Customer Reviews

Crusher

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Amon Amarth are a kind of a band that you don't have to guess what their other album sounds like. Yes, throughout their not so long career they mostly played the same type of music, the hybrid of the so-called Gothenburg sound, or Swedish melodic death, with viking-metal, and a bit of black-metal thrown in to spice things up. If you liked one of their albums, you'll like them all. That's the case with me, as I fell in love with this furious sonic attack since I first put it in a CD-player.

Make no mistake, Amon Amarth don't reinvent the wheel, and all the elements you are to hear on "The Crusher" you've probably already heard somewhere. But it's the emotional sincerity and dedication to their music that work favorably here. The band presents us with 9 tracks, each of them having its own touch. The songs mostly fall into 2 types, either they are a ferocious high-speed death metal attack, backed with incredibly fast double bass kicks and black-metal styled rhythm-guitar, or they are a slower, kind of epic sounding songs, whose influence goes back to legendary Swedish band Bathory of the 80s (the type of epic Nordic feel that, to the best of my knowledge, first appeared on "Enter the Eternal Fire" from Bathory's album "Under the Sign..."). The singer, or to be precise, the growler Johan Hegg does excellent job conveying his rage and fury in each line he sings. The guitars sound not very typical, with only a scarce few solos thrown in, and a peculiar way to provide melodics to songs, which is more of a black metal feel than a death metal. The drumming is absolutely superb! Either on fast or slower tracks, it sounds like a powerful group of barbarian battle drums that pound hard rhythms to pump up the blood in fierce warriors' hearts.

The lyrics suit this Nordic battle feeling excellently, but its the lyrics that might be a major turn-off here. Centered around Nordic mythology and vikings' military traditions, the lyrics have a lot of lines about merciless killing and terrorising christians, and throwing Christianity out of Nordic lands. I know that many people would be highly offended by such matters. But that's Amon Amarth. These guys provide genuine Nordic battle style death metal, and they seem not to care at all whether this naturalism is appreciated by people or not. So either you're like me and love it, or you better stay away from this band's records.

The tenth song on the CD is a cover-song originally performed by cult proto-death metallers Possessed. I hardly understand the cult status of Possessed, and I feel this song is out of tune with the rest of the album. Other than that, the album's incredible energy and furious power are very addictive, and every time I put it in a player, it stays there for a long time.

It's interesting to still see that even in modern times, bands are still writing material about Nordic gods and warlords wreaking havoc upon infidels and enemies alike. This album by Amon Amarth stands out in that it is both incredibly brutal and yet has a very strong underlying message: infidels and heathens (especially christians) should prepare for an ultimate reckoning at the hands of Odin and all his comrades. This album does not let up after you first push play, and it truly makes you wish you were on some hill in the days of old leading hordes of Nordic savages and vikings down upon those who dare to test your wrath with their devotions. On top of all this, the production is top quality. The clarity of the instruments and vocals are superb, and this album all around further enforces the fact that the Scandinavians are still leaders in phenomenal metal. I highly recommend this to anyone who's a fan of absolutely relentless, brutal metal in the Nordic vein.

Amon amarth plays all kinds of music which means, you'll find something you either love and be obsses with...From a little blackmetal feel to viking metal to straight melodic deathmetal and more? You'll fall in love with amon amarth's music! The minute i began listining to amon amarth's "crusher" i thought to myself... Masterpiece? Yes. I love am and i always been a fan, because their one talented band! I recommend!!

First of all, I love the way the Amazon editors misclassify, and at times, are just flat out uninformed when it comes to the albums they review. Like calling Dimmu Borgir's album "great death metal." Yeah, that's a genius remark for sure. You guys need to hire somebody who actually knows what they're talking about. Now to the Amon Amarth album at hand...Unfortunately, Martin Lopez did not continue playing with Amon Amarth, his drumming is superb. That doesn't really effect the quality of Amon Amarth's music, however, as The Crusher proves to be the strongest, most aggressive album thus far. Johan Hegg relies mostly on his battle-screams, while the band concentrates on crushing, semi-melodic death metal riffs and blasts. After you buy "Versus The World", get The Crusher. Or better yet, order them at the same time.

Standout Tracks: Annihilation Of Hammerfest, Bastards Of A Lying Breed, Masters Of War, As Long As The Raven Flies, The Sound Of Eight Hooves

I am not going to say that Amon Amarth is the most innovative band in the metal genre today, but they do have some brutal and technical aspects that make this band a respectable one. As another reviewer said, it has creates an atmosphere that makes it seem as if you want to join the Nordic savages and vikings on their quests. Which always can make you feel good :) The brutality throughout the entire album never lets up, and the production is good. Johan Hegg, the vocalist, does well with his lyrics and vocals, and the guitarists and drummer seem to be talented. I cannot compare The Crusher to Amon Amarth's other albums, as I have not yet heard them. I hear that Amon Amarth doesn't vary much from album to album, which can be either good or bad. In this case, I think it wouldn't be too bad, because Amon Amarth seems to be good at what they do, after hearing The Crusher, anyway. My only complaint would be that some of the songs can get a little repitive, but this is a minor flaw. All in all a recommended album for all extreme metal fans.

I have decided Amon Amarth are not a band that will surprise very much with subsequent albums. However, if they are good at writing songs within their style and their fans like it (like me) then why not stick with what you are good at. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The songs on the Crusher are more technical than their previous album, just like Avenger was more technical than Once Sent, and the Crusher is less hook-laden, which is not necessarily a good thing. Bastards of a Lying Breed starts this album off with pure speed and aggression. There are a few stand outs, but they will be different for everybody, because if you have heard their first two full lengths, then you have heard this album. It's just too bad the Crusher doesn't have a song as strong as Last With Pagan Blood or Friends of the Suncross. Still, this album is a good time and fun to listen to when you feel like hurting someone.

Amon Amarth are among the most technically skilled metal musicians in the known universe. That being said, this album, in my opinion, is Amon Amarth's best to date. That is saying a lot. 'Masters of War' and 'Bastards of a Lying Breed' make The Crusher worth your time.

Viking metal is quite a complex breed of metal. When executed well it shames many other types of music, since so much goes into each and every song. This album belongs in any true metal head's collection. It puts to shame many simpler, technically inferior more well known bands. Muscially, Amon Amarth is superior to many bands out there. You can tell how much work goes into each and every song.

There is not one bad song on this album. When people ask me what my favorite album is, my usual answer is 'The Crusher' by Amon Amarth.

I hate the scream your head off death metal or what ever you want to call it. However I love Amon Amarth...I can listen to this all day. Great metal band. Much like having to accept King Diamond's vocal style in Mercyful Fate (only like the early albums), I can deal with the vocal style for Amon Amarth because I just fricking love the music!

Shipping time was shorter than expected, cd was in excellent condition. Son was completely satisfied.

Amon Amarth crash through the beerier of the current millennium with power and aggression. As a fan of more recent albums I was stoked to find this, their third release, on Amazon.com. It delivers with a slightly more aggressive sound than Versus the World and later albums. It is not a drastic difference though as they seem to tweak themselves only slightly between each record so as not to have a carbon copy of a past album, yet not lose any fans. I dig this album, and it has the guitar sound I have come to know and love by this mountain of doom.