AMON AMARTH's 13th studio album, The Allfather Awakens, is out today (October 2) via Metal Blade Records. To mark release day, the Swedish Viking metal veterans have shared an official visualizer for the focus track and near-title cut "The Allfather Awakes."
Frontman and lyricist Johan Hegg sums up the song's message as a call for "wisdom, knowledge and facts" to "become the guide for the future." As on earlier records, Oden is the thread running through the lyrics and artwork, but the band stress this is not a concept album: it's a set of historically inspired tales of conflict and sacrifice for a greater good. The campaign around the release leans on Oden's sacrifice at Mímisbrunnr, the Well of Wisdom, where the god gave up an eye in exchange for foresight.
The Allfather Awakens was recorded in two sessions, months apart, at producer Jacob Hansen's studio in Denmark. For the first time, AMON AMARTH wrote while still on tour rather than waiting for downtime, which let them treat every song as a potential single. Sonically, the guitars took a step back from modern gain: the band swapped their 5150 amps for Marshalls, and the music was finished before the lyrics were written.
The album was preceded by "Upphaf," the band's first-ever acoustic piece, and the singles "Gjallarhorn" and "Eight Legs of Thunder."
Next week AMON AMARTH launch their UK and European headlining run, opening October 9 at Manchester's O2 Apollo and wrapping November 15 at Sala Tejo in Lisbon. The tour debuts an all-new stage production modeled on Oden's Golden Hall, designed as a live extension of the new record. We published the full itinerary in our earlier "Eight Legs of Thunder" story.
The lineup remains Johan Hegg (vocals), Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg (guitars), Ted Lundström (bass) and Jocke Wallgren (drums). For the long-timers: we gave Fate of Norns an 8/10 back in 2004.
Order & Stream "The Allfather Awakens": Bandcamp