Amon Amarth

The Great Heathen Army

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ft. Biff Byford.
Genre: Viking Metal.
Released: 05/08/2022
Via Metal Blade

Album Review: Amon Amarth – The Great Heathen Army

Vikings and metal seem to go hand in hand so it’s no surprise that Swedish viking metallers Amon Amarth have been able to create their own legion of devoted fans over the years. Their powerful blend of historic stories and heavy metal has allowed them to wow fans of the genre for quite some time now and with their latest album ‘The Great Heathen Army’ right around the corner, we here at The Rock Fix had to get a taste of that sweet Viking metal Ale. Here are my thought’s on the new album.

In true Viking fashion, the album opens up with an unrelenting fight song titled ‘Get In The Ring’. Originally written as an entrance theme for AEW wrestler Erick Redbeard, the song captures the essence of warfare within a heavy yet methodical metal beat. Following on from that is the title track ‘The Great Heathen War’ which bring’s a tonne of attitude and aggression to the record. Amon Amarth wasted little time easing in the listener as chugging riffs dominate the track with a nice contrasting melodic guitar adding a hint of calm to the very much angered storm.

‘Heidrum’ is up next and offers a bit more of a groovy feel. A much more bouncy number that will have fans bobbing their heads along to its infectious rhythm in no time. A simple yet effective song progression allows the track to stick in your mind with little struggle. This is going to be a fun one live! On the other side of the spectrum we have ‘Oden Owns You All’, an unrelenting song full of machine gun-like drumming and nothing but pure aggression. Generating quite a sinister mood, the song leans into a much heavier side of Amon Amarth and it works wonders!

As the album progresses, you start to realize that the record isn’t quite your standard Amon Amarth release. A much darker tone is on display throughout this record and ‘Find A Way Or Make One’ is a shining example of this. Melodies intertwining with demonic esc gutturals helps to elevate the song into a league of its own while ‘Dawn Of Norsemen’ thrives with its use of harmonies that drive the fight onwards. Continuing the assault is ‘Saxons And Vikings’, a historically driven track based on the notriouse battles between the British Saxons and the Vikings is an obvious choice for the band however the feature from Saxon’s Biff Byford ties this whole song together. A battle for blood played out in a war of voices is exactly what this album needed!

As the album draws to a close, ‘Skagul Rides With Me’ shows off the band’s progression to this point with a powerful, melodically driven number. The harmonies littered throughout this song are what make it special as they help to generate the image of hope the song is trying to convey in its lyrics. The final stop on your hellish war is ‘The Serpent’s Tail’ and the voyage is definitely worth it. An epic sounding track that utilizes both clean and guttural vocal styles works as a perfect ending to what has come before it. If there was one song to sum up the direction the band’s sound is heading, this would be it!

Amon Amarth have created a powerful album that is sure to please existing fans as well as garner a few new faces into their leagues. As the band get set to embark on their biggest European tour to date with Machine Head as Co-Headliners, the new album is sure to impress the thousands of fans who will experience these song’s for the first time very soon!