ALBUM REVIEW: The Allfather Awakens – Amon Amarth
AMON AMARTH should need no introduction by now. Sweden’s favourite Viking nerds have had a remarkable career and their list of achievements is worthy of the sagas. They’ve even accomplished what was once though impossible and brought death metal into arenas. They’re a beloved institution and criticising them in any way feels a bit like slagging off Christmas: you always look like a jerk, regardless of whether you’re making a decent point or not. But there’s an elephant in the longhouse.
AMON AMARTH do not have a perfect discography. Since breaking through in the English-speaking world with Twilight Of The Thunder God, they’ve released some terrific records (Jomsviking especially), but they’ve also had a couple of also-rans. With the exception of that cringeworthy goat song, 2022’s The Great Heathen Army was largely forgettable, and it was starting to look like they were happy treading water.
That’s why it’s a tremendous relief to say that The Allfather Awakens is a welcome return to form. When AMON AMARTH are at their best, they sound like a chainmail-clad war band galloping into battle across a rain-lashed field, and The Allfather Awakens more than delivers.
The opening Gjallahorn is a thundering great anthem, complete with ‘woah-oh-ohs,’ cavalry-charge riffs, and a fiercely charismatic performance by Johan Hegg. Eight Legs Of Thunder is the best kind of second track; it takes the template of the previous song and improves on it. The instrumentation is fierce and the chorus is even more memorable. These first two tracks raise the standard high and demonstrate that when AMON AMARTH have fire in their bellies, they’re unmatched.
They wisely slow the pace slightly with Kvasir’s Blood, which offers a churning bend-your-backs-and-row rhythm before exploding into life with a huge chorus. It sits nicely alongside the two faster preceding tracks, and the minor tempo change does wonders for the dynamics of the album. We Rule The Waves is borderline-camp and likely to be a popular live track, but the big surprise is Upphaf.
This mid-album cut is beautifully atmospheric. It’s a slower number with a liberal use of acoustic guitar, and Johan delivers a near-spoken-word performance. It’s the first time we can recall AMON AMARTH writing a song that could have been played during the actual dark ages and is closer to the ominous folk of HEILUNG than their usual pit-triggering fury. When they play this one, you can bet the lights will dim.
Business returns to normal with the epic crunch of Die With A War Cry, and at the exact point in the track list where they could easily slip into complacency, Raven God turns up. This is another instant-anthem, designed for mass crowds punching the air and bellowing the lyrics at the top of their lungs. It’s an irresistible song, packed with melodies that bring to mind raging northern oceans and enormous flocks of black-winged birds.
Arguably the biggest challenge though, is the climax. Even on their best work, AMON AMARTH have struggled to write a stunning album closer, and this time…it’s okay? Ascending Like An Eagle is a mini-epic and the longest song on here, but it’s also not the best. It’s a perfectly serviceable AMON AMARTH song and there’s nothing wrong with it, but the preceding tracks are all very strong and this last effort doesn’t live up to them. It is one of the better finales they’ve done, but for whatever reason, it isn’t memorable enough.
Frankly though, this is nitpicking. One minor let down aside, The Allfather Awakens is a stunning piece of work. It contains all of the familiar tropes associated with AMON AMARTH, but they’ve tightened up the songwriting and created a bigger, meaner, catchier album this time. No bloody songs about goats either.
Rating: 8/10
The Allfather Awakens is set for release on October 2nd via Metal Blade Records.
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