Yeah, the new album from everyone’s favorite Vikings, Amon Amarth, is here. Dubbed Jomsviking, it is their first concept album, telling the tale of a young man loving the woman he can’t have. As those stories go, he kills a man he shouldn’t and must flee, only to found himself among Jomsvikings, a mercenary Viking order that fought for everyone who could pay, similar to Rōnin samurai. For the rest of the tale, listen to the album, we’ll deal with the actual music from now on.
As you probably know, Amon Amarth is one of those bands that sticks to their formula, without changing it much as long as it’s good enough. And the last two albums can be best described as “good enough” nothing more, nothing less. Fun listening experiences that won’t amaze you, won’t make you a fan; in the best case, they’ll make you look for their other records. This time, things won’t be much different. Although the album is conceptual, lyrics are of the usual “battles, killing, mourning fallen warriors” combination, with some standouts, but at the same time with some very scrawny songs.
First Kill is a massive disappointment; a weak, mellow, dull song that will lower the expectations for the rest of the record. Wanderer and The Way of Vikings sound like they’ve been pulled out of some locker containing songs too bad to be released on previous Amon Amarth albums. Raise you Horns is a classic Viking hymn that will be killer live, nothing else. One Thousand Burning Arrows, on the other hand, is a great atmospheric ride that shines, especially when surrounded by mediocrity prevailing on Jomsviking. A Dream That Cannot Be is a cool song featuring awesome vocals by Doro Pesch, and Back on Northern Shores is another high point of the album, a long, crushing, and saddening epilogue of the story told on Jomsviking.
What to say at the end? The album is certainly good enough to listen to a couple of times, but the stomping marches, crushing riffs, epic choruses and a cold north atmosphere are mostly absent, making Jomsviking just another “good enough” effort. And when talking about Amon Amarth "good enough" is not sufficient, especially when you released masterpieces like With Oden On Our Side, or Versus The World. At least, they tried something new, giving you a reason to check out the album because the story is not too shabby and there are still just enough good songs that will keep your attention on the record until it finishes. And for some, that’s enough.
