To say Amon Amarth likes vikings and old Norse mythology is something like saying the sun is hot. It's true in the strictest technical sense, but it doesn't nearly cover the reality of the situation. You can't go more than two songs on an album without tripping over a track about Thor, or Odin, or Tyr, or vikings pillaging and burning. Which is one thing I like about their song content- they don't really shy away or try to paint over the fact that if you saw a viking ship on the horizon, shit was probably about to get real in a hurry.
Musically speaking, they're a melodic death metal band from Sweden. If you don't know, Sweden is pretty much the birthplace and main headquarters of that particular musical style. What that means is basically a lot of melodic guitar work over a lot of really heavy rhythms, with a vocalist singing in what can uncharitably be called a cookie monster scream. All of these things are present in Amon Amarth's music, except that Johan Hegg, singer and master of all beard-related matters, actually has some of the best vocals in the death metal style. Which isn't to say that it's still anything but an acquired taste. But, he's actually quite intelligible most of the time. Which is an accomplishment for death metal, really. The guitarwork on most of their songs follows the same pattern- chugging, grinding guitar riffs which break into pretty cool solos. The drums and bass are just sort of there, not doing anything overly special.
Which is really the band's biggest downside- once you've heard a few, you've pretty much heard them all. Still an enjoyable band, but not one that I can listen to for hours on end. That said, here's some songs!
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