Amon Amarth
The Allfather Awakens
Metal Blade Records
The chant with which Amon Amarth greets the listener might suggest that their latest album, The Allfather Awakens, will be a warlike affair, and you’d be right to assume so. With drums beating a military tattoo, vocals growling with menace, and guitars blazing like lightning in a Nordic sky, ‘Gjallarhorn’ is, as with most of the album, the sound of a rampaging Viking, sword and shield in hand and half-crazed on mead. It comes tailor-made for the live environment, with ‘We Rule The Waves’ ululating like a longboat on a stormy sea, and it’s quite easy to visualise their legions of fans partaking in the infamous “Viking row” when it’s unleashed in concert. However, Amon Amarth are far from generic; the acoustic ‘Upphaf’ injects a nice change of pace (with no depreciable drop in heaviness), but mainly this album serves up a selection of tracks that swing with wrecking ball force. Whilst some might bemoan the band’s myopic lyrical focus, it gives their records a concept feel, ensuring they hang together as a cohesive whole, no matter what musical territory they invade. (Drinking) Horns held high, Amon Amarth’s album number thirteen proves itself very lucky.
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Review by Peter Dennis