| Written by Alex Stojanovic TRACK LISTING Get In The Ring The Great Heathen Army Heidrun Oden Owns You All Find A Way Or Make One Dawn Of Norsemen Saxons & Vikings Skagul Rides With Me The Serpent's Trail AMON AMARTH IS: Johan Hegg - Vocals Olavi Mikkonen - Guitars Johan Soderberg - Guitars Ted Lundstrom - Bass Jocke Wallgren - Drums |  |
Release Date: August 5, 2022 / Label: Metal Blade Records
Vikings! Raise your horns! Raise 'em up to the sky! Prepare your weapons and be ready to head into battle because Amon Amarth have returned! For the past decade, the Swedish vikings have stayed consistent with a three-year gap between albums. While touring for Berserker may have been cut short due to the pandemic, it didn't stop the Viking masters from making another album. The band's 12th studio offering The Great Heathen Army sees the band making a return to their more melodic death metal roots compared to the last few albums.
Right off the bat, the album catapults the band's superb musicianship to the forefront with "Get In The Ring" and the title track bringing some of the most brutal riffing we've heard from the band in years. Each member shines in their own way, but the real star of the album is Jocke Wallgren, who continues to prove why he is the only worthy successor to Frederik Andersson. No disrespect to Fred, but in many ways, Jocke gives him a run for his money. He is to Amon Amarth what Alex Bent is to Trivium.
"Saxons & Vikings" features none other than Biff Byford from Saxon on guest vocals, very approrpiately. This also must be a return favour after Johan did guest vocals for Saxon on the song "Predator" from the Thunderbolt album. "Heidrun" might be my favourite song on the album with its shuffle-vibe and a really captivating guitar melody during the chorus. Despite some rather cheesy lyrics on "Find A Way Or Make One", ("Stand up and fight", hello?), it's another standout moment, musically.
At this point, there's not really much to say about Amon Amarth that hasn't been said already, because you know what you're getting with each album. This is a band that definitely knows its strengths and they're still one of the supreme leaders in the melodic death metal realms. The Great Heathen Army may not be as strong as some of the band's most recent albums, but it is proof that there's still plenty of fuel in the tank for Amon Amarth!
Right off the bat, the album catapults the band's superb musicianship to the forefront with "Get In The Ring" and the title track bringing some of the most brutal riffing we've heard from the band in years. Each member shines in their own way, but the real star of the album is Jocke Wallgren, who continues to prove why he is the only worthy successor to Frederik Andersson. No disrespect to Fred, but in many ways, Jocke gives him a run for his money. He is to Amon Amarth what Alex Bent is to Trivium.
"Saxons & Vikings" features none other than Biff Byford from Saxon on guest vocals, very approrpiately. This also must be a return favour after Johan did guest vocals for Saxon on the song "Predator" from the Thunderbolt album. "Heidrun" might be my favourite song on the album with its shuffle-vibe and a really captivating guitar melody during the chorus. Despite some rather cheesy lyrics on "Find A Way Or Make One", ("Stand up and fight", hello?), it's another standout moment, musically.
At this point, there's not really much to say about Amon Amarth that hasn't been said already, because you know what you're getting with each album. This is a band that definitely knows its strengths and they're still one of the supreme leaders in the melodic death metal realms. The Great Heathen Army may not be as strong as some of the band's most recent albums, but it is proof that there's still plenty of fuel in the tank for Amon Amarth!
FINAL RATING
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