sur les 10 titres du futur (proche) album d'Amon Amarth intitulé Surtur Rising : | 1. WAR OF THE GODS Amon have a bit of a habit of knowing how to Kick off an album, and 'War Of The Gods' is no exception. This is more gung ho than a cowboy with a missile launcher, and once again those outrageously catchy hooks sound fucking huge thanks to Jens Bogren's smart production. This band just don't do low-key, do they? 2. TÖCK'S TAUNT – LOKE'S TREACHORY PART II A sequel to 'Hermod's Ride To Hell' from their awesome 2006 full-length, 'With Oden On Our Side', this is a slightly more measured number, with a menacing, imperial stomp that forms the backbone of most of the song. 3. DESTROYER OF THE Universe Aaaaaaand we're back up to fifth gear. Amon Amarth are hardly known for their shredding, but this has a couple of vaguely widdle-tastic moments weaved into the pacey riffing and those ever-soaring melodies, and there's a nice if brief bit of NWOBHM-style duel guitar shenanigans. 4. SLAVES OF FEAR “They feed on your anxieties/To build a dead society” growls Johan. There's a delightful bit of Bile and Cynicism lying under this track, and the riffs are Far less accessible than the rest of the album so far. Of course, there is inevitably an epic, harmonic climax, but this is still a pretty gnarly number by Amon's own standards. 5. LIVE WITHOUT REGRET This is also marginally less instant than much of Amon's recent material, recalling more of their 2001 album 'The Crusher' than their last two releases. Johan sounds completely bad ass by taking his 'Demonic Cookie Monster' grumble even lower than normal. Lovely stuff. 6. THE LAST STAND OF FREJ This is pretty epic, in a “'Gerard Butler's death in '300'” kinda way. The slowest track on the album so Far, and hugely anthemic as a result, with some nice, chunky, vaguely doomy intersections. 7. FOR Victory OR DEATH For just a brief second this one threatens to bolt off into Eurovision metal territory with its fantasy metal opening hook, but it's okay, because Johan arrives just in time to lend that much-needed gruff and growl. A fairly light addition to what is generally a heavier Beast overall, but another indication that precious few other metal acts can have catchy and heavy living in such effortless cahoots. 8. WRATH OF THE NORSEMEN Johan is sounding more disgustingly disgruntled as this album wears on! Another brooding number that is initially similar in pace and style to 'Töck's Taunt...', but climaxes in an up-tempo and addictively singable (growlable?) chorus. “Somebody save meeeeee!” bellows the singer. Mate, if you can't deal with it, we're all fucked. 9. A Beast AM I Yes, yes he is. And as if to confirm it, he starts this one off with a nice big meaty Heavy Metal scream. Awesome. This is probably the closest that these Swedes ever come to straight-up Death Metal – which isn't saying much, granted, but it's still nice to see that they can bust out a proper gnarly riff within all that melodic business. 10. DOOM OVER DEAD MAN Time for the big finale! There's a bit of suspect synth creeping in at the start, but things quickly get back on track. Yup; slow, brooding intro gives way to another epic bout of Norse-themed metal majesty. Job done. |
