Amon Amarth - Fate Of Norns
For those of you not familiar with Amon Amarth, they basically spew out epic death metal with Norse mythology flavored lyrics (as evidenced from song titles like "Valkyries Ride" and a viking horn blow to start off "Arson"). That's where the cliches' stop though (well not quite, one band member is wearing a suit of chain mail armor in a photo insert). Unlike a lot of their
contemporaries, Amon Amarth rely less on complex guitar work played as fast as possible and more on a bludgeoning wall of sound that is extremely heavy while retaining a big dose of melody.
To that end, "Fate Of Norns" fully explores the slower, more menacing style they've only been hinting at in the past few efforts. The sense of an impending viking raid and all the chaos therein still permeates their music but songs like "Where Death Seems To Dwell" and the title track "Fate Of Norns" showcase a more measured, darker approach than previous efforts. There's still more double bass than you can shake a stick at but it's used more judiciously than in the past. It typically plays a big part in the more triumphant sounding parts of many songs but a larger part of almost every song is devoted to a slower, more brooding sound highlighted above. I think it's most successfully realized on the closing cut "Once Sealed In Blood". Here the slower paced bass-heavy riffs keep a heightened sense of tension leading to the inevitable payoff in the form of a properly crushing chorus.
As to whether this is better than past efforts, I have to say I'm a bigger fan of their earlier work. When the bulk of the songs have a slower bent to them, like they do here, it's hard not to miss the ferocity and aggression of albums like "The Avenger" and "The Crusher". That's not to say this album is not worth picking up. These guys still blow away 99% of death metal bands out there even on an arguably non-death metal album like "Fate Of Norns". I think the big question is will they continue to slow their sound down as they have on each successive new album? If they do, how long will listeners still care to hear about villages being slaughtered at dawn if the music doesn't communicate that level of savagery?
To that end, "Fate Of Norns" fully explores the slower, more menacing style they've only been hinting at in the past few efforts. The sense of an impending viking raid and all the chaos therein still permeates their music but songs like "Where Death Seems To Dwell" and the title track "Fate Of Norns" showcase a more measured, darker approach than previous efforts. There's still more double bass than you can shake a stick at but it's used more judiciously than in the past. It typically plays a big part in the more triumphant sounding parts of many songs but a larger part of almost every song is devoted to a slower, more brooding sound highlighted above. I think it's most successfully realized on the closing cut "Once Sealed In Blood". Here the slower paced bass-heavy riffs keep a heightened sense of tension leading to the inevitable payoff in the form of a properly crushing chorus.
As to whether this is better than past efforts, I have to say I'm a bigger fan of their earlier work. When the bulk of the songs have a slower bent to them, like they do here, it's hard not to miss the ferocity and aggression of albums like "The Avenger" and "The Crusher". That's not to say this album is not worth picking up. These guys still blow away 99% of death metal bands out there even on an arguably non-death metal album like "Fate Of Norns". I think the big question is will they continue to slow their sound down as they have on each successive new album? If they do, how long will listeners still care to hear about villages being slaughtered at dawn if the music doesn't communicate that level of savagery?
