New Amon Amarth - Surtur Rising! \m/

Release date 29 March

all other details found here: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=152916

Can't wait!

I will have this for sure, viking metal is a fairly new thing for me but I've been listening to a lot of Amon Amarth and Ensiferum lately. Musically I think this band is great, just crushingly heavy, but I wish for a little more melody in the vocal dept.

bassman wrote:

I will have this for sure, viking metal is a fairly new thing for me but I've been listening to a lot of Amon Amarth and Ensiferum lately. Musically I think this band is great, just crushingly heavy, but I wish for a little more melody in the vocal dept.

That's my complaint with Viking/Pagan metal as well. How about some actual "singing" instead of growling/grunting/screaming. Some bands like Korpiklaani are real close to being "my cup o' tea" but the albums I have by them are still too growly overall for me to pull them out very often.

tohostudios wrote:

bassman wrote:

I will have this for sure, viking metal is a fairly new thing for me but I've been listening to a lot of Amon Amarth and Ensiferum lately. Musically I think this band is great, just crushingly heavy, but I wish for a little more melody in the vocal dept.

That's my complaint with Viking/Pagan metal as well. How about some actual "singing" instead of growling/grunting/screaming. Some bands like Korpiklaani are real close to being "my cup o' tea" but the albums I have by them are still too growly overall for me to pull them out very often.

I'm not asking for a total change in vocal style here, just maybe a 75/25 split between growls and singing would increase my happiness level a whole bunch.

bassman wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

bassman wrote:

I will have this for sure, viking metal is a fairly new thing for me but I've been listening to a lot of Amon Amarth and Ensiferum lately. Musically I think this band is great, just crushingly heavy, but I wish for a little more melody in the vocal dept.

That's my complaint with Viking/Pagan metal as well. How about some actual "singing" instead of growling/grunting/screaming. Some bands like Korpiklaani are real close to being "my cup o' tea" but the albums I have by them are still too growly overall for me to pull them out very often.

I'm not asking for a total change in vocal style here, just maybe a 75/25 split between growls and singing would increase my happiness level a whole bunch.

Guess I'm more demanding. I need at least 60% clean vocals or I'm usually not interested. And I'm not talking Freddy Mercury vocals here either; just carry a melody for a bit. Heck, I love Dark At Dawn and their vocalist is terrible from a technical standpoint. But at least the guy carries a tune with the aid of a bucket.

I would not change anything about the vocals style in Amon Amarth. The guttural vocals are part and parcel of what makes this band so awesome.

If they changed the vocals it wouldn't be Amon Amarth anymore imo

tohostudios wrote:

bassman wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

bassman wrote:

I will have this for sure, viking metal is a fairly new thing for me but I've been listening to a lot of Amon Amarth and Ensiferum lately. Musically I think this band is great, just crushingly heavy, but I wish for a little more melody in the vocal dept.

That's my complaint with Viking/Pagan metal as well. How about some actual "singing" instead of growling/grunting/screaming. Some bands like Korpiklaani are real close to being "my cup o' tea" but the albums I have by them are still too growly overall for me to pull them out very often.

I'm not asking for a total change in vocal style here, just maybe a 75/25 split between growls and singing would increase my happiness level a whole bunch.

Guess I'm more demanding. I need at least 60% clean vocals or I'm usually not interested. And I'm not talking Freddy Mercury vocals here either; just carry a melody for a bit. Heck, I love Dark At Dawn and their vocalist is terrible from a technical standpoint. But at least the guy carries a tune with the aid of a bucket.

I guess it's whatever the music calls for in my case. I like some bands with no clean vocals at all, I just think AA would sound cool with some added melodic content.

My fav song has always been black brids cry

I agree with alex that the vocals are amon's landmark.

bassman wrote:

I will have this for sure, viking metal is a fairly new thing for me but I've been listening to a lot of Amon Amarth and Ensiferum lately. Musically I think this band is great, just crushingly heavy, but I wish for a little more melody in the vocal dept.

amon amarth have lyrics about about vikings but dont play viking metal---theyre melodic death metal. since they arent melodeath/gothenburg styled melodic death metal they dont have the whole growl-sing-growl template going on like youd have preferred. id be pretty annoyed if they did that.

i feel amon amarth are pretty overrated, but theyre still a fun band and their live shows are decent. im looking forward to the new album even though i highly doubt itll bring anything new to the table with the rest of their discography in mind. their black sabbath cover was an interesting endeavor.

rawr! wrote:

bassman wrote:

I will have this for sure, viking metal is a fairly new thing for me but I've been listening to a lot of Amon Amarth and Ensiferum lately. Musically I think this band is great, just crushingly heavy, but I wish for a little more melody in the vocal dept.

amon amarth have lyrics about about vikings but dont play viking metal---theyre melodic death metal. since they arent melodeath/gothenburg styled melodic death metal they dont have the whole growl-sing-growl template going on like youd have preferred. id be pretty annoyed if they did that.

i feel amon amarth are pretty overrated, but theyre still a fun band and their live shows are decent. im looking forward to the new album even though i highly doubt itll bring anything new to the table with the rest of their discography in mind. their black sabbath cover was an interesting endeavor.

I know they're not technically a viking band but they do get lumped in that category because of the lyrical content. I don't have a problem with the vocals the way they are, I just think some clean vocals here and there would be cool. The lead guitar lines are very melodic and some reflection of that in the vocals would be great IMO.

You can hear the viking/folk influence a lot in their music too.

rawr! wrote:

i feel amon amarth are pretty overrated

ditto.

Isn't that somewhat typical ? Nearly every time a band that has a particular style / image become popular there will be a horde of people calling them overrated.

Btw what i'm about to say isn't meant for anyone here in particular , it's just a general observation of the term "overrated" (which I find is a very cowardly term to use).

I think overrated is a term used by those insecure about their tastes. It is either used where the person actually likes the band but doesn't want to appear uncool for liking a popular band over some underground band , or alternatively, people use the term overrated because they feel too uneasy to say they just dislike the band (just in case they'll get flamed by others about it).

Sorry but it's a term that really bugs me. If like the band you have nothing to hide - just say you like it. If someone thinks otherwise who gives a sh*t anyway... it's what you like that counts most. Similarly if you don't like a band just say it like it is, or better yet find something you like.

I've begun to warm up to Amon Amarth over the last couple of years...

Alex Dee Rokket wrote:

Isn't that somewhat typical ? Nearly every time a band that has a particular style / image become popular there will be a horde of people calling them overrated.

Btw what i'm about to say isn't meant for anyone here in particular , it's just a general observation of the term "overrated" (which I find is a very cowardly term to use).

I think overrated is a term used by those insecure about their tastes. It is either used where the person actually likes the band but doesn't want to appear uncool for liking a popular band over some underground band , or alternatively, people use the term overrated because they feel too uneasy to say they just dislike the band (just in case they'll get flamed by others about it).

Sorry but it's a term that really bugs me. If like the band you have nothing to hide - just say you like it. If someone thinks otherwise who gives a sh*t anyway... it's what you like that counts most. Similarly if you don't like a band just say it like it is, or better yet find something you like.

saying something is overrated has nothing to do with ones personal tastes. i find things that i like overrated and i find things that i dont like overrated, and everything in between. when i say amon amarth are overrated, what i mean is that they are held in higher esteem than they should be. people think theyre better than they are (in the way of songwriting or other areas), or more significant, or things such as that.

youre right that nearly anything popular is going to be overrated, though. the majority of people ive observed liking amon amarth are people that dont really have a great idea what is out there in terms of competition and such, and oftentimes dont want to because amon amarth are a token metal band in their listening habits. within the metal world, amon amarth are given ridiculous amounts of attention and preference when they, in the opinion of myself and many others, havent earned it. its just what usually happens when a band makes it big---they werent necessarily more deserving than an alternative, they just happened to navigate circumstances more optimally, often more due to luck than anything else.

In metal , music and generally in business it's all about how well you market your product. How deserving or otherwise a band is has very little to do with its success. Luck does play a part but active promotion and how well networked the band is in the industry are more important factors that can see them win more fans than others.

It's as much complex as it is simple. Simple if you have all those resources at hand, not to simple if you don't.

If a band is at all deserving is because they were able to put together something people enjoy and were successful at persuading the masses to buy their product. The fact that it is not to everyone's liking is nothing that bothers the band. Similarly, the band isn't stopping anyone from checking out other similar bands nor are they at all concerned with what other similar bands are out there and why should they be, they are looking after their own interests and ventures much as those others bands are or should at least be doing the same.

So yes, it's an unfair and competitive world but that's just the way it is. It will never be about how artistically deserving a band is, if anything it's comes down to the band: how willing are they to stand behind their product Writing good songs and albums is only half the battle.

I hope that they don't wuss out and start singing. I like the Cookie Monster vocals. Like several others have mentioned, that is part of what makes this band.

If they added clean vocals they'd be just another Power Metal band...

I'll probably check it out but the vocals would ruin it for me. Bands with killer music and then a two-tone growling vocals slapped on top is something I never learned to digest. Arch Enemy are undisputed leaders in that category. Although the chick is Amott's girlfriend (wife?) so I sort of understand why she's being entitled to the gig for so long.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

If they added clean vocals they'd be just another Power Metal band...

True, it's the same case with Children of Bodom

im glad amon amarth has maintained their sound better than children of bodom. a lot of bands in the "power/melodeath" crowd seem to have devolved into lameness, like kalmah for another example. and, on a related note, norther. ill still check out the new norther album, though....cant say the same for bodom. surtur rising should crush any new efforts by those other bands, though.

I got over them after I realized all their songs sound exactly the same. I don't need to check out anything else by them, I'm done.

Gilbert wrote:

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

If they added clean vocals they'd be just another Power Metal band...

True, it's the same case with Children of Bodom

You guys just might end up changing my mind on this clean vocals thing, I am very nearly convinced.

mc666 wrote:

rawr! wrote:

i feel amon amarth are pretty overrated

ditto.

X3

I've owned a few of their records before only to get rid of them later.