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Review: Amon Amarth - Sorrow Throughout The Nine Worlds
Amon Amarth
www.amonamarth.com
Sorrow Throughout The Nine Worlds

Label: Pulverised Records
Year released: 1996
Duration: 24:45
Tracks: 5
Genre: Melodic Death Metal

Rating:
4/5


Review online: March 30, 2003
Reviewed by: Sargon the Terrible
Readers' Rating
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Rated 4.1/5 (81.9%) (21 Votes)
Review

This was the very first release from the mighty Amon Amarth, and it remains my favorite. This was released with very little fanfare in ’96 on the tiny Pulverised label, and has been all but impossible to find for years. Now with the release of "Vs the World" Amon Amarth have included this EP as a bonus disc in their special "Viking Edition" (Don’t get me started) of their new album. And it’s worth getting the whole package just for this, my favorite Amon Amarth release.

The songwriting on this disc is amazingly accomplished for a debut EP. The signature Amon Amarth sound is already in full force. The rolling, oceanic riffs, the melodic leads, the complex song structures – it’s all here. This is actually the most melodic the band has ever been, and I really dig it. Thundering epics like "Arrival of the Fimbulwinter" and "The Mighty Doors of the Speargod’s Hall" make it obvious why this CD caused a stir when it was released. This is a band fully in command of their craft. Later releases are of a high quality, and the next two CD’s were very good. But Amon Amarth have become more pugilistic and slightly more generic with each album, and so this album really points up how cool and original their sound was from the very start.

The production here is not as good as on subsequent recordings. It’s a little muddy, a little muted, but to me this only adds to the underground appeal of the CD. The whole thing sounds like echoes of battle rising up through the ages from the Axe-Times of yore. Even at only about 25 minutes I find this more involving than later albums, as the quality of the songs is unleavened by filler tracks, every song just kills.

In case you haven’t figured it out, I love the shit out of this EP. It isn’t the best Amon Amarth release, that would probably have to be "Once Sent From the Golden Hall", but this lost chapter will always have a warm spot in my evil little heart.

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