Amon Amarth 
Surtur Rising
Metal Blade
March 29
By Danny Contreras
If there is any death metal band out there consistently putting out records of high quality and extreme intensity, that band is Amon Amarth.
Three years ago the Swedish quintet released Twilight of the Thunder Gods, their seventh album, to positive reviews. It was characterized by its technical prowess, impeccable drumming, guitars that were faster than ever, louder and darker singing than ever and bass that added composure and subtly kept the whole thing together.
Surtur Rising is by no means Twilight of the Thunder Gods, though it would be unfair to compare both albums as anything else other than an Amon Amarth production. They’re both great in their own way. Even the music has changed. Not too extremely, of course, you can still tell it’s Amon Amarth. But the thrash riffs found in their more recent releases prior to this one are gone, paving the way for more melody and creativity.
The opener, “War of the Gods,” picks up where they left off in 2008. It’s brutal and violent. The double bass drums thunder through headphones and singer Johan Hegg quickly brings forth a Norse apocalypse and doesn’t let you leave. It is too catchy, almost pop-ish, to switch to another song.
“Live Without Regrets” begins similarly to “Runes to My Memory” from their 2007 release With Oden On Our Side. The machine gun-like guitars power through with some of the fastest drumming they have ever done. The vocals do not begin until a minute later where Hegg beckons more carnage. But it’s not just a straight up death metal song that a band like Cannibal Corpse would produce. Instead, it’s more melodic. More Scandinavian if you would. The lack of keyboards is obvious, but the bass and the guitars provide a lot of melody, allowing it to stand side to side with some of the best melodic death metal bands out there.
Finally, “Wrath of Norsemen” does exactly what the title says: shows you the wrath of Norsemen. It’s a slow song with a darker tuning. It rips out your jugular and fills it with piss before putting it back in your neck. A quick guitar solo stampedes in the middle of the song and Hegg’s singing is as low tuned as ever. If Satan were real, this would be his voice.
The album stands out among other Amon Amarth albums. It’s definitely darker, lyrically. But other albums will definitely take the title for faster. The songs flow into one another so differentiating between them does become troublesome at times. What’s best about this album is the fact that they combined melodic death metal extremely well with technical death metal creating a sound distinctly attributed to Amon Amarth. This will probably be considered their magnum opus.
