Amon Amarth - Surtur Rising CD

Surtur Rising songs Death metal with some melody? Can it be? As evidenced by Amon Amarth's 2006 release, With Odin on Our Side, this dream seems to be a reality early on. On the album opening "Valhall Awaits Me," singer Johan Hegg's vocal lines aren't merely growled syllables. But don't be worried, longtime Amarth fans, it's not like the Swedish outfit has enlisted the help of Burt Bacharach to soften things up, as Hegg's vocals do resort back to the expected death metal growl soon enough, especially on such tracks as "Under the Northern Star." Yet all the while, Hegg manages to hold his own against the riffs and sometimes-Iron Maiden-esque guitar harmonies supplied by Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg. The aforementioned guitar duo also shows they have a talent for penning industrial strength riffs as well, evidenced by such tracks as "Hermods Ride to Hell" and "Runes to My Memory." Nothing remarkably new here, but for admirers of death metal with some added muscle, With Odin on Our Side shows that Amon Amarth continue to be champions of the worldwide death metal tournament. ~ Greg Prato

Surtur Rising buy CD music This DVD/CD includes a 24 page full color booklet. The CD includes 10 songs. The DVD includes 13 tracks filmed at Summer Breeze 2007. The modern barbarians of Amon Amarth are dedicated to mining their native Sweden's Viking past for tales of battle glory and eternal feasting that they can build into their colossally melodic death metal. Their seventh album, TWILIGHT OF THE THUNDER GOD, makes plain its mission from the album cover, featuring the Mighty Thor wielding his mystic hammer against a giant dragon. The music itself bludgeons the listener just like that warhammer, with sturdy songs like "Guardians of Asgaard" pounding out a brutal mid-tempo beat, and "Twilight of the Thunder God" spinning a power-metal influenced web of twisting guitars and jackhammer drums. Amon Amarth: Johan Hegg (vocals); Johan Söderberg, Olavi Mikkonen (guitar); Ted Lundström (bass guitar); Fredrik Andersson (drums).

Surtur Rising album for sale Initial pressings of VERSUS THE WORLD will include a bonus disc. With Versus the World, Amon Amarth return with another terrain flattening, Viking-obsessed death metal platter. Vocalist Johan Hegg alternates between a whispery low rumble and an upper-register shriek, both of which are surprisingly able to render the lyrics quite intelligible at times. What's possibly most impressive about Versus the World is the ebb and flow of the record; there is an engaging variety of moods, tempos, and textures that is lacking from the work of many similar bands. The songs are truly songs, which are thoughtfully arranged and manage to deliver melody, and even beauty, along with moments of extreme brutality. ~ Andy Hinds Recorded in November 1995. Amon Amarth: Johan Kegg (vocals); Anders Hansson, Olavi Mikkonen (guitar); Ted Lundstrom (bass); Mike Kaukinen, Fredrik Andersson (drums). Personnel: Johan Söderberg, Olavi Mikkonen, Anders Hansson (guitar); Niko Kaukinen, Fredrik Andersson (drums). Audio Mixers: Henrik Larson; Peter Tägtgren. Audio Remasterer: Henrik Larson. Recording information: Abyss Studios, Sweden (11/1995-08/2002); Berno Studios, Malmo, Sweden (11/1995-08/2002). Photographer: Alex Kuehr.

Surtur Rising CD music The release of 2009's ENDGAME brings with it a startling realization: if first-generation thrash metal fans had been polled about which of the genre's "Big Four" -- Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, and Megadeth -- would prove to be the most resilient and consistently prolific over the next quarter century, the only sure-fire consensus would probably have been "well, anyone but Megadeth!" And yet, 12 studio albums and 150-plus songs later -- more than any of the other three have managed -- that's exactly what's come to pass. The group's second release for Roadrunner, whose title apparently refers to "coming full circle" rather than any sort of goodbye, finds the latest iteration of Megadeth-- debuting new guitarist Chris Broderick(ex-Nevermore, Jag Panzer)--working primarily within their technical thrash comfort zone (think PEACE SELLS through RUST IN PEACE), with only a few latter-day elements and rare experimental diversions. As such, deceptively simple guitar-shredding master classes like "This Day We Fight!," "1,320" (surprisingly, written about "funny car" racing), and first single "Headcrusher" are cut from the same bloody cloth as "Wake Up Dead" and "Set the World Afire," while politicized rants such as "44 Minutes," "Bite the Hand That Feeds," and the title cut recall old stalwarts like "Peace Sells" and "Holy Wars." Lyricist: Dave Mustaine. Personnel: Dave Mustaine (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, piano); Chris Broderick (guitar, acoustic guitar); James LoMenzo (bass guitar); Shawn Drover (drums, percussion); Chris Rodriguez, Chris Clancy, Chris Clancy (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Andy Sneap. Illustrator: John Lorenzi. Photographer: Ross Halfin.

Surtur Rising buy CD music Amon Amarth's fifth full-length isn't so different than its 2002 predecessor, The Crusher. Musically, Fate of Norns is Spartan death metal built on epic, anthemic melodies, a perfect example of the Iron Maiden/death metal fusion tagged the "New Wave of Swedish Heavy Metal." And lyrically it's still full of Viking imagery, as songs like "Valkyries Ride" and "The Pursuit of Vikings" attest. It's the same theme that these guys have been hammering at since their 1996 debut mini-album, Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds. It's also a theme that literally hundreds of other Scandinavian bands have hammered at too, most of them leaving it a hackneyed corpse ready for the pyre. Which is where Amon Amarth have set themselves apart. These aren't just songs written about Vikings, they are written by Vikings. They're ready for death in "Arson" where one of five left to burn survives and comes back for revenge in that tracks' sequel, "Once Sealed in Blood." Blood lust themes aren't unusual, but Amon Amarth tackle them with a depth often lacking from their contemporaries. Which brings up the most intriguing track, "Fate of Norns": "No man should have to bury his child/Yet this has been my share/The tears I shed run bitter and wild/It's a heavy burden to bear." A knotty subject for a band and a style more given to crushing skulls than tears, but that kind of depth is what Amon Amarth have brought to Fate of Norns and what makes it stand out in a sea of barbarian pretenders. ~ Wade Kergan Recording information: Berno Studio, Malmo, Sweden (05/2004-06/2004). Photographer: Alex Kuehr. Arranger: Amon Amarth. Personnel: Johan Hegg (vocals); Johan Söderberg, Olavi Mikkonen (guitar); Udo Schlangschnabel (horns); Fredrik Andersson (drums). Audio Mixer: Berno Paulsson.

Surtur Rising songs At one point, Dimmu Borgir were a black metal band. Somewhere around the time of 2001's Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, though, they became something entirely different, a kind of monument to pomp and grandeur for its own sake. Peaking on 2003's Death Cult Armageddon and sagging somewhat on the overwrought/underwritten 2007 concept album In Sorte Diaboli, they've managed to combine black metal with John Williams-style symphonic stomping. This album, while not quite the equal of Death Cult Armageddon, does represent a fairly strong comeback. Without changing their style, it's more melodic and even catchier than they're known for being, and the exchanges between lead vocalist Shagrath (who sounds like a cross between Laibach's Milan Fras and Popeye the Sailor) and the trills of the orchestra (real, not synth-based), not to mention the frequent interjections by female voices, make the whole thing almost operatic. Indeed, Abrahadabra is many things, but it is definitely not a rock album. It takes the pomposity of prog to new extremes, throws classical filigree around like comedian Rip Taylor hurling confetti, and generally adopts a more-is-more attitude toward every element from riff writing to arrangements. It opens with an instrumental fanfare, and there's a guest vocal spot on "Ritualist" (by bassist Snowy Shaw of Therion) that sounds like Peter Hammill from Van der Graaf Generator. It might be goofy as hell, but it's also a lot of fun. ~ Phil Freeman 2010 album from one of Norway's finest Metal band. 10 tracks. Recording information: Dugout Studios, Uppsala, Sweden; Livingroom Studios, Oslo, Norway; NRK Studios, Oslo, Norway; Pimp Plaza Recordings, Oslo, Norway. Photographers: Kjell Lund; Marcelo Vasco ; Tove Åsum Forwald. Personnel: Shagrath (vocals, keyboards); Snowy Shaw (vocals, bass guitar); Galder, Silenoz (guitar); Sidsel Walstad (harp); Atle Sponberg, Frode Larsen, Henrik Hannisdal, Elisabeth Lie, Andrea Manger, Annar Folleso, Stine Rem Aarones, Yi Yang , Christina Dimbodius, Agnes Hoffart, Mette Elisabeth Steen, Maren Elle, Kristin Karlsson, Tone Bjornsen, Willy Aase, Guro Hilmen (violin); Nora Taksdal (viola); Marit Klovning, Audun Sandvik, Merete Olsen Carr, Morten Hannisdal (cello); Tom Ottar Andreassen, Trond Magne Brekka (flute); Björn Nyman, Hilde Mentzoni, Stine Lise Svenning (clarinet); Trygve Aarvik (oboe); Ingrid Uddu (English horn); Embrik Snerte, Ingrid Åhlander (bassoon); Tom Skjellum, Kare Magnar Hagen, Odd Nilsen (trumpet); Sverre Riise, Petter Winroth, Oivind Westby (trombone); Trude Eick, Hildegun Flataboe , Eyvind Andreassen, Julius Pranevicius (horns); Daray (drums); Birger Mistreggen (timpani); Joakim Nordin, Bjorn Rabben (percussion). Audio Mixers: Dimmu Borgir; Andy Sneap.