Twilight of the Thunder God

Amon Amarth has always been a good viking/melodic death metal band, plain and simple! A band with great charisma, strength and determination to dominate the European metal scene, Amon Amarth definitely don't mess around with the important bits, especially not with this album! Twilight of the Thunder God is same old AA, sad to say really. Viking folklore and mythology is their usual schtick, before you crazy AA fans cry foul, Amon Amarth is, without a doubt, the only band that actually makes me think and fantasize about viking folk tales. "Thunder" is really a portal to the past, to the old days of axes, killing and pillaging, a viking's life. When you pop this into your stereo or switch it on your MP3, you feel like you've entered a completely different world full of life and viking myths. A real treat to any AA or Norse mythology fan such as myself.

Time for the music, did it suck major ass? There's one answer to that one: no. They really delivered, sure it's nothing new really, it's what you'd expect. However, the production is clear, better and louder! The entire band seemed to step up a notch in terms of sound quality, everything has a certain togetherness, meaning the band unity and overall musicianship is very high and taken seriously. This album would've been 100% if not for the same old song and dance that AA has brought to the table, I mean seriously, can they sing other than Vikings or Norse mythology? Maybe not, it's their thing and it's what people expect, but I would prefer them to sing about something else from time to time. That's not just the only reason why I gave this album an 85. I felt like some of the songs are something I've already heard before like the "Live For The Kill" chorus riff sounds just like "Cry of the Black Birds" from their previous album or even "Embrace of the Endless Ocean" has the outro riff to "Gods Of War Arise" from their album "With Oden on Our Side". In way it feels like I've heard it all before and that I've experienced it all, it also shows AA's lack of creativity by replaying, literally, the same stuff. Give those songs a listen and I'm sure you'll notice it.

For the overall band performance: Hegg's vocal power was the same as it was on any AA album, powerful and intimidating. He executed them perfectly and he deserves a pat on the back with a horn full of mead. The guitars were played beautifully, perhaps too distorted and lacked some melody but other than that it was a nice touch. The drums were good as well, although, a bit repetitive at times because you'll mostly hear the same damn drum beat over and over. It's not terrible or anything, but then again it's not stellar.

This album was mainly a repetition of AAs previous work, some riffs that you'll find are the same and they have the same melody to it also. To be honest, it's just all of their previous work that's been remastered into a new album with a different title and cover. It sounds, feels and looks good, but looks aren't everything. It's about the content, and I think AA is lacking just a bit, lacking power, creative edge and that's all. Other than that it's a good album, but you should listen to it mainly because it's Amon Amarth. I personally enjoyed it at times and I found that adding orchestra filler was a nice touch, well done guys, but you can do better.