Versus the World

by

Amon Amarth

Edit

Amon Amarth takes a different approach to war metal musical creations with "Versus The World" than with previous efforts by using a slightly slower, harder yet doomier style vaguely reminiscent of Bolt Thrower. Despite the fact that their aural attack this time around is not quite as aggressive in terms of all out speed, with the exception of maybe "For The Stabwounds In Our Backs", this is by far my personal favorite of Amon Amarth's albums because everything seems to truly come together on this album. Not only is the concept great (uniting the Norse peoples for a return to power and worldwide coup while, of course, crushing all enemies in the process), but the vocals and all instruments sound as though they've reached their peak. The band's performance is flawless, and the wonderful production on this disc displays this fact beautifully.

On top of all this, the songwriting is superb containing many catchy riffs such as those in "Death in Fire" and "Bloodshed". Also, this is perhaps the most inspiring of all Amon Amarth's discs in terms of a more straightforward delivery and emotional effort. With each listen you'll want to join the fictional Norse characters on the battlefied slaying your enemies and reveling in bloody victory while being cherished by the grand Asatru deities.

This album gets my absolute highest recommendation, and the bonus disc is full of extra goodies such as unreleased tracks and demos that will make any metalhead happy. Get this war metal masterpiece and may you enjoy endless battle & warfare in the Halls of Valhalla to the end of your days!