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So, ninth album from Amon Amarth. This band has been fantastically consistent over the decades, cranking out albums that range from decent to awesome, with nothing that I would call in any way poor. Some of their mid-period works like Fate of Norns were pretty predictable, but they were always listenable. They hit a high with With Oden On Our Side back in '06, and have been chasing it since, coming pretty damned close with Surtur Rising a few years ago.

Deceiver of the Gods is another rock-solid album, not changing their formula too much, but varying things more than they usually do. This time the songs are both more melodic and thrashier than on the last few albums - in fact, this is the most melodic album they have done in a decade. Yet it is prevented from being weak by the thrash influence they loaded up on. The combination of strong melodic riffs and chugging rhythm work makes for an album that is both hooky and punchy. Rather than going through the motions, they really grabbed for something new and found new facets of their sound to highlight. We even get the first-ever clean vocals on an Amon Amarth song, but don't worry - the guest vocals on "Hel" are provided by none other than former Candlemass mainman Messiah Marcolin. Rather than just turn a verse or two over to him, they had him double up with Johan Hegg for an attack that is both melodic and heavy.

I keep coming back to that, but I'm really pleased with the way this album keeps things well-mixed. Razor-keen melodic riffs trade off with heavy fucking rhythm guitars to make an album that is hooky and punchy in a way this band has not been before. This is not as feral as The Crusher or as epic as Once Sent From The Golden Hall, but after so long, I'm amazed to see Amon Amarth not just delivering such a solid album, but finding new things to try without losing their edge. Horns up motherfuckers.