AMON AMARTH YET AGAIN JUSTIFY THEIR RIDICULOUSNESS ON TWILIGHT OF THE THUNDER GOD
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 at 3:03pm by Sammy O'Hagar
In theory, Amon Amarth are worth loathing: they’re thematically about as dopey as a band can get and as anyone who’s seen Headbanger’s Ball in the last 2 years can attest to, they’re prone to synchronized headbanging and often appearing shirtless though clearly a decade or so past their physical prime. So then why are Amon Amarth worth our time? The answer, obvious to anyone who’s ever heard Amon Amarth, is the bottomless gauntlet of riffs that the band endlessly takes gargantuan swigs from, sounding both lush and emotive as well as skull crushingly heavy. And for those that have fallen for the band’s dopey big riff attack before, there’s little to dislike on Twilight of the Thunder God, their latest. Though some things have shifted slightly, very little has changed, and the album is a little-to-no bullshit slab of brute melodic death metal in a time where melodic death metal has been seemingly sucked dry and left for dead. Amon Amarth are still Amon Amarth, and there is absolutely fucking nothing wrong with that.
Twilight of the Thunder God, much like its predecessor With Oden on Our Side, is a series of triumphant-sounding riffs massive enough to satisfy the jaded douchebag within, but also sopping with a brilliant and vaguely melancholy melodicism. Not enough can be written about the genius of the Amon Amarth riff: the testosterone-blooded man-beast that fucks shit up at the core of metal, no matter how many string sections or how much outside influence is piled atop it, is alive and well in this band. There is virtually nothing played by Amon Amarth that hasn’t warranted a raised fist; cynics may deny this, but the band cut down to the core of any metalhead, playing to our sense of inflated machismo and need for obscene volume. Those that enjoyed the band before have little to worry about; the few changes they’ve made to their sound are minor, and usually executed masterfully. The strings on “Live for the Kill” initially are cause for concern, but when putting Amon Amarth’s melodic prowess into a different perspective, they’re elevated, not pushed into the realm of melodrama (the strings are courtesy of Apocalyptica, marking this as the only good thing that group has ever done.) And though “Guardians of Asgaard” is based around a reheated mid-period Entombed riff, Lars Göran Petrov from Entombed is a guest on the track, which justifies it to some extent. If you’ve liked Amon Amarth thus far, the individual weaknesses of Twilight of the Thunder God are negligible enough to ignore, and may even prove themselves to be endearing.
The record’s one issue is its length. Like sitting down with a bowl of cake frosting, Amon Amarth are awesome at first, tedious after a while, and if you’re not in the mood, possibly excruciating at the end; too much of a good thing is still too much. The problem with Amon Amarth’s lack of variance is that after about a half an hour, everything sounds the same, no matter how big those riffs are. Twilight of the Thunder God, when taken as a whole album, grows incredibly tedious. But ironically, considering their thematic roots in the past, they are perhaps a perfect band for Generation iPod: one or two Amon Amarth songs perfectly serve their purpose, sounding lumbering and confident. Though they may fall short on making an album that’s easy to stay with all the way through, they’re good at tossing you a stellar collection of songs. And what a collection of songs Twilight of the Thunder God is: every goddamn one is a chest-beating anthem.
(3 out of 5 horns)
-SO
Nailed it. Amon Amarth isn’t pushing any boundaries, or reinventing the wheel. They’re just rocking the fuck out, hard. Same as they always have.
Some killer songs on this record, making me want to go burn churches and eat raw red meat.
I fucking love this band, and this album has definitely given me a reason to continue feeling that way.
Live for the Kill is by far my favorite track.
yeah, this album is alot of fun. recommended
one of the best of 2008…
kind of disagree with the fact the don’t evolve… I find de pre-Oden albums kind of boring. The difference between these last two and the rest, lays in one word: Speed
They accelerate their sound in at least half the songs of WOOOS and TOTTG and they have lost the boring factor.
agree: live for the kill is by far the best track on this album. the cello break works great. I dare all of you to take that fuckin’ riff out of your head
Solid review for a solid album. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but hey, who cares, it’s fucking awesome music from an awesome band!
Egh geh geh geh…I feel the same way about them as I do about Cock & Ball Torture, The Day Everything Became Nothing, Cliteater…wait…I think we might have unearthed some cacophonous truth!
Amon Amarth = Viking Grind! Think about it…ehh…ehh…little thin huh? YOUR MOTHER!
ANYWAY, much like pizza and or wings…best enjoyed with ale and a few bro’s. Solid.
You don’t take swigs from a gauntlet.
You take swigs from a goblet.
..or mayhaps a flagon.
this is the band that got me into extreme forms of metal. the first song i ever heard was ‘bastards of a lying breed’. after hearing that pummeling riff, i had no choice but to go out and buy ‘the crusher.’ i haven’t looked back since and look forward to every amon amarth album like most kids look forward to christmas…
Razzo, you beat me to it.
I have only heard the title track on Sirius radio and it sounds pretty normal for their sound…but I love it every time I hear it.
As far as dude who says best album of 2008…seriously?
I know it hasn’t come out yet (but it’s leaked), but Cynic’s Traced in Air will be the album of the year, hands down. But that’s just my opinion, a lot of people probably won’t like the progressive-ness of it.
No, not the best, but for sure one of them… (in this genre maybe septicflesh’ communion its better)
and I truly dig prog.. maybe the best album so far IMHO it’s opeth’s Watershed..
Got to check new cynic btw…
TOTTG is not the best album this year IMHO. This place is already taken by Turning Season Within from Draconian.
But TOTTG fucking rules. But listening to this album is one step. The next step is to see Amon Amarth live. This is truly awesome :D
[...] MetalSucks pensman Sammy O’Hagar so eloquently stated in his review of Amon Amarth’s latest album Twilight of the Thunder God (which comes out tomorrow in the U.S.), the kings of Swedish viking death metal have always [...]
@Razzo: Thank you! Can you please edit that, Sammy, so we don’t have anymore obnoxiously word-conscious metalheads having conniptions?
MetalSucks does need to work on its copy-editing. That said, Sammy, this was a killer review. I can see why V&A are throwing my albums your way… I look forward to reading your thoughts on discs.
Thanks again.
Er, more* albums. Many* albums? Just not “my,” OK? I don’t have albums.
Amon Amarth are a heavier Manowar. Who gives a shit if they’re ridiculous, just enjoy.
This album Rocks Metal,BEERS,Vikings…what more u want on a METAL record!!!!This and ABORTED-strychine 213 are the best albums from 2008
These guys went THROUGH THE ROOF when i heard this album, i went out to buy it, got the last one on the day of the release, it was no mistake to hold in my dump because there were people waiting for it, i was listening to the songs on here and i almost shit my pants, its one of the best death metal albums around.