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It's nice when the promo material is actually truthful. The copy said "Brutal death metal in the vein of Amon Amarth!" or some such, and I have to say that is absolutely true. I'm not sure if this is a debut for these guys, and I'm not 100% sure they're German, the booklet info is scanty and their site was down, oh well.

I'm glad to say the Amon Amarth comparison is completely accurate. Battlesword (or "Battlefword", as they spell it in the logo) play riffy, melodic death metal veeeeery reminiscent of Amon Amarth's early releases. Now I happen to think that's a good thing, as AA's early albums are my favorites, and I have liked them less with each album, so the fact that the stuff on "Failing In Triumph" sounds a lot like "Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds" (If less epic) is all good in my book. Battlefword write less sprawling and more riff-oriented songs than AA, and their lyrics are less fixated on Vikings, being more a general 'war and destruction' kind of vibe. The intro, as on almost all death metal albums, is pointless, but then the riffs on "Chapter II" get the blood moving, and by the time "Baptised in Fire" comes crunching out the head is banging quite nicely. The second half of the CD is not quite as strong as the first, but it remains enjoyable throughout.

The CD case is OK, with a decent cover and a nicely archaic-looking logo. The interior layout is decent, though surprisingly the band look rather hardcore with short hair and t-shirts. The lyrics are included, and they're pretty good.

Overall, this is an enjoyable CD. Battlesword are certainly not groundbreaking, but they are entertaining. And since Amon Amarth can't be bothered to be cool anymore, we can be glad somebody remembers how to do it right.