AMON AMARTH Deceiver Of The Gods 2CD Boxset (2013)

Amon Amarth have always known exactly who they are, Swedish Viking metal that hits like a longship prow at full sail, and Deceiver of the Gods is them at their most focused. Released in 2013, it is the album that put Johan Hegg's crew in front of festival crowds they had been building toward since Versus the World.

The title track alone is worth the price of entry. The whole record is built around that tension between melodic death metal hooks and genuine heaviness, the kind of balance that keeps Amon Amarth in the conversation while lesser folk metal acts come and go. There is also the small matter of Messiah Marcolin from Candlemass turning up on The Hymn of the Fallen, which tells you this band is plugged into the full lineage of Scandinavian heavy music, not just the Viking aesthetic. Dark, anthemic, and relentless.

2CD boxset, Swedish press, 2013 release. Includes bonus disc.

Fans of: Wintersun, Ensiferum, Turisas, Kalmah, Korpiklaani, Norther