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Class 6(66)

Amon Amarth: Versus the world

23/11/09  ||  Daemonomania

This C666 DP extravaganza was committed by Lumberjack and Daemonomania. We thought we were the first ones to think of a unique methodology, but apparently fucken Garden and Haba thought of it first.

Introduction:

Whoa! Slow down, hoss. Yes, D-man and Lumberjack are both handling this. Covering the same album. Together. And they agree. And it’s not that Grave/Brutal Truth split you may have heard of that we made up. This is real. This is Amon Amarth. And they have had it up to HERE (hold hand high, like on a mountain) with the fucking WORLD.

Lumberjack: Fuck Viking metal!

“HuuWHAAAA?!?” goes the reader.

Yeah, fuck Viking metal. Anything that self identifies as “Viking metal” is invariably some renaissance faire bullshit with flutes and shitty thrash riffs and shitty black metal vocals pretending to be awesome. Amon Amarth are not a Viking metal band. They ARE Vikings and they play death metal.

Daemonomania: Yes, the mark of a true Viking is one who is not afraid to play shirtless, despite a less-than ideal physique. Anyway, if one were to make a list of the greatest melodic death metal albums of all time, this would certainly be on it. If not on top of it, clutching a broadsword.

Lumberjack: I had a friend once who complained about the fact that Hegg has a little beer gut and had his shirt off on their DVD. If that’s what you’re thinking while this happens, get out of metal. Although the genre tag is appropriate, I wish Amon Amarth were called something other than “melodic death metal.” I think it makes some people assume they sound like Soilwork or something. Take heart, reader: this is true metal and Manowar’s essay, “Wimps and Posers: Should they be Allowed Within the Hall?” is instructive. Amon Amarth waste no time letting you know where you stand, either.

Daemonomania: Indeed. AA is much tougher than any other melodeather. Mead fills their horns. Sea-spray whitens their beards. Raped vagina foam adorns their cocks. I love this album. Let’s move on to songwriting, eh?

Songwriting:

Lumberjack: AA kick you right in the fucking teeth immediately here. Martial drums pound out a Nordic tribal beat and then RIFF RIFF RIFF! “Death in Fire” is the perfect way to open this album. It’s their “Angel of Death,” and it rips. But AA also capture a sort of melancholy. The songs ebb and flow from vicious to somber. Don’t worry, it’s not elves crying in the grove of emasculation. AA’s somber songs are large, deadly men standing on mountains pondering the nature of life and death while the north wind whips their beards. Some really badass ravens are there, too. “Across the Rainbow Bridge” is the best dirge here, and just knowing it shares album space with “Death in Fire” makes me smile. It’s the “I am a Viking”/“Soldier Without Faith” duo of death metal.

Daemo: There are so many great moments on here. The crushing riff during “Where Silent Gods Stand Guard” makes my scrotum become a wolf in human shape. The chorus riff in “Bloodshed” makes we want to shake my fist at those darn Xtians who have been oppressing us so long. I agree that the mix here is one of the best they’d do – assault mode fast love for you like ticking clock berzerker song templates and mournful destiny ov death through combat song templates share the stage. Of aeternal valour.

Lumberjack: So many of the great riffs on this album seem to just slowly creep up on you. They rise up, smelling of earth, and shake themselves off before thundering about the cold and swords and cold swords. The stiff upper lip and “No that’s not a tear; there is fucking bonedust and sea salt in my eye!” riff in “Across the Rainbow Bridge” seems like it calls out to you from a distance, makes the hair stand up on back of your neck. I’m far too intelligent and smarmy to give out numbers for things (the only score I ever gave out that matters is 900k to TFD), so I’ll let you put a number up there. But it better be a large number.

Daemonomania: We’re gonna run out of Viking jokes real fast. Da Marth gets a 9 in this category.

Production:

Daemonomania: Is this from the golden age of production? I’m not sure. Anyway, “VTW” has a warm, none-too false sound that allows you to hear most everything without being robotic. Whatever. Great DM production it is.

Lumberjack: Are we talking forum-member Floodhorse’s golden age (early 2000’s)? If so, yes. Speaking of, I have to point out the wonderfully organic drum sound this album has! I can pick out what the string stranglers are slinging singly but the separation isn’t sterilizing. The vocals are up front and commanding without overpowering or being divorced from the instrumental churn. You could convince me that this is how they sound live. You wouldn’t even have to try hard. I want to believe. Let me. Give them another high mark.

Daemonominimum: I will indeed. Actually, the last time I saw ‘em their live sound had an oddly processed (cheese) ring to it. Kinda weird. But an 8.5 here.

Guitars:

Limberjock: No mindblowing technical fireworks, no insane solos. RIFF! RIFF, YOU GLORIOUS BASTARDS! Shaggy beasts roar to life, exhorting the warrior within to rise! Raspy, crackling melancholic dirges create martial elegy writ large!

Dreamo: Whatever that means, I agree. While K calls their shit “kindergarten riffs”, I feel da Marth is cooking with Sutur’s Fire throughout. Some of the leadwork will literally make you cry (tears of fucken RAGE) at the lost art of being a Nordic pillager. Where is your god? Well, where are those great gods of old, Freya and Loki and Hoffa? AA remember them. And when it comes time to kill the frenemies of the suncross, the guitars are right there to pump blood into yer mace-wielding arms.

Lambeauleap: K listens to Evanescence. Amon Amarth riff wickedly. We need a score. Do the damn thing.

Daemonster: A 9 is again appropriate.

Vocals:

Rammerjammer: Johan Hegg’s rasping, thudding howl makes you want to pull for western shores. Some criticize him for not having the deepest of growls, but that’s bullshit. This dry, scraping roar is what makes Hegg distinct. A large, bearded Nordic man with a voice that could raise an army of large, bearded Nordic men. If he weren’t in Amon Amarth, he simply wouldn’t exist.

D-mom: Fuck beans. I really enjoy hearing the way Bacon ‘n Hegg’s vox have progressed. Before he was too raspy, but here he has started to reach that perfect midrange. Though I think the most vocally expressive the dude would ever get is on “Fate of Norns” (the song), his performance is pretty much flawless here as well. Time for you to give him a rating, Lumbardo.

Vince Lumberdi: Forceful, articulate, unique. Hegg makes it tough not to shout along, and tougher still to give him less than 9.

Bass:

Rumblefish: For starters, even a non-metalhead couldn’t bitch about not hearing it. The modern trend of ultra massive guitars taking up the whole EQ isn’t present here. The mids and highs belong to the six-gunners, they leave the lows to the appropriate instrument. No DiGiorgio BWAOOOOOMMMWARRR, but the thunder rolls (and the lightning strikes (oh, god no)).

Daeumbo: I like the bass sound on “Fate of Norns” a bit more, but I still agree with da Jack. Good production equals good bass sound. I’m sure Lundström’s bass has less than 500 strings, so Pogg is unimpressed. However his opinion doesn’t count for much. Mine is an 8.

Drums:

Slumberjump: I’m not a drum expert by any stretch. I will show this now: I think these drums have a very organic sound. Not plastic, not artificial sounding. Also not the tightest. Have you read all the hippie bullshit I’ve been spewing, though? Would an airtight machinegunning cyborg really belong here? I’ve already said “earth,” described some riffs as having smells, and said “shaggy” at least once. These are Teutonic tribal war drums played on a kit. Which is, of course, infinitely cooler than sampling actual war drums.

Daeon: Not a ton of personality here. There are drums. The drums are good. A 7. Retort, Lumber?

Lifeguard: Retort?!? See above. I retorted your ass before you said anything. That’s a pretort, sucker. Numeric scores are fucking dumb, though, so I’m not really bothered by your bingo call.

Lyrics:

RUN DAEMO C: The similarities between religions are astounding, huh? Guy gets nailed up to a big piece of wood to do everyone else a favor. Anyway, AA found a theme and they stick with it. Norse mythology, Vikings (but not Viking metal), kicking ass.

LampoilJeff: Warfare, righteous avatars of the old gods, heroism. What I love about this is that AA are not, REPEAT: are NOT, asatruar. They recognize that while rainbow bridges and world-trees make for highly effective allegory and, rightly so, perpetually fertile territory to mine metal lyrics, none of this shit is real. Understanding the ridiculous in metal without being a joke band. Walking the fine line. They get it. Also, in a stunning reverse Led Zeppelin, a band that constantly sings about Vikings has a song in which they sing explicitly about being a band.

Dimbot: Actually, thanks for reminding me. The rest of the lyrics are spiffola except for that tune. I hate bands singing about being a band, the only exception being AC/DC and they are only redeemed by the bagpipes. I mean, eating steaming eyes, going down some crazy slopes of death, runes of knowledge – these things have only worn thin recently for everyone’s favorite WiKingz. Minus .5 for almost dying from being Amon Amarth, so a 9.5.

Cover art:

LJ: Whatever size the picture of the cover is on this site (200×200p?), it isn’t big enough. It is far too small. Go find yourself a big picture of that and stare at it for at least a good 30 seconds or so.

Don’t read the rest of this until you have done it.

Worth a thousand words, right? Well, at least 750 of those are “badass.” Let this put you on notice: this will not let you wallow in self-pity. This is the antithesis of sadsack bullshit loser-thought.

Daeminnowpainnj: If the world was literally coming at you, it would be helpful to be fucking huge, jacked, and carrying a globe-blocking shield. This caped crusader has all of the above going for him. In the case of Handsome Viking V. The World, judge rules in favor of Viking. On second thought, I like AA’s less manly dude doing manly stuff covers more. So a 7.5.

Logo:

Lambjumper: Looks cool even though you can read it. Nice font.

DJ Daem: Agreed. No need for further discussion. Encompasses all that is sea based and raiding. 9.

Booklet:

Largejumpsuit: Lyrics and a thank-you list, right? I’m not pulling it out of storage to find out. Who the fuck cares out of 10.

Ammonia Anode: Big mistake pal. If you had taken the time to check it out, you would have been granted amazing powers. Your torso would swell to Hulky proportions, the world would cease to be, and Jesus would get uppercutted right out of the sky and fall into a bed of spikes Mortal Kombat style. Your loss. I just did all of those things. Yaaaaaaarghhhhh!

Just kidding, I forget what’s in it too. A 6 for old time’s sake.

Overall and ending rant:

Stumblefrank: Transcendent badass metal spirit. I don’t care if you’re a crusty old bastard or an effete elf-metal sprite, you should like this. You just should. Do it or get the fuck out. I am heartened by the number of kids I see wearing Amon Amarth shirts. It gives me hope. Maybe if they really pay attention, and take it just a little bit too seriously, they won’t miss the message. This world doesn’t need another generation of sadsack fucking nerds masquerading as metalheads. To metal and success! Get up off your ass! Go! Fight! Win!

Mania Dean Moo: Go team Viking! Anyway, aside from the possibly uplifting affects of “Vs.” (let’s face it, most metalheads will always be pale and chunky) it is simply a great album. Full of conviction. Memorable songs, intelligent lyrics, spot-on performances. If metal had a “Masterpiece Theater” some catty old poof would be talking about it right now.

Yellowhammer: Metal has a “Masterpiece Theater.” It is GD and we are those poofs. We are the poofs, man. The testosterone surging through my veins demands a 9. Give me that 9, D-man.

D-sert: You got it, brother.

9

  • Information
  • Released: 2002
  • Label: Metal Blade
  • Website: www.amonamarth.com
  • Band
  • Johan Hegg: vocals
  • Olavi Mikkonen: guitars
  • Johan Söderberg: guitars
  • Ted Lundström: bass
  • Fredrik Andersson: drums
  • Tracklist
  • 01. Death In Fire
  • 02. For The Stabwounds In Our Backs
  • 03. Where Silent Gods Stand Guard
  • 04. Versus The World
  • 05. Across The Rainbow Bridge
  • 06. Down The Slopes Of Death
  • 07. Thousand Years Of Oppression
  • 08. Bloodshed
  • 09. … and soon the world will cease to be

Class 6(66) -reviews