AMON AMARTH — The Great Heathen Army (review)

AMON AMARTH — The Great Heathen Army album cover Album · 2022 · Melodic Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Kev Rowland
There are a few bands in the world where one can see there is a new release and pretty much have a good guarantee of what it is going to sound like and what the lyrical content is going to be about. One of these is Sabaton, and another is the mighty Amon Amarth. They still have three founder members in Ted Lundström (bass), Olavi Mikkonen (guitars) and singer Johan Hegg while guitarist Johan Söderberg has been there for nearly quarter of a century and even newbie drummer Jocke Wallgren has been around since 2016. When I noticed it had been produced by none other than the mighty Andy Sneap I knew we were in for a fun ride, and indeed we were. This is Viking metal with a groove, strongly commercial and a long way removed from the melodic death they used to deploy, incredibly heavy with powerful vocals and songs which people could even dance to if they wished as opposed to just losing dandruff.

It might sound like they are getting soft in their old age, but nothing could be further from the truth as they continue to expand their sound, even bringing in folk influences into the likes of “Heidrun”. This is epic metal, full of anthems which are designed to fill the largest halls, with a space and grandeur even when they are crunching hard. It is music which demands to be played as loud as the speakers and eardrums can bear, yet while aggressive there is a passion within which is far more than hatred, it is pride. They are proud of their Viking heritage and need to explain it to the world, with the title track based on a famous invasion of England. As Hegg says, “It is about when the invading Viking fleet arrived in England in 865 AD. The Vikings had been raiding England for a long time, but this army was something else. It was an invasion army and deadly effective against the British. It's a massive historical event. It's fascinating. Somehow, the English won, and they defeated the heathen army, so anything is possible!" Putting it bluntly, if you have ever enjoyed Amon Amarth in the past then this is indispensable as here on their twelfth studio release, they stay true to their roots yet expand in different directions to make this one of their most complete works to date.
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