Amon Amarth have announced the new album The Allfather Awakens, set for release on October 2nd via Metal Blade Records. The veteran Swedish metal band has also released new single “Gjallarhorn.”
“Gjallarhorn” showcases the band’s iconic melodic death metal sound, this time beefed up with aspects of modern thrash metal. Sonically, it’s reminiscent of their albums Twilight of the Thunder God and Surtur Rising, with a distinctly epic feel to it befitting a song about the horn that signals the end of the world.
The song carries just enough technical flash to make it exciting and somewhat unpredictable without overshadowing either the melodic strength or the pummeling pace of it. “Gjallarhorn” is pitch-perfect Amon Amarth, being perfectly sculpted power metal beefed up with heavy thrashing guitars and production and death metal vocals.
Guitarist Olavi Mikkonen said of the album, “We worked on one song at a time and made each song as good as possible. Then we recorded one song at a time until each track was totally finished–drums, guitars, and vocals. Only then did we start on the next one.”
The band previously released the singles “We Rule the Waves,” which we named one of our Heavy Songs of the Week, and “Upphaf” preceding news of the album, showcasing a wider sonic variety this time around than they have shown before, including their first ever acoustic track even if it is still as stoic and stern as their heavier tracks.
The Allfather Awaits is available for pre-order in a variety of vinyl variants and bundles via the band’s official merch store.
Amon Amarth have also announced a revamped stage production, swapping out their iconic longboat for one based on the golden hall of Oden. It will be debuted on their tour of the UK and Europe set to run from October to November of this year. Get tickets here.
See the music video for “Gjallarhorn,” as well as the album art and tracklist for The Allfather Awakens, below.
The Allfather Awakens Artwork:
The Allfather Awakens Tracklist:
01. Gjallarhorn
02. Eight Legs of Thunder
03. Kvasir’s Blood
04. We Rule the Waves
05. Upphaf
06. Die With a War Cry
07. Raven God
08. The Allfather Awakes
09. Oden’s Hunt
10. Ascending Like an Eagle
