This week it’s time to head back to 2006 and get ready for war – the war party is gathering in the longboat, it’s Viking time!

Amon Amarth – With Oden On Our Side

Released September 22, 2006 via Metal Blade Records

My Favorite Tracks – Gods Of War Arise, Valhall Awaits Me, Cry Of The Black Birds

Sweden’s Amon Amarth had been a going concern since 1992 and already had no shortage of praise for their crisp and simple take on melodic death metal. By this, their sixth album, the wider metal audience would lend their ears, and even those outside the metal spectrum would gravitate toward the Viking horde. The band’s name is from an elvish language J.R.R. Tolkien invented for his fantasy realm, “Amon Amarth” is another name for Mount Doom.

The band were in the middle of a very long run of line-up stability, there were no changes between 1998 and 2015. Johan Hegg was the vocalist, and Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg were the guitarists. Ted Lunström was on bass and Fredrik Andersson on drums. The record was produced by Jens Bogren, who came in on his ninth credited production involvement; today he has literally hundreds of production and technical credits in the realm of metal.

Today’s album features nine songs at a 42:17 runtime. There was a special edition released of the album with a second disc of bonus tracks, a commonplace practice at the time. While not a concept album, the band did take some inspiration from the album’s namesake, the Norse god of gods Oden.

Valhall Awaits Me

The opener sets the table for how the album will go as a whole – a decently paced song with guitar parts showing influence from Iron Maiden while Johan Hegg offers a grizzly bear vocal attack that keeps the lyrics comprehensible. This song is a tale of a Viking berzerker who has amassed a large body count in battle but is outnumbered and meets his end. He hopes he his worthy to ascend to the hallowed hall of the slain for his deeds in battle.

Runes To My Memory

The next track offers up a similar story to the first – a group are fighting well into the enemy territory of the Rus, which would indicate ancient Russia. This warrior is mortally wounded in battle and hopes to have a runestone laid in his memory. The runestone would indicate that this was an important Viking leader who has perished. The song is another well-paced tune that maintains a sufficient level of brutality while still being catchy and ear-pleasing.

Asator

“Asator” is a combination of words that reference the famous Norse god Thor, and this song offers tribute to him. This song goes hard and fast, suiting the nuclear-level assault that the Thunder God smites his foes with.

Hermod’s Ride To Hel – Loke’s Treachery Part 1

Up next is a bit of high concept Norse storytelling. The story told here is the tragic tale of Baldr, son of Oden and whose death is the catalyst for Ragnarök, the Norse end of the world. Baldr is not easily slain, but of course there is someone up to the task – none other than the infamous trickster god himself, Loki. The deceiver fashioned a spear and gave it to Baldr’s brother, who threw it in a game to see how strong Baldr’s armor was. Baldr was slain and Hermod was tasked with riding to Hel and petitioning for Baldr’s release, as his death would kick off the end times.

The song itself slows things down a bit, and the tragic tale is given more weight in the doom-laden pace. Amon Amarth would tell the next part of the story in 2011. Spoiler alert – it doesn’t go well, again thanks to Loki.

Gods Of War Arise

Now it’s back to what the Vikings are most famous for – raiding and battle. This is an account of a village sacking, replete with all of the killing and plundering that goes along with it. The song nails the perfect background for the day of battle. Here the Viking horde are victorious – they completely sack the target village, killing or capturing its population and making off with a load of treasure. This one hits all the marks and is a standout.

With Oden On Our Side

It’s back to battle – this time the Vikings are massively outnumbered, but with their ferocity and with Oden on their side, they are able to see out the day. There are parts in the song with climbing guitar riffs that make me wonder briefly if Dave Murray and Adrian Smith aren’t on here.

Cry Of The Black Birds

This one slows things down a tad and goes a hair more melodic, but the song retains the power of the album. It is an ode to the “black birds” who feast on the corpses of the battle slain, as well as serve as the eyes of Oden, the one-eyed god. This one got a single release and a video.

Under The Northern Star

This track has the feel of an older Amon Amarth song. It runs a bit slower, Johan Hegg goes lower with a lot of his vocals and the guitars are running a lot more leads over the song. The track is an homage to the star that Vikings used to navigate the seas, it’s fair to assume that it would be easy to get lost on small wooden boats out in the middle of the water.

Prediction Of Warfare

The closer offers up nothing unusual, again the Vikings are heading in to battle. One of the combatants has visions of a fight with a great serpent the night before the skirmish. The next day he finds himself with his raiding party fighting instead a group of the Irish, who the Vikings quell.

With Oden On Our Side saw Amon Amarth begin their climb to the top of the heavy metal pyramid. The album charted in Austria, Germany and their native Sweden. It also landed on two US Billboard charts – the Heatseekers chart for emerging artists and the Independent Albums chart. After this release, the group would see their records on the Billboard 200 as their fame grew.

The album was well-received by both critics and fans, the simple and effective melodic death metal paired with the Viking themes that have long been a part of metal worked for everyone. Amon Amarth had now honed in on a sound and presentation that worked, and they were on the way to greater success.

Later albums would mark the height of Amon Amarth’s success, but it is this one I recall fondly as the true kick-off of the band’s rise to the top. We ate this up back in ’06, this was done with precision and skill. Although the band have become a bit of a meme in the past few years as their act has worn on and they literally turned a mosh pit into a rowing exercise, Amon Amarth are still one of the best offerings of 2000’s heavy metal.