At this point in their career, I think it’d be perfectly reasonable to assume that Amon Amarth has reached a point where they’re not mailing it in per se, but they’re not fighting against a proven formula that ensures they continue being a top-tier, headlining act at the metal world’s biggest festivals and tours. And I can’t blame the guys for taking it a little easy and reaping their rewards after a 30+ year career bringing their brand of melodic, Viking-themed metal to the masses, but even as a self-proclaimed Amon Amarth mega fan, I can certainly understand a growing sentiment that the band’s latest efforts probably don’t rank amongst their most inspired.
Certainly, The Great Heathen Army felt less like a genuine effort to write a complete album, and more an exercise in writing big arena-rockers for fans to pretend to row along with, while holding imaginary drinking horns aloft.
In other words, Amon Amarth got a little… hokey.
Listen, I’m all for having a good time, even more so for not taking oneself too seriously – and sure, you can argue that the whole Viking thing has always been a little bit on the side of cheesy, I guess. But what Amon Amarth has always excelled at (particularly since their breakthrough With Oden On Our Side), is finding that real sweet spot between genuinely great songwriting and album-building, and leaning in just enough to the Viking aura to make the whole thing all the more engaging and fun (particularly in a live setting).
Alas, recent efforts like The Great Heathen Army and Berserker (and many would argue Jomsviking – I personally disagree), though boasting a few bangers on each respectively, overall felt like a band going for style over substance.
Which is why it brings me IMMENSE joy to tell you, Amon Amarth has rediscovered that critical balance. I think The Allfather Awakens is the best Amon Amarth has sounded in a LONG time. I’m talking, like, 15 years here, when they dropped my personal-favorite AA album, Surtur Rising (I realize this in and of itself might be a controversial opinion, but that album fucking rips and you can’t convince me otherwise).
Now look, I’m not saying this is a complete return to With Oden On Our Side or Twilight of the Thunder God era AA. The band that has slowly but surely embraced more melodic, anthem-heavy elements of the last few releases – that’s just part of the reality of who this band is in 2026. And that’s great! Who doesn’t love a great friggin’ anthem?! And we sure as hell get a couple here – particularly the immensely catchy and bouncy “We Rule the Waves” with its sing-along chorus and simple, super-effective riffing. But it also carries a bit of a sense of self-assuredness that was lacking in recent efforts.
Ditto for the titular “The Allfather Awakens”, which, sure, the riffs are certainly lifted and slightly rearranged from past AA work, but god damn if they don’t sound tight as hell with drummer Jocke Wallgren, who, to these ears, sounds the most in sync with the band as he ever has. And hell yeah, we get a banger of a drinking track with “Kvasir’s Blood,” a nice and heavy down-tuned headbanger featuring some of Johan’s lowest, most menacing vocals to date (more on this shortly) and a rollicking chorus about drinking mead made from the blood of the gods which, how is that not going to bring a smile to your face? It’s fun as hell.
But it’s not all just arena-friendly anthems this time around. Album opener “Gjallarhorn” (the best opener the band has had in a minute) strikes a perfect balance – featuring some awesome sing-along “woah”-ing that will sound amazing in a crowd of thousands of metalheads, but also puts some of the band’s signature tremolo-picking riffs on full display with absolute glory. I honestly haven’t felt my blood pump and heart race like this from an AA track in a long time, and it’s a welcome return – and it only continues with the follow-up “Eight Legs of Thunder” coming hot on its tail – a fitting ode to Odin’s eight-legged horse Sleipnir (not their first, but maybe their best), boasting appropriately galloping riffs, and genuinely one of Olavi Mikkonen’s most epic, inspired solos of his career. It’s such a fun track that, again, sees the band leaning into the Viking fun without crossing over into being too cheesy.
And then there’s the punishing “Die with a War Cry” that may genuinely be one of Amon Amarth‘s heaviest tracks to date (certainly of their modern era) – showcasing more of Johan’s apparent new mastery of deep, growling lows that sound straight out of Helheim itself. Say whatever you will about any of AA‘s more recent work, John Hegg continues to get better and better with every release and deserves his flowers.
I also really like the addition of the band’s first acoustic track in “Upphaf.” It’s a perfectly placed break in the middle of this record that brings an unusual sense of reflection and serenity to the otherwise furious affair. If anything, I see no reason this couldn’t be integrated more into even more traditionally heavy or epic Amon Amarth tracks (not that it needs to be a focal point; it’s just another nice wrinkle). I think it also let the band feel confident on closing out the album on two absolute friggin’ scorchers – first with the blazing “Oden’s Hunt,” which sends the band on a full-throttle attack of tremolo-picking and relentless double-kicked drumming. Again, Johan sounds absolutely monstrous on this track, particularly on the crushing bridge leading up to the final chorus.
Closer “Ascending Like An Eagle” features some riffing that could easily have found its way on some of the band’s earlier albums, before switching into some more modern soaring leads in the chorus, a nice nod to the old while embracing who they are as a band now, and a super strong end to what was such a well-balanced and crafted album.
I can’t tell you how nice it is to be this excited about one of my favorite bands’ new albums, and to see them, this late into their career, settle into a groove they’ve struggled to find, to deliver such an immense album. I want to stress that this album isn’t just good because of how much better it sounds than their recent output (not just from a songwriting perspective, but from a production standpoint, this album just sounds so much more full and robust as well), this album stands tall just fine all on its own. Amon Amarth got serious again without sacrificing the fun that has always made them such a compelling act, and we can all only hope that they can continue to strike this epic balance.
Odin, The Allfather has awoken, and so has Amon Amarth.
