Oh dear, those primeval instincts that were lying dormant in my Norse blood are beginning to stir again. My summer ambitions, which until today amounted to no more than a nice trip to Cleethorpes, have been replaced by the urge to go to Wales in order to slay a dragon and barbecue it over the burning remains of a small coastal town… as you do. It’s either too much sun, or another in this year’s line of Amon Amarth re-releases from Metal Blade.
Yep, this time its ‘The Avenger;’ the 1999 follow up to their debut album, in the form of another 2 disc deluxe edition. As with the previous re-release, you get the original track listing, plus a bonus track on disc one, and on disc two you get the same songs recorded live in concert (having seen Amon Amarth live, I can say that this is a good thing). But has 10 years on the shelf dulled the once sharp blade of ‘The Avenger’?
Certainly not – at the time of release, this album was (and still is) the most complete offering the band has produced. While later albums have either re-trodden old ground, or suffered the pressures that commercial success exudes on the writing process, ‘The Avenger’ lyrically and musically highlighted just what this band are truly capable of.
‘Bleed for Ancient Gods’ starts with one of those drum rolls that lets you know this track is going to mean business before the guitar riff hits you in the face like Mjolnir. ‘The Last With Pagan Blood’ exclaims with an almost old Satyricon-a-like black metal riff that it’s time to plant your feet and start head banging. Both tracks leave you in no doubt as to the power in their song writing and the development of the band between the release of their debut, and writing this. The third track ‘North Sea Storm’ is again a crushingly heavy track, definitely in keeping with the melodic death metal asserted by their debut, but taken up a notch. This is followed by the title track ‘Avenger’ which straddles a black metal riff barrage over an epic 7 minute time span. However it is the next two tracks that are the treasure in this dragon’s cave, ‘God, His Son, and Holy Whore’ is a raging torrent of stripped-back brutality at break neck speed, and ‘Metalwrath’ is the fist-in-the-air shout along pit anthem that has undoubtedly been the cause of a lot of injuries in the name of fun over the past decade. ‘Legend of a Banished Man’ closes the original track listing with a brooding intro that goes into that familiar chugging riff that after the previous two tracks seems just a little disappointing. On top of this now is the bonus track ‘Thor Arise’ which sounds like pretty standard death metal stock - again a little disappointing after so many great tracks, but certainly not without merit.
With the bonus disc you get the same original seven tracks, in the same order, but done live… I’m guessing this will be the trend for all the reissues - which is pretty cool if you want to make a definitive live compilation for yourself. The live tracks are certainly nothing to turn your nose up at; if you’ve seen Amon Amarth live it will bring back some fond memories, and for a live bonus disc, the production and mixing is pretty damn good too.
Yes, the label may be interested in capitalizing and making a bit of extra cash off the bands recent success, but as far as re-releases go this is another decent package, and certainly a great introduction to the bands back catalogue. On the whole, this album is as good now as it was a decade ago, and remains the best example of the beast of Amon Amarth.
http://www.amonamarth.com
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