Hey guys! I planned on reviewing this Wednesday, but I got it yesterday thanks to the pre-order. Oh, and no song review on this one.

So Amon Amarth have released their 8th album, first one in 3 years. Amon Amarth is one of if not the most popular death metal band in the world. Their last album, Twilight of the Thunder God, hit #2 on the German charts, and #1 on the Swedish charts, as well as garnering honors and solidifying a massive fanbase. Now IMO they're coming off of their best 2 albums, so obviously this thing has a lot to love up to. So did it?

Alright now this album contains everything that has made Amon Amarth so damn good. It's got the riffing, the intense drums, the great vocal delivery, all that. But the problem with this thing is that it's nothing they haven't done before. Unlike their last album, no experimentation happened. It's good, but I wish they wouldve taken more risks.

Another problem I had with this thing was how they ended the album. Now I got the special edition, so I'm going to disregard the extra songs. Now the regular album has 11 songs. The 10th song is an epic, surround sounding song, an epic way to put a nice stamp on the cd. But it isn't over! The 11th song is a cover of Aerials by System of a Down. Now, this is a good song, but it didn't end this album very well. That was kinda strange how they decided to do that.

Another complaint of mine was some of the songs, contrary to previous albums.....never really went anywhere. No change in the riff as the song progressed, nothing really interesting going on, and there were 2 or 3 songs like that on here. Very disappointing.

Pros:Great Riffing
Vocal are phenomenal
Drums are nice

Cons:Bad ending song
Some tracks don't really go anywhere

I'm giving this a 8/10. Though it is a high mark, it's still a bit disappointing compared to the last 2 albums, which I would give With Oden on our Side a 9, and Twilight of the Thunder God a 9.5. This album was good, and does fit well in their chronology, but I will defintely be looking for a better realease next time.

Until next time...
MM24 \m/