Metal Blade

For whatever reason I never really followed Amon Amarth past their first full length Once Sent From The Golden Hall. I was always well aware of their continued presence in the racks of my favorite music haunts, yet never bothered to check out anything else from them. Now, years later, I've finally realized my colossal mistake. I'm not perfect and better late than never. What made me change my tune? Twilight Of The Thunder God.

To the uninitiated, Amon Amarth can be classified as a Viking Metal band, which in itself doesn't really describe their sound. Enslaved is the other "big" Viking Metal band and yet is a different sort of bestial breed. Amon Amarth's signature sound is essentially a further bastardized form of Melodic Death Metal - Maiden-esque guitar playing and all - yet exuded with such ferocity that sometimes the comparison would seem totally off. Make no mistake, this Nordic horde hits and pillages with a force augmented by the hammer of Thor himself. This is one album that demands to be played loud.

You know the kind of album you hear every once in a while, that just meshes perfectly with your brain-gears the moment you hear it? Well, I was fortunate to find one of those this week in Ob(Servant), the latest from Tasmanian death dealers Psycroptic. Having really enjoyed their brief stint at Summer Slaughter, I was expecting a great CD, but...Wow.

Ob(Servant) blasts out of the gate with the barnstorming title track, a powerfully driving introduction to the next hour of carnage, as guitarist Joe Haley sends shards of sonic shrapnel flying in all directions. It's amazing to me that one guitar can make so much damn noise, a thought I first had upon seeing Psycroptic  live. The awesome deathly bridge slows the pace to snap a few necks before the tune slips back into gear and screams toward the finish, the band locked in noteworthy precision.