Amon Amarth - new album, new tour, Seattle included

Amon Amarth

The Great Heathen Army

Metal Blade Records

5 August 2022

Studio album number 12 from the hard-working Swedish band (1988-1992 as Scum; 1992-present as Amon Amarth) surely means that they are about to head out on road again. Their sound was more along the lines of death metal until their third album The Crusher in 2001, but with 2002’s Vs the World they went for galloping rhythms, while keeping the vocals growled and the guitar heaviness but with less speed. Their resulting blend worked very well as they became devoted to touring as much as possible in their quest to be successful. They achieved their goal.

Priding themselves on being consistent, making small changes for every album, these Swedes have their own way of doing things. If you are new to the band, expect quality and carefully crafted catchy songs, almost like heavy metal with good, deep, gentle growling, with strains of both melodic death and black metal, in a subtle way. On the other hand, if you already are familiar with their albums, grab something to drink or snack, and let the music play. It’s more like an extension, a continuation of the sound in the form of nine songs in 43 minutes.

They get criticized for not being true death metal and for not changing enough from album to album. Well, the band’s response could be the same as AC/DC’s Angus Young, “I’m sick to death of people saying we’ve made 11 albums that sound exactly the same. In fact, we’ve made 12 albums that sound exactly the same.” (Plus, if you want true death metal, there are tons of maggot zombie-themed brutal bands in your own town playing on Tuesday night at the local bar and each year at your local American “Brutality Zombie Deathfest” with pig squeals, cupped microphone vocals and breakdowns.) However, the drum sound on this recording is typical of the contemporary sampled/programmed drum sound: flat, mechanical, sanitized and soft. The listener cannot hear the cool noisy craftmanship that you hear while listening to an actual drummer playing the drum set, whether in rehearsal or at a show.

To conclude, it’s been an awesome career and the story continues. It’s not easy to last 30 years playing metal; and yes, they are going out on tour and will be coming to Washington state again (12/12 - Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo). Trivia: There is here a song called “Saxons and Vikings” and guess who they invited to do the melodic singing? Biff Byford from Saxon, of course.

The Great Heathen Army by Amon Amarth

https://www.facebook.com/amonamarth/

Versus the World by Amon Amarth

The Crusher by Amon Amarth