Customer Reviews

Once Sent From Golden Hall

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the Amon Amarth album out their for the purists. Its their most raw work of all their albums. Once Sent From The Golden Hall is mostly the sound of their demo/ep days but more matured, talented, and structured. If your looking for a release by Amon Amarth in the likes of The Crusher and Versus The World, this release is definatly not for you. Some consider this to be their best work, I considerate it to be on par with The Crusher, but hard to compare it to that album because they both have sounds different from each other.

A noticable differance on this album as compared to newer Amon Amarth releases, is that Yohan sings with a much deeper voice. On The Crusher and Versus The World Mr. Hegg sings in a more coherant voice that sounds more gargled or that is coming from the back of his throat. On Once Sent From The Golden hall Yohan singing seems to origonate from deep within his throat or stomach. Its a very deep singing style filled with volume. You'll notice upon listening to this album that he doesn't limit himself to this style. At times where the music requires a more screaming style vocal, Yohan will sing more from the back of his throat with a sound that is not as deep. It sounds more like he is grasping for air and letting the emotion of the song take him over. As if the lyrics were what was happening to him at this moment and he was singing them to you, showing his heart to you. These moments are few and far between but when they happen its quite amazing and will make for a memorable moment for the listening. I know they give me goosebumps. The majority of the vocals are a more stabble singing style like I desribed before, very deep vocals that have a little rhyrhym to them. They serve very well to deliver the interesting, intense, and enjoyable lyrical themes. The singing can get very emotion at times, usually at the climax of the songs, somewhere in the middle or end. The most noticable vocal work on this album Is done on Ride For Vengeance and Without Fear, perhaps the two most memorable songs on the album. Ride For Vengence starts off fast and strong with the vocals, they deliver alot of intensity and rage. Without Fear has some moments of pure energy and passion when Yohan screams portraying a man dying. Very passionate and moving, he sings as though he is becoming the person in the song, especially in without fear. Vocal work is amazing, bottom line.

The guitar work is equally amazing, with tons of fast complex riffs and great solo's. The guitars work in an unusual way, the songs on Once Sent From The Golden Hall are not very centralized, so many guitar riffs are not repeated. This makes the songs interesting for that the guitars are ever changing throughout them, riffs are hardly repeated. There will be an attention grabing opening riff in a song, some more riffs throughout it that stand out while there is no singing, and a solo to top it off, all well done. The riffs sometimes take on an apocalyptic feel when they are slow, especially the opening riff of Amon Amarth (track 7). The general guitar work and riffs are heavy and fast. They drums play well with the guitars so the riffs have some added volume. Like I said the guitars don't carry the songs, they change alot and don't dictate how a song will sound. Most songs on here are have two main focuses, guitars and riffs, and the vocals. Each do something very interesting and can be apprieciated at the same time, they don't take a backseat to eachother. The range of the guitars is also to be noted, they can be choppy, heavy, and brutal, and also rhythmic and melodic, or a combination of these adjectives. Most of the time they are heavy or melodic, but they always sound great.

These songs have some very memorable moments, like the Ending of The Dragons' Flight Across The Waves has an intense and angry vocal chorus. Ride For Vengence will have a very fast a brutal intro that you will never forget and want more of. The middle to end of Amon Amarth becomes very passionate and emotional, the big draw of this song. Without fear has few great and memorable lines about halfway through the song. I would say each song on this album has something you will remember and make you want to listen to it time and time again. More specifically Ride For Vegeance and Without fear will stick in your heads as songs that you will come to this album for. The album starts out strong and goes out fighting (literally). This is for any straight foward death metal fan that likes a more heavy style of death metal. Its not brutal like some bands, but in its own way shows its brutality, mostly through lyrical themes. This album is flawless and timeless.

Intelligent music is a good thing. Music which appreciates the purpose of music as an art form, with thought provoking lyrics and ingenius song structures made to stimulate the mind. But sometimes all that thinking gets boring and you just want a big slab of huge riffs and crushing drums to blow your head off. And as of yet, there is no band out there who accomplish this to the same standard as Amon Amarth. So sit back, relax, and let the titanic wall of sound that is "Once Sent From The Golden Hall" blow you off your feet, and 99.9% of other metal bands out of the water.

Despite the fact that this is Amon Amarth's oldest and rawest release, it is also, strangely, more infectious (I don't want to say "catchy") than most of their later work. The rhythm guitar sound on here is big, fast and crunchy, exactly what the modern day headbanger wants washing over their ears. What comes as more of a surprise though, is that the lead guitar is mostly made up of fast, tremolo picking, somewhat similar to "The Gallery" era Dark Tranquillity. A brave, yet wise move on Amon Amarth's part as the alternation between monsterous, crushing riffs and the more atmospheric lead guitar helps build a nice balance between power and atmosphere, appropriate for a Viking metal album

The drumming on offer here is very worthy of mention. The drummer knows exactly what he is doing. The style is open, yet still satisfyingly powerful. It's excellently in pace with the rest of the music, and the double bass pedal evokes all the power and brutality you could ask for.

Johan Hegg's vocal performance is also astonishing. In general he alternates between a very deep, low growl, evoking the same thick, dense power of the instruments, and a more throaty rasp. Similarly to the guitars, this union of opposites helps blend the power and emotion essential to a Viking metal album. On "Once sent..." he belts out what I consider to be some of the best executed lines in all of metal, a particular favourite being his roar of "THE BATTLE RAGES!!!/BUT I HEAR ONLY RAINDROPS FALLING!!!" on "Without Fear," the third track.

If any fault is to be found with "Once Sent..." it would be a meager one with the production. Considering the overall quality of the recording here, which correctly emphasises the thick, organic air of dense power present, it is a minor gripe. But in general, I found the guitars were too loud, often stifling the excelent double bass drumming and thereby costing "Once Sent..." some of the brutality it potentially had.

But, all things considered, this is a fantastic composition, combining raw power, sublime brutality and melodic harmonies in a way that few bands have ever accomplished. For anyone who just wants to thrash, this is an integral part of your collection. What are you waiting for?

Pagans, don't you just love them? Some bands claim to be of the pagan religion but are just fakes who want to have an original image. AMON AMARTH is a band consisting of real pagans so you know that what they sing is directly related to their beliefs. With that out of the way, I'd just like to say that this album features my favorite lineup. It's not the same as on SORROW... which was a really good release. I find that this lineup has a better chemistry together. If you aren't of the same opinion as me, just listen to FRIENDS OF THE SUNCROSS and it will change. Long live the mighty AMON AMARTH!

This is without a doubt the best band i've ever heard! dark, dark emotion and extremely insightfull themes. I STRONGLY urge anyone out their to get this and every other amon amarth CD out. (arivial of the fimbul winter, sorrow throughout the nine world, once sent from the golden hall)

AA are one of the top 10 bands ever for me. They play awesome epic melodic death metal. Best tracks are 1,4 and 7. Also get The Avenger and Crusher, VS the World and Fate of Norms. This is tied with Vs the World for best Amon Amarth album. If you like this check out the black dahlia murder, deicide, dying fetus, morbid angel and otep. Death Metal rules!

After listening to this album, you get the true feeling of how epic metal is to be done, they are very atmospheric in ways of sending a beautiful metal riff with a punch in the face, this is by far one of the most coolest bands I have heard in a long time. And as for the one reviewer who gave this one star, its obvious to me and to the rest of us who appreciate this music that you are more of a nu-metal fan, and to say that rap or hip hop should be put in, well that right there earns the right for you getting punched in the face, as that is a mockery of amarth's work of art, oh and the reason why they wont break into mainstream is because they remain supreme underground and will continue to dwell there instead of selling out like your limp bisquick and cream korn and become TRL trendies, whom all they care about now is dollar signs rather then making music. so you enjoy your 'rap-metal' which is the worst thing ever in the world and the rest of us true metal heads will remain underground with bands that are actually in it purely for the music and kicking buttocks.

The remastered studio album offered here is louder and fuller sounding than the original--no surprise. This is a ferocious album by a band that would maintain its edge but add catchier and more engaging elements over time. But forget all of that: the second disc, a live beginning-to-end run through of Once Sent..., demonstrates how great this band has become. The authority and confidence with which they play these older tunes (during a 2008 performance) is astonishing, and the live disc just blows away the studio recordings, regardless of remastering. This package is good news for fans... if the plan at Metal Blade is to continue these two-disc rereleases and accompany the remastered tracks with live versions of the albums. Even those who already own these albums should consider the new versions--not only are the bonuses worth the investment, but Amon Amarth and their record company believe in value for your dollar: you get, essentially, two discs for the price of one from this band. Cool, right?

Amon Amarth is definitely one of my favourite bands and definitely one of the best melodic death metal bands ever. They are not as popular as other bands in this scene but amongst fans of the genre they are gods. Actually their fame is now increasing with their last 2 albums "Fate of Norns" and "Versus The World". I have even seen their video for "In Pursuit Of Vikings" and "Death By Fire". But even though those two albums are known more, especially in the States, this one "Once Sent From The Golden Hall" is their greatest release so far. It is so powerful that I get goosebumps every time I hear it and I am overrun with uncontrollable emotions that take me to a higher state of mind. Every song is perfect. There are only a few bands capable of creating perfect albums like this.

The opener "Ride For Vengeance" is a powerful opener that sets the pace for the entire album. I was totally blown off the first time I subjected myself to this. I thought that this song must have been their best song on the album and was getting ready to play it again when I heard the beginning riff to "The Dragon's Flight Across The Waves". What a beautiful song. Again when I am confronted with the task to describe the music in these immortal albums, I often run out of words. Let me tell you that by the time I got to the fourth track "Victorious March" which has got to be in the top five most powerful metal songs ever, I was shocked, amazed, and scared. Shocked that I had not been introduced to this band earlier, amazed at how good this music is, and scared. Yes scared that now that I had found true happiness on earth, my time would come fast, as mortals like me cannot be granted the priviledge to enjoy music made for gods.

Anyways, there were four more songs on the album, and of course they all continue to transport the listener though this brutal, war-torn, yet meloncholy world. "Abandoned" is another amazing song. As brutal as it gets yet so pleasant and capable of implanting rage in the listeners' hearts, rage that I like to take out on any object I can quickly grab my hands on. The song "Amon Amarth" takes us to mighty battle where a few warriors slain thosands. The cries of the infidels while their flesh is torn by swords and battle axes can be heard. This battle takes place at the foot of the mountain Amon Amarth. Incredible song.

If you are a metal fan you must get your hands on this release. If you already have it, then purchase all their other albums after this one. Their previous album "Sorrow..." cannot compare to all their other albums. I also suggest you go see these guys live they are amazing. I love this band. Hail Amon Amarth.

Amon Amarth's "Once Sent from the Golden Hall" showed the world that melodic death metal still had some good tunes left. Those who consider this the best death metal album ever must not be familiar with the true cream of the melodic extreme metal crop: Dark Tranquillity's "Of Chaos and Eternal Night" and "The Gallery," In Flames' "Subterranean" and "The Jester Race," and Opeth's "Orchid" and "Morningrise." Amon Amarth must take a back seat to these masters.

However, "Once Sent from the Golden Hall" compares favorably to other releases in the second wave of melodic extreme metal. The energy of its dual-guitar-harmony attack propels it beyond such lumberers as Night in Gales and Arch Enemy and into the company of other second-wave innovators such as Lothlorien and Armageddon.

Favorite track here has to be the opener, "Ride for Vengeance," with its manic riffing and grim atmosphere. That atmosphere holds throughout the entire CD, making this one of the more intense experiences even in the extreme-metal context.

"Once Sent from the Golden Hall" is essential for the melodic extreme metal follower and recommended material for the regular metalhead who is not put off by harsh vocals.

VICTORIOUS MARCH should be played at football games. HAHA. This was the album that got me into AMON and they have remained my favorite TRUE death metal band ever since. This album is a so solid its scary and they continue to put out amazing albums. Without FEAr will have you breaking things and thrashing around like its the last days on earth. Friends of the suncross is amazing also. VICTORIOUS MARCH WILL LIVE AS THE GREATEST AMON AMARTH SONG EVER. Hands down no arguements.