I like it on first listen. The production definitely sounds a little "cleaner" or "glossier" than Surtur Rising. I guess that's Andy Sneap's influence. Mind you, Andy gets a pass do what the fuck he wants after Human Remains, Blood of the Nations and Endgame, for my money.

There's no doubt I'll buy the album as an AA completist, and this song is around about the standard I expected.

Surtur Rising was a bit of a disappointment after Twilight of the Thundergod and With Oden on our side. I hope this gets the band back into winning form.

I've been listening to the song non-stop since it came out. As a giant Amon Amarth fan I'm wholly excited for the album. They haven't let me down so far, I don't get the general dislike for Surtur Rising and Fate Of Norns.

Actually, on the left side...

Yes, a big let down that they don't have the flames theme on the new cover.

Was really into Amon Amarth back in the early 2000's, it sounds like they are still on track.

At this point Amon Amarth should just become death n roll and make mead drinking songs instead of the same ol' melodeath formula they've been doing for 10+ years.

Yep, it's Amon Amarth.

That would be a turn for the best right about now. People new to metal who are discovering them for the first time with each new release will love the album but a lot of people will drop off knowing it has been the same thing for almost 10 years.

The cover is good bu I dont like it so much, perhaps because it reminds me Rhapsody´s covers, which I love but I expect something more aggresive from which is actually a more agressive band. TOTG´s cover was simply unbeatable.

The song is quite good, nice main riff and it sounds quite powerful, hopefully the new album will contain lots of fast and epic songs as "With Oden..." had.

Pre-order's now up for Europe here: http://www.emp.de/brand/amon-amarth/lis ... bandbrand/ and U.S. here: http://www.metalblade.com/amonamarth/order.php

They're running quite the gamut with some of these special editions but no thanks, the 2-disc digi will probably suffice. It should be noted that the album actually has ten songs, the closer being "Warriors of the North" which honestly prompted me to doublecheck that they didn't already have one previously with that obvious title. Also, Hel is the song Messiah Marcolin guests on.

That amount of "special packages" for the new album is simply ridiculous!

Perhaps, but it's nowhere near as ridiculous or horrid as those fucking bobbleheads. God, whoever thought that was a good idea needs a swift kick up the arse.

Messiah's guest starring intrigues me however. I must wonder how soaring, epic clean vocals will work on an Amon Amarth song, however melodic it may be.

My simplest advice is don't buy them then. I certainly am not

Going back to the track, it reminds me of Surtur's War of the Gods. That was the first single and opener just like this one, fast and overly melodic just like this one. Then tracks like A Beast am I came along and there is absolutely no power metal in that one

Might be because their formula is working for them.

Damn, some of you people are very hard to satisfy! You'll hate a band for changing/selling out/whatever you want to call it, but then you'll also hate a band for keeping roughly the same sound album after album (Amon Amarth). Or, even worse, you'll hate a band because people who are young and not necessarily into metal like them! *gasp! Make up your damn minds!

I thought this was a quality song. Then again, I don't think I've ever heard anything from Amon Amarth that hasn't been good.

This little bit of your argument really falls flat since a large percentage of the site (myself included) has an undying love for Bolt Thrower.

Stop and think for a second before you post. "Some of you people"? Which of them (us) people? Did you go through the names of the posters and see if they've made both kinds of statements? As hard as some people seem to think and claim, there is no Metal-Archives hivemind that shares views and opinions (not even among the mods).

Analyzing your claims further:

Changing/selling out/whatever can mean the same as keeping roughly the same sound album after album, depending on how a person views things. If your changing is sudden and into a poppier, more accessible sound, a lot of people are going to hate it and call it selling out. From another perspective keeping roughly the same sound album after album, but gradually and slowly shifting your sound to a slightly poppier and more accessible kind, well, you can see why some old time fans might see that as a con rather than a pro. Things are never as clear cut as they seem when you (unconsciouscly) construct a strawman.

Well, if you're old and into metal, your polar opposite is young and not into metal, right? Perhaps these people aren't looking for the things that young people not into metal generally look for?

I wont drop off from them & what do you mean 10+ years? Try 20 years. Hence the 20th anniversary shows last year.

I must say, my heart lies in the first albums, but i reckon everything they have released has kicked ass & has stayed on track & true. Can't wait for the new album. I'll definately get the special edition, vinyl & pic LP.

& To the dickhead who is "boggled" as to why people still listen to the mighty Amon Amarth, it's called an opinion, personal taste & preference.

Best band in the world! (IN MY OPINION).

You'll buy three versions of the same album prerelease? MalignantThrone would be proud.

It isn't hard, you dont have a favourite band or bands that you have the vinyl & cd version of an album? & Maybe a boxset if it was released? Dam, i have 7 or 8 versions of the Avenger! It's called collecting, you might have heard of it

& By the looks of it, i'll just pre order the bundle with the boxset, piclp & t-shirt.

So I'm a dickhead for not understanding why people still listen to them? Well, to cite a marvelous connoisseur:



And oh, I've actually listened to the new song now (I mean, I'm the first to back on what I said earlier if it turned out to be good), and it's as exciting and inspiring as I imagine it would be to get slapped in the face with a flaccid horse penis. And it feels like it consists of nothing but empty calories and veneer. Like you put ingredients in a randomizer and let a computer do the rest.

(edited for typo)

You nailed it man!

Hurr hurr (I see what you did there). You're funny.
So much for dissenting opinions.
As insipid and impotent as AA.

Oh I can fanboy, I paid $150 for an Esoteric demo tape, but I'm's sure as fuck not buying the CD rerelease or autisming over 8 versions of a new album if they start repeating themselves in meak fashions.

Oh the love and hate saga of a well renowned band and its followers and detractors.

I maintain my earlier statement that the amount of different packages is pretty ridiculous. I mean, how many different versions need you have of a single album? I can understand the feeling of a fan wanting the album in every media (CD/vinyl/tape/DVD), I really can. But the blatant display of utter milking of the cow (not viking, cow!) that is Amon Amarth is beginning to sound and appear ridiculous and almost a self-parody. Don't get me wrong, I love the band and everything they've made apart from a couple of albums. But this is so getting into the realm of blatant commercialism. But if at least the music was good I could give them a pass because of it, but alas it's not and it hasn't been great for a long time. The last time I saw them I was so bored, and I truly like the band! They're just in a pure state of auto-pilot, doing money for the sake of doing money.

What can I say more that hasn't been said?! People will eat this up and it's quite OK for me. I can still complain though, because hey, opinions right?!

I listened to the new track with an open mind, but after about a minute I can say I just don't give a shit anymore about this band. They need a real injection of creativity because it sounds exactly the same as all of their other songs.

That 'Under the Influence' bonus EP on the digipak is very intriguing. I thought it would be an EP of cover songs but judging by the tracklist they'll do original songs in the style of a few bands that influenced them, including Judas Priest and Motorhead. I like that concept, but find strange that they don't seem to have released an statement about the EP yet.

That sounds way more interesting than their real music.

Yes, that's certainly an Amon Amarth album cover.

Should be at least decent, maybe good. Amon Amarth as a band is at least decent and maybe good.

We'll put that on their epitaph when they hang it up.

Here lies Amon Amarth. They were at least decent, maybe good.

Bought the t-shirt and digipack preorder. I've never preordered anything ever before.

Don't let me down AA!

So many things wrong with your post... But I don't really care, so I'll just address one of the more trivial aspects. You say "Changing... can mean the same as keeping roughly the same sound album after album, depending on how a person views things."

What? Changing means changing! Not staying the same! If a person views a band changing their sound as keeping the same sound, they need to consult the dictionary for the difference between words "change" and "same."

Btw, don't throw around the strawman fallacy if you don't know what it is, or before you've fully comprehended my post.

XcKyle93, you made a blatant strawman. Your post is rather easy to comprehend, and there's little of value to absorb. You're making another, even more blatant strawman in this second post, too.

Just take his advice.

No, I didn't say that. You need to work on your reading comprehension. I think Ilwhyan said everything else that needs saying.

Is there a facepalm emoticon? I directly quoted you. You quoted me quoting you. I suppose you're unfamiliar with how to employ an ellipsis.

Anyways, I just think that some metal fans are a bit uptight when it comes to enjoying new metal music, especially new music from bigger and popular bands like Amon Amarth. I base this off of a few the posts in this thread as well as talking to metalheads in general. Even I'm like this at times. I know a lot of metal fans hate melodeath too, which is something that I personally cannot understand.

There are a few sides for this argument, as usual.

Some people immediately dislike new stuff from "commercial" metal bands on principle alone, whereas some others give it a shot to see if it's good or not. Some just want "old school" while, again, others give it an honest shot. Some do hate melodeath because of how vulgar, bastardised and commercial it has become, while again, and at the cost of repetition, others do give it an honest shot.

Do you see where I'm going with this?! Blatantly shitting on others for having an opinion when there are so many ways to look at things other than yours seems a bit childish, don't you think? Besides, people will listen to and say whatever the fuck they want to. It's always been like this and will always be.

Oh, I forgot one side of the argument though. It's the one where someone keeps telling you how awesome every new metal band/album really is, only to find out a few years later that they don't really listen to them anymore and prefer the classics, much like those people who they initially criticised. Oh, the irony.

Well, that's your opinion . I agree with it, but unfortunately, people in all walks of life do it everyday. I've done it, and I'm sure you've done it before also (though I don't personally know you). I also agree with what you said just after that: people will listen to whatever the fuck they want. People shitting on whatever music that I enjoy may piss me off initially, but in the end I don't really care, and will keep on listening to the same stuff. At the same time, I do think I'm allowed to challenge those shitters on the merit of their arguments .

I apologize that this thread has gotten off-topic. Let the "Deceiver of the Gods" discussion continue!

Ow, come on, I was joking, just making an over-the-top comment. But I think that Amon Amarth get a lot of shit, and they don't deserve it, and they get so much of it maybe because they got popular. It is a good band, not the best, ok.

And all that merchandising stuff, it's some executive's idea from the label. I mean, it's not like it's Olavi idea or anything. I think they deserve the money they earn.

I see Amon Amarth like I see Running Wild. True, it is not the most original music out there, and monothematic when it comes to lyrics. But no one picks Blazon Stone or With Oden On Our Side looking for originality or something that redefines the genre. They are looking for some ass-kicking, because the pirate/viking theme is fun. They can certainly deliver that. Anyways, you know what you are going to get. You can like it, or not, but some comments here would make you think of Amon Amarth as if they were on Kiss levels of commercialism.

edit: I apologize for the sub-par redaction

You didn't directly quote me. You cut off words in between. You linked the beginning of one sentence I wrote to another sentence I wrote. That is not direct quoting. While I know the ellipsis can be used to *snip* away words and whole sentences, linking the beginning of one sentence to the ending of another, unrelated sentence like that is just utterly wrong and completely twisting my words into what you want them to represent. Sort of like constructing a strawman.

He didn't actually paste two sentences together, it was just one. But he does seem to be deliberately missing the entire point of your post to focus on a point you didn't make.