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Amon Amarth: Surtur rising

29/04/11 || InquisitorGeneralis

I won’t lie to you, the prospect of a new Amon Amarth record has the little fire giant rising a bit in my slacks. Even though “Twilight of the Thunder God” failed to completely bang my Valkyrie, it still was a good record and it brought the band considerable popularity and success. The big question for me is simple; can Amon Amarth retain the aggression and heaviness of their early work (which I love) in the face of increasing notoriety and fame? Many people say that all Amon Amarth sounds the same, but I beg to differ. The trained ear can easily tell the difference between albums, except for maybe “The Avenger” and “The Crusher”. Sure, Amon Amarth’s style has remained the same over time (not too fast to blast, not too slow to doom and lots of melodic and groove in between) but I believe each record has its own sense identity within the established Amon Amarth framework. In terms of the band’s recent work, “Fate of Norns” focused on catchiness and melody, “With Oden…” made things a bit more accessible for the masses, “Twilight of the Thunder God” sealed the deal with a lot people who never would listen to metal this heavy before…you know, pussies.

So what fate (of norns) awaits “Surtur Rising”? Will the shark be jumped? Or will the mighty warriors from Sweden slay the dragon of mediocrity and stay on top of their game? Strap on the broad sword and drinking helm or your dildo and diet Shasta, and let’s do this!

“Surtur Rising” is, as expected, a well-done melodic death metal record. “War of the gods” is a strong opener with a pretty killer solo. It is not close to the epic awesomeness of the one featured on “The victorious march” though, but I’m getting strong hints of the early 2000’s material here, so “War of the gods” is a certified winner. Fellow staffer Daemonomania strokes his boner to “Hermod’s ride to hell: Loki’s treachery part I” from “With Oden on Our Side”, so I am sure he will be excited to hear the next version of that epic saga. “Tock’s taunt: Loki’s treachery pt. II” is not a bad track, but definitely slows things down considerably. I would have placed it somewhere near the end of the album, but it’s enjoyable. “Destroyer of the universe” kicks in fast and heavy but it is clear that Amon Amarth is on cruise control. Everything is done extremely well, the drumming is precise and solid, the guitars heavy and melodic, and Hegg’s voice is its usually rasp/growl perfection. But, nothing really original or mind-blowing is put forth.

“Slaves of fear” and “Wrath of the Norsemen” really stand out to me. The solo/breakdown/time change in the middle of the former is a winner and shows the band is able to successfully do something a bit different from time to time. Also, “Slaves of fear” also smells a bit like “Death in fire”, which is a plus. With a name like “Wrath of Norseman”, the song better kick ass. It does courtesy of some solid guitar work and head-bang inducing grooves. Neither of these tracks is brutal or extremely aggressive, but they still rape the nuns and the destroy monasteries of my mental metal shores. The title track should satiate your blood thirst for songs like “Asator” and “Ride for vengeance”.

“Doom over dead man” is a miss though. Amon Amarth have proven they can slow down the pace and get thoughtful (“Thousand years of oppression” or “Avenger” anyone?) but this time I am just not getting it. When things speed up close to the 3:00 mark, things get back to the Amon Amarth comfort zone. However, the symphonic elements and plodding beginning turn me off from the song. The band though, on all of “Surtur Rising”, is top notch. Soderberg and Mikkonen are an awesome guitar team. Frederik Andersson gives a solid, but not overdone or flashy, performance on the drums. While he is not a gravity-blasting hummingbird, Andersson can keep a heavy groove with the best of ‘em.

Overall, I like “Surtur’s Flaming Cock Rising” much more than “Twilight of the Thunder Dong”. The songs and production are better and there is a definite sense that the band was trying to turn back the clock to the days before they achieved a considerable level of popularity. There are no songs on here that truly dominate like “Victorious march”, “Fate of norns”, and “Friends of the suncross”. However, “Surtur rising”, “War of the gods”, “Slaves of fear”, and “Wrath of the Norseman” are all excellent to very fucking good. The rest, for the most part, is not bad either. If “Twilight of the Thunder God” somewhat turned you off (get a fucking life), I think this will bring you back in to the warm, sweaty, hairy embrace of Johan and the boys.

One final thought, if you get the version with a cover of System of a Down’s “Aerials”, skip that shit immediately. Amon Amarth try their hardest to make it work, but even the mightiest Viking can be killed in battle. I like this record, it’s pretty fucking good. But, I am not totally ass-over-balls in love with it, so I think the following score fits.

7,5

Information
Released: 2011
Label: Metal Blade
Website: www.amonamarth.com
Band
Johan Hegg: vocals
Johan Söderberg: guitar
Olavi Mikkonen: guitar
Ted Lundström: bass
Fredrik Andersson: drums

Tracklist
01. War of the Gods
02. Töck’s Taunt – Loke’s Treachery Part II
03. Destroyer of the Universe
04. Slaves of Fear
05. Live Without Regrets
06. The Last Stand of Frej
07. For Victory or Death
08. Wrath of the Norsemen
09. A Beast Am I
10. Doom Over Dead Man

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