Review
Amon Amarth
With Oden on Our Side

Metal Blade (2006) Jenny

Amon Amarth – With Oden on Our Side cover artwork
Amon Amarth – With Oden on Our Side — Metal Blade, 2006

According to the Vikings, the world will end in an apocalyptic battle known as Ragnarök, in which the dead will rise to attack the living and even the gods themselves will be torn asunder. If - or when - Loki and the forces of chaos descend on the world in a maelstrom of blood and thunder, I'd like to think that the ensuing massacre would unfold to the tune of Amon Amarth. The Swedish five-piece, whose name is taken from the suitably geeky source of Tolkien's Middle Earth, have achieved international notoriety for their brand of Viking death metal, the kind of music only the Scandinavians can get away with playing without a hint of irony. It's been over thirteen years since the band released their first demo album Thor Arise and now eight long-plays later Metal Blade Records gives us With Oden on Our Side.

Amon Amarth's ninth album has been widely praised as their finest work to date, largely due to the facts that a) the band worked with a producer for the first time and that b) the songwriting process was much more focused and intense than ever before. The end product is nothing less than nine tracks of blood-soaked and thoroughly epic Metal (capitalization intentional). It's easy for music of this genre to become too cheesy - Manowar, Rhapsody - but Amon Amarth manage to pull it off, thanks in part to Johan Hegg, whose snarl sounds as if it came from the mouth of Thor himself.

Opener "Valhall Awaits Me" is a rousing battle cry that perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the record. Each track, even the grim "Hermod's Ride to Hell - Lokes Treachery Part 1", is irresistibly energizing, stirring up the urge to pillage and plunder. Axe-men Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Soderberg play heavy, hard and fast, threading simple yet consistently effective licks through thunderous chords. The band has clearly found their formula for success and stick to it, without ever sounding old or tired.

7.5 / 10Jenny • January 16, 2007

Amon Amarth – With Oden on Our Side cover artwork
Amon Amarth – With Oden on Our Side — Metal Blade, 2006

Related news

Amon Amarth North American dates 2024

Posted in Tours on December 8, 2023

Ghost and Amon Amarth dates in summer

Posted in Tours on February 15, 2023

Amon Amarth and Goatwhore on the road

Posted in Tours on April 28, 2017

Recently-posted album reviews

Painkiller

The Great God Pan
Tzadik (2025)

Painkiller, the trio of John Zorn, Bill Laswell, and Mick Harris shows no signs of slowing down. The Great God Pan is their third full-length, since their reunion in 2024, and in many ways it is an unexpected offering. In keeping with their interests in the metaphysical realm, Painkiller find inspiration from the famed Arthur Machen horror novella. Here, the … Read more

Painkiller

The Equinox
Tzadik (2025)

Painkiller sees three absolute masters of extreme music join forces. John Zorn of Naked City and a billion other projects, Mick Harris who transcended from Napalm Death drummer to illbient guru with Scorn, and producer extraordinaire Bill Laswell. Their first two records, Guts of a Virgin and Buried Secrets are strange meditations traversing between free-jazz, grindcore and dub. Still hungry … Read more

Dauber

Falling Down
Dromedary Records, Recess (2025)

The lazy approach would be to call Dauber "ex-Screaming Females," but that barely scratches the surface. If I had to pick one band to namedrop a comparison to, it would be labelmates Night Court. They play a familiar style but with a lot of quirks that set it apart from the genre standard-bearers. It's driving and energetic -- more importantly, … Read more