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Amon Amarth's twelfth studio album, The Great Heathen Army, finds them doing what they do and doing it as well as always. And that is playing Viking-themed melodic death metal that deftly blends catchy songwriting and ear-pleasing riffs with a punchy sound and the kind of harsh yet decipherable singing that only the least tolerant clean singing fan could dislike. The songs on The Great Heathen Army sound great and the band is in top form in terms of performance, but it feels like Amon Amarth are settling into a groove that, if they aren't careful, could soon be a rut. There's nothing remotely bad on the album and songs like "Heidrun" and "Oden Owns You All" are pretty kick ass, but there's also nothing you haven't heard before from the band and in most cases, they've done it better on albums like Deceiver of the Gods or Twilight of the Thunder God. If you like melodic death metal in general and/or Amon Amarth in particular, I think you'll find The Great Heathen Army plenty enjoyable; it just isn't likely going to replace any of your all-time favorites.