Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds

Everyone and their mother knows Amon Amarth these days so there is really no need to say anything about them or their career in general. I mean, last Midsummer, my aunt told me that "The bonfire looks a lot like the album covers of that Swedish band who sound like Satan." The album starts off like so many other Amon Amarth songs, without any introduction, going straight into a fast and simple drum beat and tremolo picking. At about a minute in when the intro part is repeated again with Johan Hegg's harsh and desperate - even mournful - vocals joining in, you know what Amon Amarth is about. Harsh background combined with the melancholy and minor chords ruling the foreground.

Which is their downfall. You are hard pressed to make a difference between the songs. Their albums often end up sounding like they wrote two songs. "Oh, this is the fast song. And now this is the slow one. Ah, 'tis the fast one again." However, on Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds this problem doesn't showcase as strongly. At least not in this particular form. They are yet to become so formulaic in their songwriting. The songs here don't really follow any conventional song structures, just flowing from one part to another, very fluidly too. While this unconventional style of writing makes for an interesting standpoint against the rest of their albums, it doesn't save the album from its aforementioned fatal flaw: The songs blend too much into others. One can listen to the EP from beginning to end numerous times, but nothing really sticks to one's mind. The first song is recognizable for its lack of any sort of intro and Burning Creation is notable for its staccato riff as well as the calmer and even more melancholic atmosphere, but besides that the album is a mesh of tremolo riffs, harsh vocals and bland drumming.

Did I mention the drumming? I didn't? That's because there isn't anything happening there. It's not Martin Lopez yet here, but the original drummer, who is about as generic as you can be. The drumsound is clear, nothing is overpowering, but the man behind the kit just doesn't do anything that would make you want to pay attention to him. Which can be used to describe the rest of the album as well. The rhythm guitars have a great crunch to them, but aside from the intro of Burning Creation, they aren't utilized to any real extent. The lead guitar melodies and vocals are always overpowering them. There's potential here, but if you throw this one on, it's ending before you even realize it and you don't remember any of it.