Amon Amarth – Berserker (Review)

Amon Amarth are a melodic Death Metal band from Sweden and this is their eleventh album.

This is the follow up to 2016’s hideously enjoyable Jomsviking, and once again Amon Amarth have done themselves proud.

After so long doing what they do, Amon Amarth have surprisingly managed to avoid losing their fire over the years. In fact, the opposite seems to have happened, and they seem to be easily maintaining their high levels of quality. Each new Amon Amarth release is greeted with something close to real joy, and they seem to be able to do no wrong.

The music is melodic death metal based around catchy songs, infectious riffs, stirring melodies, and charismatic vocals. In many ways it’s hard to write about Amon Amarth, as they have such a tried and tested formula at this point, one that clearly works. If you know the band then you know what to expect, (mostly – more on this in a minute), and Berzerker delivers. If you are not a fan, then these new songs are unlikely to convince you any more than the last ones were.

However, as alluded to above, within their stylistic framework the band have tried new things on this record. Different ideas and creative flourishes are used, from a greater classic metal influence here, to an acoustic section there, to more Swedish melodic death metal here, to an atypical, (for the band), riff there, to the use of piano here…it all enhances the Amon Amarth experience, and it’s great to see the band moving forward with what they do and continuing to refine and tweak their established sound.

Basically, this is another ridiculously strong and colossally enjoyable album from the band. On Berzerker Amon Amarth have managed to simultaneously stay true to their core sound while also exploring a few new areas. It’s all very successful, and Amon Amarth continue to be one of the best in the business at what they do.