Amon Amarth are a favorite of mine. Not only are they one of the most consistent bands to have ever existed, but one of the consistently great bands. If you’ve heard a couple Amon Amarth songs then you’ll have a good idea what every other song will be like. Unlike many bands that tend to evolve or experiment, Amon Amarth began with a style of heaviness and melody and have stuck to it. The only real change has been in production quality since their early albums and perhaps their ability to write memorable melodies and sing along choruses. I doubt I will have much to say about individual albums given that their sound has been so similar from album to album, but I can at least point out the highlights. So come along and take a journey with me into the cold northern lands of the vikings.

How this works; Songs are rated on a 5 star rating with each star having a value that is averaged together for the album rating. Average album rating will equal the band’s rating

1 star=0, I hate it! The world would be better off without this.

2 stars=25, I don’t like it but it could be worse

3 stars= 50, decent song but not special

4 stars=75, good song but is missing something that might make it amazing

5 stars=100, Amazing!

Live albums, demos, cover albums and EP’s are not included.

Note: Popular doesn’t mean great and importance doesn’t mean it’s good either. A chart topping song only means it is watered down enough for a mainstream audience.

#12

The Great Heathen Army - 88.888%

This album along with the previous three they released (Berserker and Jomsviking) Feel more intended for a good time festival vibe. The albums have more focus on melody than heaviness where previously both aspects where strong. There also seems to be more emphasis on sing along crowd interaction songs. This album continues that trend. This album picks up in the latter half, but the opening songs are weaker ones.

The Good - “Find A Way or Make One” has some Accept vibes to it. It is a more sing along Amon Amarth song, but the lyrics are great and really pushes a feel of resoluteness. For this reason it’s actually one of my favorite Amon Amarth songs. “Dawn of the Norsemen” is also good. “Saxons and Vikings” is incredible. They brought in Biff from Saxon as guest vocalist and he sounds killer for the song. It’s an absolutely legendary collaboration. This is followed by another great track “Skagul Rides With Me”. “The Serpent's Trail” closes out the album strong. On more recent albums Amon Amarth as begun the trend of having symphonic elements on their closing tracks, and this one firmly follows that trend.

The Bad - I think this is the only Amon Amarth Album where the opening track didn’t get 5 stars. That’s normally not a good sign. Despite Hegg sounding great on the title track, its otherwise not their best work. “Heidrun” is a good song, but still not 5 stars. “Oden Owns You All” although heavy isn’t to exciting, the melody keeps it at 4 stars, but otherwise might be only a 3.

#11

Jomsviking - 90%

Given that my current avarage album ranking of every album I’ve ranked (including many that are not yet listed) is around 82% and Amon Amarth’s lowest ranked album is 90% that should tell you the quality of the band. This album feels like the most mainstream of any of their albums. Almost like their traditional metal influences shine through a bit more than normal. We also get the metal queen Doro with guest vocals on “A Dream That Cannot Be”.

The Good - “The Way of the Vikings” is probably my favorite from this one. “At Dawn’s First Light” is maybe the most Iron Maiden sounding harmony wise, but I’ve often called Amon Amarth the Iron Maiden of Death Metal given their melodic nature.

The Bad - Nothing less than 4 stars, although I’m not the biggest fan of “Raise Your Horns” which is more of a sing along song that sounds intended for crowed participation at live shows. I didn’t mention Doro doing guest vocals. I think Doro is great and refer to her as the metal queen, but as cool as it is for her to appear here I don’t think the song show cases her at her best; still 4 stars.

#10

The Crusher - 91.666%

Amon Amarth’s third album and as with the previous two, these three albums don’t have as great of production as any after them. Despite being the third I actually think the production is a bit better on their first and second albums.

The Good - “The Sound Of Eight Hooves” despite only being close to 5 minutes long feels like going on a long epic journey. “Risen From the Sea (2000)”, a re-recored version of a song from their previously unreleased early demo, shows up hear and is a great song worthy of the release. Like some of their other early stuff it has At The Gates vibes while being distinctively Amon Amarth. “As Long As the Raven Flies” has some great melodies driving it. Speaking of driving, “A Fury Divine” is probably the most intense of the album with blistering double bass and a quick tempo. The Album closes strong with “The Fall Through Ginnungagap” and “Releasing Surtur’s Fire”.
(If you have the bonus track version there is also a killer Possessed cover as a bonus track)

The Bad - The two opening tracks aren’t the strongest on the album which is never a good choice; still 4 star songs. “Annihilation of Hammerfest” starts strong but has some sections that drop off and is maybe a bit long for what it offers. Still a solid 4 star song.

#9

Surtur Rising - 92.5%

This album has some symphonic elements on the outro for a few songs and the closing track is strait up Symphonic Melodic Death Metal. This isn’t one of the albums I go back to often, but it has some great songs.

The Good - The album opens strong with “War of the Gods”. “Destroyer of the Universe” and “For Victory or Death” are the most memorable and maybe my favorites on the album. “Wrath of the Norsemen” has some of Hegg’s lowest vocals which is cool. “Slaves of Fear” is another one I really like. “Life Without Regrets” I tend to forget about, but it’s very good and reminds me a bit of the Fate of Norns album. “A Beast am I” feels like the climax of the album, being the most intense song on the album.

The Bad - I have no complaints, a few songs are only 4 stars. I think the Symphonic closing “Doom Over Dead Man” had potential to be better. It’s a good song with great sections, but some more bland sections to get through for them.

#8

The Avenger - 92.857%

Amon Amarth’s second and shortest album. This is a good one and I would almost call it black metal adjacent. This could be in part to the production sounding a bit more raw on their early albums, but I find that early Amon Amarth tends to have a black metal vibe although I would still call it Melodic Death.

The Good - The album opens strong with “Bleed For the Ancient Gods”, “The Last with Pagan Blood”, and “North Sea Storm”. “God, His Son and Holy Whore”, and the closing “Legend of a Banished Man” Are also 5 star tracks.

The Bad - The title track “Avenger” and “Metalwrath” I only gave 4 stars, but still good songs.

#7

Once Sent From the Golden Hall - 93.75%

Amon Amarth’s first album and one that consistently gets rated high in their catalogue. Compared to later albums the melodies are less in your face and more ambient. This could probably be said about all their early albums, but this one in particular has an atmosphere to that is easy to get lost in. I also think the production of this album is better than their two follow up albums despite being their first.

The Good - There’s a lot of good stuff on this album, but “Victorious March” is probably my favorite. I’m also a big fan of Hegg’s shouting on this album which this song showcases well. He dese it on other albums, but for some reason it sounds more visceral on this. The opener “Ride for Vengeance” is really good. Despite the weird drumming on “Friends of the Suncross” it’s actually really cool. “Without Fear” is another one that showcases Hegg’s shouts. “Abandoned” is another one with some weird drumming, but still cool.

The Bad - “Amon Amarth” drags being both one of their slowest songs and their longest from any album. It does picks up in the second half of it and gets 4 stars though, but it’s my least favorite track.

#6

Versus The World - 94.44%

Here is an album I absolutely love, yet Amon Amarth has so many great album it still sits this low in the rankings. After first hearing Amon Amarth in 2004 or 2005, this album was one I was looking everywhere for, but was difficult to find. Lucky in the modern online world we live in cds are easier to find than ever. So when you go looking for this one you’ll have way less trouble finding it than I did.

The Good - “Death and Fire” makes a great opener for this album, and “Vs. The Word” is a great title track. “Across the Rainbow Bridge” gives us an fantastically epic riff. “Down the Slopes of Death” has a great driving feel which continues with “Thousand Years of Oppression”. “...and Soon the World Will Cease to Be” is a fantastic closing track. The intro is a bit bland, but it turns out to be an amazing song if not one of the best on the album.

The Bad - “Bloodshed” is a driving but slower track. Good chorus but a bit more dull comparatively; only 4 stars from me. “For the Stabwounds in Our Backs” also only got 4 stars.

#5

With Oden On Our Side - 94.444%

Tied with Versus the World, I’ll give the edge to this album. The production is better and I think the songs are more memorable. This was the first album that was released after I discovered Amon Amarth which is always an exciting experience. I remember first seeing a video (Cry of The Black Birds, I think") from the album on some fancy channel that a friend of my had and was stoked. This was part of Amon Amarth’s peak period and a very highly praised album not just from me.

The Good - “Valhall Awaits Me” opens the album and is one of the strongest tracks on the album. “Gods of War Arise” is another great one. “Cry of The Blackbirds” has a bit of a weaker start, but kicks in soon enough proving to be another one of the best tracks.

The Bad - There’s a couple 4 star tracks, but nothing really bad on the album.

#4

Deceiver of the Gods - 95%

This is the last of the peak era Amon Amarth albums for me which I think started with Versus the World. This album balances melody, intensity and heaviness. It doesn’t sound like it is catering to festival or a more mainstream audience, but is simply Amon Amarth being Amon Amarth.

The Good - The album starts strong with three great opening tracks “Deceiver of the Gods”, “As Loke Falls”, and “Father of the Wolf”. “Under Siege” is a longer one that picks up in the second half to a better song than it begins as. “Blood Eagle” picks up the intensity while remaining melodic yet reminiscent of Slayer. “We Will Destroy” slows down the tempo a bit and instead is a crushing force driving forth. “The album closes strong with “Coming of the Tide” and “Warriors of the North” which is their longest song yet.

The Bad - I have no complaints about this album, it’s among my favorites. “Shapeshifter” and “Hel” while both good songs aren’t quite 5 star tracks. Despite “Hel” featuring guest vocalist Messiah of Candlemass fame (whom I like a great amount), the song otherwise isn’t their best.

#3

Berserker - 95.8333%

I’ll start this off by saying despite the relatively high ranking it’s not one of my personal favorites. Berserker is Amon Amarth’s longest album to date. The album’s opening tracks tend to be more melodic than heavy and intense which is fine at times, but isn’t want I go to Amon Amarth for. Although it’s packed full of great songs, it isn’t until track 5 that it feels like classic Amon Amarth. Despite the high ranking, This album isn’t as memorable to me. Perhaps that is simply because it’s newer. Over all it is maybe more melodic than many but sacrifices heaviness and intensity to that end.

The Good - “Valkyria” is the first song on the album where it feels like classic Amon Amarth.
“The Berserker At Stamford Bridge” is probably my favorite on the album. Despite not the fastest or even heaviest, it has an intensity to it. Hegg sounds as powerful as ever on it. Speaking of vocals, Hegg actual does clean bass vocals on “Ironside”, which is different and cool. Really his vocals in general are great on this album.

The Bad - This album is plenty melodic but not as heavy as many others. I also think that there are a lot of sections that are reminiscent of previous Amon Amarth songs, so the album feels a bit unoriginal comparatively. “When Once Again We Can Set Our Sails” is a good example of that. The strongest parts of the song sound like I heard them from Amon Amarth previously.
I’m also not huge fan of songs that sound designed for crowd participation, and “Shield Wall” certainly does. Write a great song and people will participate, When a song is designed for it feels disingenuous and forced. It’s a fine song, but It’s not getting 5 stars.

#2

Twilight of the Thunder God - 97.5%

This is a near perfect album containing some of Amon Amarth’s best and most memorable songs. Easily a favorite album of mine from any band.

The Good - basically every thing, The album opens with the title track “Twilight of the Thunder God” which is probably my favorite Amon Amarth song. “Where is Your God?” is the most intense song on the album. “Varyags of Miklagaard” isn’t a title that rolls of the tongue, but easily one of the most memorable for fantastic melody and drive.

The Bad - “Tattered Banners and Bloody Flags” is as close to 5 stars as a 4 star song can be, but it doesn’t quite get there for me. Still a great song.

#1

Fate of Norns - 100%

I love this album to a great degree. It’s not necessarily the most exciting album. It’s not even packed completely with Amon Amarth’s most memorable songs. There is something about the atmosphere of this album that no others have. It certainly has some of their best songs but more importantly every song contributes to a consistent mood to the album which is a bit meloncholic but heroic. It is an album I often find myself listening to during rainy days and days of funerals. It rings of grief and battle with a strength to overcome.

The Good - “Fate of Norns” and the popular “The Pursuit of Vikings” are the highlights of the album for me.

The Bad - For me this is a perfect album, with that being said it might not be my go to for every mood. I’m much more likely to pull out one of the other top albums when the occasional happier or more celebratory. “Once Sealed in Blood” is the weakest track for me and barely gets the 5 stars. I think a different track might have been a better closer.

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