Amon Amarth – The Allfather Awakens
Amon Amarth – The Allfather Awakens
Metal Blade Records
Release date: 02/10/26
Review by Oli Gonzalez
8/10
One of the biggest names in all of metal, Amon Amarth needs little introduction. The Swedish Viking-themed melodic death metallers have played every festival and every stage worth playing. Now they’re back with their latest opus “The Allfather Awakens”.
What we’ll see is Amon Amarth returning to their past and looking to older days in order to drive their ways forward. A return to enriched storytelling and huge riffs rather than the generic stadium metal they’ve been accused of in some more recent efforts.
‘Gjallrhorn’ and ‘Eight Legs Of Thunder’ provide an opportunity for guitarists Olavi and Johan to flex their muscles and really drive the sound of the band, from a melodic and rhythmic perspective. Fans of older anthems like ‘Guardians of Asgard’ from the “Twilight Of The Thunder God” era will be satiated here.
‘Ksavir’s Blood’ continues with that old-school theme, with tight, chuggy rhythms that hold down a thunderous groove which Johann Hegg’s guttural vocals sit elegantly. A pattern that worked so well on ‘Tattered Banners And Bloody Flags’, along with blazing lead guitars to close out the song!
The odyssey to the past continues as the arena ballad for ‘We Rule The Waves’ captures some of the older epic story telling in songs from the ‘’With Oden On Our Side’’ era, all along with modern production engineered to get larger arenas singing in unison!
On the subject of storytelling, gather round a campfire and listen to the band’s first-ever acoustic song ‘Upphaf’. Some have commented positively on this, and a dark folk ballad is a statement of a band’s understanding that to prevent stagnation, some risks have to be taken and new sounds offered to their fans. A gamble that’s paid off in my humble view.
The real highlights of the album were firstly ‘Die With A War Cry’, a dark sinister ballad with sadistic leads and punishing grooves adding urgency and tension. Though they throw the kitchen sink at you with ‘Oden’s Hunt’. A real head banger which will cause riots in the live arena!
This is a side of Amon Amarth I haven’t heard in a while. And that’s the thing: in some ways I have to accept the old Amon Amarth is never coming back. Those raw, gritty death metal days of “With Oden On Our Side’’ and ‘’Versus The World”. Though with occasional nods to the past and the satisfying sense of nostalgia that comes with it, “The Allfather Awakens” shows that the kings of melodic death metal aren’t willing to relinquish their crown yet!
TRACKLISTING:
01. Gjallarhorn
02. Eight Legs of Thunder
03. Kvasir’s Blood
04. We Rule the Waves
05. Upphaf
06. Die With a War Cry
07. Raven God
08. The Allfather Awakes
09. Oden’s Hunt
10. Ascending Like an Eagle
LINKS:
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