for the band, the loyalty they inspire in their fans is such that the typical "GASP! THEY CHANGED! BLASPHEMY!" reaction hasn't happened (also aided by the fact that this change is only surprising because it's Amon Amarth - if another band changed this much between albums no one would find it remarkable).
But enough. Let's talk about the music.
So. AA's classic approach is epic tremelo-picked melodies backed by Fredrick Andersson's thundering drums (the man is one of the best metal drummers, period), with Johan Hegg belting out his tales of Viking bloodshed in his distinctive, powerful, yet highly intelligible growls and screams. On this album the band takes a more riff-oriented approach, with more straight-up death metal riffs (a very old-school feel, really) and tremelo-picked melodies generally saved for the choruses. Frederick's drumming has become somewhat less thundering and more in line with typical metal drumming, although still in his distinctive style (great fills abound). As always, solos are used sparingly, and to great effect - the band clearly composes them quite carefully. One notable change on this album is the presence of guest musicians. Children of Bodom guitarist Roope Latvala (sp?) does a guest solo on the title track, Entombed vocalist LG Petrov guests on Guardians of Asgard (not that you can tell), and the cello-metal band Apocalyptica do a sweet interlude on Live For The Kill. More on that later.
Now for the sound on this album. AA's first 4 or so did not sound like a musical group, they sounded like an unstoppable viking juggernaut intent on slaughtering your town. While you could of course easily discern the guitars, drums, and vocals (bass has always been more or less inaudible and does not change here), they seemed to meld together into a giant sledgehammer swinging at your eardrum. All that changed with With Oden On Our Side. An impressively clean production, each instrument was clearly defined and separated in the mix. No more did the music blend together - they sounded like a band, not a Viking raiding party. Naturally, it was expected that this change would carry over to the next album, but I must report that it has not. On Twilight of the Thunder God the band has found a middle ground: thick, powerful guitars, thumping drums, and roaring vocals all mix like in days of yore, but the clean production of WOoOS is clearly present. This is an excellent middle ground, in my humble opinion.
Now, on to the songs.
Twilight of the Thunder God:
The title track and opener, this one comes charging out of your speakers and has "classic AA" written all over it. The album cover is explained in detail as Thor battles the serpent. Which might be confusing if you watched the video for this song, which is typical of Amon Amarth in that it involves Vikings battling and the band in front of fire. Crazy, I know. But the song is killer. Roope Latvala (sp?)'s solo is a little out of place but works pretty well, although the intro sounds a little...eh. All in all, classic Amon Amarth.
Free Will Sacrifice:
This is where you begin to notice the difference. Death metal riffing makes for a powerful verse, and Johan's vocals are just fucking brilliant all the way through. An epic melody and a lot of double bass makes for another great song. My main worry here is that the lyrics may be about 300. That'd just be wrong...
Guardians Of Asgard:
Usually songs that are written for live annoy me, but this doesn't. The chorus is obviously meant to create some carnage in the moshpit (there'll be some carnage in a certain moshpit in Worcester come the 18th) but you know, that doesn't matter because you'll get a rush just listening to this in your room. Again, killer verse, powerful chorus, a sweet solo, and we have an instant classic. Lyrics about fighting giants and saving Asgard. Why not?
Where Is Your God?:
By far the most "different" song on the album, this is straight up death metal. A fast (and relatively mediocre) verse riff under Johan's fastest delivery ever. I don't know about you, but I don't like it when Corpsegrinder does it and I don't like it now. But the prechorus and chorus are epic enough to make up for the (roughly 10 second) verse. Not going to blow your mind, but this is a good song here. Typical lyrics about Viking raids and stuff.
Varyags Of Miklagaard:
This is, hands down, the best song on the album. A flat-out epic verse, followed by a chorus melody reminiscent of Einsiferum (slightly, anyhow), and some sweet lyrics about the Varangians (Viking bodyguards in the Middle East). Hard to describe how epic it is, so I won't try. Listen for yourself.
Tattered Banners And Bloody Flags:
This is powerful stuff. The song suffers a little from coming on the heels of Varyags of Miklagaard (since it's similar structurally), but this is definitely good stuff. Again, Johan's powerful vocals drive home an epic verse, and there's plenty of riffing, tremelo-picking, and Viking mythology. Nowhere is longer safe.
No Fear For The Setting Sun:
Epic, heavy, melodic, etc. Pretty typical of the album, but by no means average. Not much left to say - if you listen to the album, you'll know what I mean and if you don't, you won't. Good riffs, good chorus, pretty epic, some great vocals from Johan again.
The Hero:
Lyrics are a bit weird - I think I get what Hegg is trying to say but I don't really think he's expressing it too well. Difficult to get across in a song like this, though. Regardless, again, cool melodies, riffs, etc. Not much else to say.
Live For The Kill:
One of the more melodic songs on the album. About wolves, in case you were wondering. They must be running out of viking topics. I guess writing about Vikings battling gets boring after a while. Anyhow, quite epic. And then the apocalyptica bit comes in. Believe me, it makes so much sense that it doesn't even feel weird until the album's over and you realize that an Amon Amarth song had cellos in it. Great stuff.
Embrace Of The Endless Ocean:
Grim, violent, heavy, melodic - again, classic Amon Amarth. This is actually probably the song most typical of their style. Definitely the slowest and most melodic songs on the album. A great closer.
Mention should be made of the DVD (If you're smart and get the digipack), which is great. A full hour of a set at Summerbreeze last year, with an elaborate stage set, viking reenactors, pyro, and a setlist forged in Valhalla. It's nice to see them doing Without Fear (they missed it on Wrath Of The Norsemen and it's such a great song), plus you get to see songs from With Oden played live. However, the closing performance of Death In Fire is worth the price of admission alone. It easily trumps all the performances on Wrath Of The Norsemen. The tapping section will make you do whatever it is you do when something is so epic you want to burn a village. Personally, I do the melon-holder thing with my hands and look up. But it's your choice. Anyhow, don't be an idiot - get the digipack.
Expectations were running high after With Oden On Our Side. AA have become synonymous with consistency, so it seemed reasonable that the next album - recorded in the same studio with the same producer and written by the same lineup - would essentially be the same but better. Well, scratch that. AA have taken a somewhat different approach on this album. Fortunately for the band, the loyalty they inspire in their fans is such that the typical "GASP! THEY CHANGED! BLASPHEMY!" reaction hasn't happened (also aided by the fact that this change is only surprising because it's Amon Amarth - if another band changed this much between albums no one would find it remarkable).
But enough. Let's talk about the music.
So. AA's classic approach is epic tremelo-picked melodies backed by Fredrick Andersson's thundering drums (the man is one of the best metal drummers, period), with Johan Hegg belting out his tales of Viking bloodshed in his distinctive, powerful, yet highly intelligible growls and screams. On this album the band takes a more riff-oriented approach, with more straight-up death metal riffs (a very old-school feel, really) and tremelo-picked melodies generally saved for the choruses. Frederick's drumming has become somewhat less thundering and more in line with typical metal drumming, although still in his distinctive style (great fills abound). As always, solos are used sparingly, and to great effect - the band clearly composes them quite carefully. One notable change on this album is the presence of guest musicians. Children of Bodom guitarist Roope Latvala (sp?) does a guest solo on the title track, Entombed vocalist LG Petrov guests on Guardians of Asgard (not that you can tell), and the cello-metal band Apocalyptica do a sweet interlude on Live For The Kill. More on that later.
Now for the sound on this album. AA's first 4 or so did not sound like a musical group, they sounded like an unstoppable viking juggernaut intent on slaughtering your town. While you could of course easily discern the guitars, drums, and vocals (bass has always been more or less inaudible and does not change here), they seemed to meld together into a giant sledgehammer swinging at your eardrum. All that changed with With Oden On Our Side. An impressively clean production, each instrument was clearly defined and separated in the mix. No more did the music blend together - they sounded like a band, not a Viking raiding party. Naturally, it was expected that this change would carry over to the next album, but I must report that it has not. On Twilight of the Thunder God the band has found a middle ground: thick, powerful guitars, thumping drums, and roaring vocals all mix like in days of yore, but the clean production of WOoOS is clearly present. This is an excellent middle ground, in my humble opinion.
Now, on to the songs.
Twilight of the Thunder God:
The title track and opener, this one comes charging out of your speakers and has "classic AA" written all over it. The album cover is explained in detail as Thor battles the serpent. Which might be confusing if you watched the video for this song, which is typical of Amon Amarth in that it involves Vikings battling and the band in front of fire. Crazy, I know. But the song is killer. Roope Latvala (sp?)'s solo is a little out of place but works pretty well, although the intro sounds a little...eh. All in all, classic Amon Amarth.
Free Will Sacrifice:
This is where you begin to notice the difference. Death metal riffing makes for a powerful verse, and Johan's vocals are just fucking brilliant all the way through. An epic melody and a lot of double bass makes for another great song. My main worry here is that the lyrics may be about 300. That'd just be wrong...
Guardians Of Asgard:
Usually songs that are written for live annoy me, but this doesn't. The chorus is obviously meant to create some carnage in the moshpit (there'll be some carnage in a certain moshpit in Worcester come the 18th) but you know, that doesn't matter because you'll get a rush just listening to this in your room. Again, killer verse, powerful chorus, a sweet solo, and we have an instant classic. Lyrics about fighting giants and saving Asgard. Why not?
Where Is Your God?:
By far the most "different" song on the album, this is straight up death metal. A fast (and relatively mediocre) verse riff under Johan's fastest delivery ever. I don't know about you, but I don't like it when Corpsegrinder does it and I don't like it now. But the prechorus and chorus are epic enough to make up for the (roughly 10 second) verse. Not going to blow your mind, but this is a good song here. Typical lyrics about Viking raids and stuff.
Varyags Of Miklagaard:
This is, hands down, the best song on the album. A flat-out epic verse, followed by a chorus melody reminiscent of Einsiferum (slightly, anyhow), and some sweet lyrics about the Varangians (Viking bodyguards in the Middle East). Hard to describe how epic it is, so I won't try. Listen for yourself.
Tattered Banners And Bloody Flags:
This is powerful stuff. The song suffers a little from coming on the heels of Varyags of Miklagaard (since it's similar structurally), but this is definitely good stuff. Again, Johan's powerful vocals drive home an epic verse, and there's plenty of riffing, tremelo-picking, and Viking mythology. Nowhere is longer safe.
No Fear For The Setting Sun:
Epic, heavy, melodic, etc. Pretty typical of the album, but by no means average. Not much left to say - if you listen to the album, you'll know what I mean and if you don't, you won't. Good riffs, good chorus, pretty epic, some great vocals from Johan again.
The Hero:
Lyrics are a bit weird - I think I get what Hegg is trying to say but I don't really think he's expressing it too well. Difficult to get across in a song like this, though. Regardless, again, cool melodies, riffs, etc. Not much else to say.
Live For The Kill:
One of the more melodic songs on the album. About wolves, in case you were wondering. They must be running out of viking topics. I guess writing about Vikings battling gets boring after a while. Anyhow, quite epic. And then the apocalyptica bit comes in. Believe me, it makes so much sense that it doesn't even feel weird until the album's over and you realize that an Amon Amarth song had cellos in it. Great stuff.
Embrace Of The Endless Ocean:
Grim, violent, heavy, melodic - again, classic Amon Amarth. This is actually probably the song most typical of their style. Definitely the slowest and most melodic songs on the album. A great closer.
Mention should be made of the DVD (If you're smart and get the digipack), which is great. A full hour of a set at Summerbreeze last year, with an elaborate stage set, viking reenactors, pyro, and a setlist forged in Valhalla. It's nice to see them doing Without Fear (they missed it on Wrath Of The Norsemen and it's such a great song), plus you get to see songs from With Oden played live. However, the closing performance of Death In Fire is worth the price of admission alone. It easily trumps all the performances on Wrath Of The Norsemen. The tapping section will make you do whatever it is you do when something is so epic you want to burn a village. Personally, I do the melon-holder thing with my hands and look up. But it's your choice. Anyhow, don't be an idiot - get the digipack.
