Surtur Rising
Viking metaller’s Amon Amarth return with their follow up to the mighty Twilight of the Thunder God. In a recent interview with the band they mentioned that on this new album their were finding a new sound for the band, experimenting with keyboards and acoustic guitars this album is a departure from Twilight.
The band is famous for their relentless riffs and guteral growls of vocalist Johan Hegg, something which is not lost on this album. Songs such as War of the Gods, Slaves of Fear and Live Without Regrets are testament to this. The album however seems very monotonous and doesn’t flow very well which its predecessor did with such fury and elegance. Some of the songs seem to drag and are very repetitive such as Destroyer of the Universe which in my opinion is probably one of the worst songs I have ever heard by the band. The Last Stand of Frej contains a rather strange drum sound something reminiscent of Metallica’s St. Anger, the song also contains some rather strange synth work. For some songs the slower beat works such as Wrath of the Norsemen which is a great step in a good direction but it is not good enough to save the album. The musicianship on the album is very good and as every other Amon Amarth album it features ridiculous guitar solos which are only rivalled by Children of Bodom.
Overall the album is a mixture of sorts. At points it is a great album but at others you are left wondering why the band have moved from such a great sound which they were famous for. Slaves of Fear is my personal highlight of the album as it follows off the same foot of Twilight but that is really it.
Surtur Rising – Amon Amarth 7/10
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