### Amon Amarth: The crusher

#### 24/06/09 || Smalley

Okay, so we’ve got an album cover where a muscle-y guy with a horned viking helmet is raising his fist in triumph as he brings his gigantic hammer down on a stone table, shattering it and causing lighting to shoot out from the force of the impact. So, even if somebody was going into this one with zero prior knowledge of Amon Amarth, I still think they’d expect “The crusher” to be a bit heavier than the average Bread record, don’t you? Fortunately, the music here manages not to disappoint those expectations, and in my opinion, “The crusher” is the most relentlessly heavy album that this little band of vikings has recorded to date, a fact which will please fans of Amon Amarth very well…

All the way from “Bastards of a lying breed” ‘til “Releasing surtur’s fire”, this is a great example of the catchy, intelligent death metal that AA has made their signature; the riffs are quick and agile yet still brutal enough for oodles and oodles of headbanging (and windmilling, if a member of Amon Amarth is listening to this), Johan’s rough, often-incomprehensible growling and screaming suit the blood-soaked, battle-hungry lyrics to a t, and add greatly to the energy of the record, the song writing constantly avoids any annoying repetition (so nothing but positive on that front), and the drumming, performed by Fredrik Andersson? Oh man, I love this guy; he’s a fucken machine on his kit, incredibly fast and incredibly precise, and the band wouldn’t nearly be able to reach the level of heaviness they’re at if it wasn’t for this guy. As for the production on the album, every instrument is adequately audible and sounds quite good, so no problems there (I particularly enjoy the tones of the rhythm and lead guitars).

“The crusher” is a slightly unremarkable album in the end, within the ocean of heavy metal that exists out there, and as a good friend of mine once put it, Amarth is basically the “AC/DC of extreme metal”. But, I still enjoy AC/DC, and I still enjoy Amon Amarth, and I very much enjoy this album. There’s no emotional concept story to be heard here, no crazy musical experimentations either, just ten straight tracks of brutal, viking-themed heaviness, and when I listen to AA, that’s exactly what I want to hear.

8 crushed viking testicles out of 10.

… but uh, could someone let me know what the lyrics are for “Risen from the sea”? Please?!? I don’t want to be in this suffocating darkness any longer!

- Information
- Released: 2001
- Label: Metal Blade
- Website: www.amonamarth.com
- Amon Amarth
- Johan Hegg: vocals
- Ted Lundström: bass
- Johan Söderberg: guitar
- Fredrik Andersson: drums
- Olavi Mikkonen: guitar

- Tracklist
- 01. Bastards Of A Lying Breed
- 02. Masters Of War
- 03. The Sound Of Eight Hooves
- 04. Risen From the Sea (2000)
- 05. As Long as the Raven Flies
- 06. A Fury Divine
- 07. Annihilation Of Hammerfest
- 08. The Fall Through Ginnungagap
- 09. Releasing Surtur’s Fire
- 10. Eyes Of Horror