Album Review AMON AMARTH Berserker (05/03)

Formed in 1992, Sweden's celebrated Viking overlords Amon Amarth became modern metal greats slowly evolving from humble origins. It took quite some time but 2008's Twilight Of The Thunder God album cemented their popularity. The band's stage show evolved with each successive tour, transforming into one great spectacle while the band climbed up the festival lineups, sometimes even headlining them. Over 25 years into their career,  Amon Amarth has maintained a very stable lineup (except for the drummers, currently Jocke Wallgren is number five). Their lyrics mostly deal with Viking mythology and history, and so they have been linked with viking metal, although musically they are referred to as melodic death metal. I personally think that despite the death metal vocals, their sound since 2002's Versus The World is mostly traditional heavy metal. Since then, the production has been very clean and polished and the music very consistent album after album.

In 2019, Amon Amarth bring their 11th studio album, Berserker, comprising 12 Viking metal anthems full of irresistible melodic hooks, twin guitars and amazing guitar riffs. The album was produced by Jay Ruston who has been at the helm of recent works from Anthrax, Stone Sour, Steel Panther, and Uriah Heep. A change from the last two concept albums that were in the hands of Andy Sneap (now touring with Judas Priest). This marks the first album by the band to feature drummer Wallgren who joined the band in 2016. The fact that they moved from a session drummer to a very competent full band member really shows. The drumming was actually the first thing that impressed me on this album. All over the album the drumming is relentless and full of great drum fills. The intro of "Wings of Eagles" is a great example. Or the fantastic single "Raven's Flight" and the instrumental segment culminating with the 3:47 drum fill, it's all just great.

Berserker is an album full of trademark Amon Amarth and because they are such a good and growing live band, you can hear how well crafted the album  is for live performances. From the get-go you want to bang your head and pump your fist. Take "Shield Wall" for example, it will certainly work amazingly live.  Singer Johan Hegg has mentioned Iron Maiden as an influence in this aspect. Another influence from the Brits is the good use of the twin guitars. One evolution from earlier albums is the different guitars melodies played under verses and choruses. I also noticed more variability of the riffs within a song.

The only criticism is that the band is starting to repeat themselves. This issue is more evident in Berserker than previously because it is one of their longest albums. The first seven songs are all relatively short, powerful and fast tempo metal hymns, in other words, very similar to each other. It's only with "The Berserker at Stamford Bridge", the pseudo title track, that we get an epic mid-tempo song to give the album another flavor. The album closer "Into the Dark" also brings back this side of the band. I also liked that the last two albums had guest singers to bring some variability but that's not the case here.

For the fans who like consistency and want Amon Amarth to continue to produce similar albums, you can't go wrong with Berserker . For others it may sound a bit repetitive and too familiar. My verdict: It could have a bit more experimentation and cut some fat, but it doesn't hurt the overall quality. It's still a good Amon Amarth album. Very well written (within their trademark sound), executed and produced. It features some future live favorites and confirms Mr. Wallgren as an excellent drummer for the band. Vikings raise the shield wall and your horns!

SCORE: 78/100
DR: 6
Genre: Melodic Death/Viking Metal
Released by Metal Blade on May 3rd, 2019