It seems every time you rebuild your hut and the local monastery has just gotten its new golden ornaments shipped from Rome that yet another wave of marauding Vikings pour over the blue horizon and onto our shores. And of course by that I mean it is time for the third Amon Amarth re-release from Metal Blade this year.
Lets face it, these Vikings have their formula, and come Saxons or Ragnarok they're going to wring every drop of blood from the beast. Though that doesn't stop The Crusher being an unrelentingly heavy slice of furious metal – even the album's cover (camp though it may be) does give off the aura of a band not to be fucked with lest ye have your skull smashed. While this wasn't a massive step forward for the band's sound, it did see the penning of some great tracks that took their cues from the strongest tracks on their first two releases.
'Bastards of a Lying Breed' is a great riff to start things off with before descending into that familiar melodic death metal maelstrom that Amon Amarth have done so well to craft. The second track, 'Masters of War' is a great example of what the band can do with the melodic arrangements in their arsenal to create a 'fist-in-the-air' anthem. 'The Sound of Eight Hooves' follows on in similar fashion as perfect track to transfer from CD to the live circuit. 'Risen From The Sea' features some very strong lead guitar work and a straighter apocalyptic death metal feel to it, it certainly comes off a little rawer than a lot of other Amon Amarth tracks. 'As Long As The Raven Flies' is an excellent live track and certainly a crowd pleaser with that tempo that lends itself well to serious prolonged headbanging – probably one of the band's best tracks. 'A Fury Divine' follows with a frantic riff the kind of which Metallica would probably slow down and rip off – its vintage Amon Amarth which is a charm in its own right, though probably one of the more standard offerings on the album. This is emphasised even more when followed up by the anthemic 'Annihilation of Hammerfest' which has definitely stood the test of time as a classic track. 'The Fall Through Ginnungagap' is that same standard sound of 'A Fury Divine' but benefits from having a lot going on behind the riff to give the track an extra dimension when listening. 'Releasing Surtur's Fire' is another one for to get the live crowd moving – it's stripped back, raw, and no bullshit in its delivery. The Bonus track 'Eyes of Horror' is a Possessed cover and that merging of the sounds of Amon Amarth and Possessed makes for great listening, though it would be interesting to see Amon Amarth do this thing on their own songs every now and then. And of course there is the ubiquitous live disc which again is brilliantly performed and adequately mixed for your ongoing live compilation.
On the whole, while Amon Amarth didn't really go anywhere new with this album they certainly didn't rest on their laurels. The band had learned their lessons from their first two albums and concentrated on the stronger aspects of their song writing to create an album that delivers what the fans want more than anything. Commendable but not ground breaking
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