Amon Amarth – ‘The Great Heathen Army’ CD

Amon Amarth has been raiding and pillaging so long that even Mighty Odin thinks their minds are gone. ‘The Great Heathen Army’ is their 12th foray into the great unknown, and their “Vikings on the prowl” schtick is as firmly in place as ever (despite a video displaying a dystopian future with MMA and guns).

By this point in their long and storied career, we pretty much know what to expect from a new platter, and as with 2019s’ Berserker,’ the wheels of the Norse battering ram go round and round.

There are few surprises here, and you get a series of stoic tales of Viking tomfoolery played at greater or lesser levels of intensity. Indeed intensity is the watchword here, as ‘The Great Heathen Army’ often feels a little too slick and polished for its exemplary, lacking in real intensity and Northern rage.