So with an album title like "Berserker", you would think that the Swedes would unleash all hell, go completely berserk through your eardrums, right? Well, while we still get their trademarked style of melodic death metal, it is more of a watered down approach, not the black metal blend we experienced in the band's early days, nor the brutal speedy type we saw during their golden era. There is more of classic heavy metal in this album than I initially expected, there are even parts in here that straight out reminds me of HammerFall. Nothing against HammerFall, I love that band, but it is so odd to hear Amon Amarth doing their type of music.
Here is the thing though, this new direction does bring something we have not seen from the band before, and it certainly helps in making "Berserker" not another "paint by numbers" Amon Amarth record. The switch ups are not that many, but they are noticable, like the acoustic guitar in the opener "Fafner's Gold", Johan Hegg singing clean (ish) vocals on "Ironside", the close to doomy approach in "The Berserker At Stamford Bridge", and the piano in the marvelous closer "Into The Dark". It is little touches like that that makes this album unique, and while not all of these experiments work, it is still showing that Amon Amarth is trying to evolve, even 11 albums into their career.
The band still knows though what the fans what, catchy and heavy tunes that you can drunkenly shout to in a live show, and they deliver just that several times throughout "Berserker". "Shield Wall" is sure to be a fan favourite, having this infectiously groovy beat that transitions into this brilliant chorus, and the singles "Crack The Sky" and "Raven's Flight" are in the same wheel house, making sure that the live shows will be as loud as ever.
The familiarity is certainly a strength for the band, but it also acts as a weakness, just knowing that there are similar songs from their catalog that are simply better. The lyrical content is also really familiar, and at times it feels like the band is repeating themselves, which they actually do in this very record. The chorus for "Crack The Sky" goes "Thor, let your hammer fly, let the lightning crack that blackened skies", and it is a great chorus for sure, but the very next song is called "Mjolner, Hammer of Thor", giving you more thunder god than necessary. I know that Thor is an important character in Norse mythology, but put at least one song in between that is not about him, just so we can get some space. Also, I am a little disappointed that they did not try their hand at another original cohesive story going through the record, like in "Jomsviking", but maybe next time perhaps.
In the end, this is still an Amon Amarth record, and the band delivers yet another great piece of brutal and catchy viking metal. While the core of their sound is still the same, they do show growth, which makes me hopeful that any of the upcoming albums could become a future classic. "Berserker" is ultimately a serviceable record with a lot of good quality metal in it, just as you would expect from these barbaric Swedes. So raise your glass of mead, and give a cheer for another successful outing for our favourite viking overlords.
Songs worthy of recognition: Shield Wall, Fafner's Gold, Crack The Sky, Into The Dark
Rating: 8/10 Wings of Eagles
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With Oden On Our Side
Twilight of The Thundergod
Surtur Rising
Deceiver of The Gods
Jomsviking
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