Barely two years after the release of their 8th album "Surtur Rising", the sails are set and Odin once again calls the dragonheads to sea as Swedish Viiking death metallers Amon Amarth return with "Deceiver of the Gods". As great as “Surtur” was, fans who have been following the band for years now will be raising their drinking horns of mead to the band for this one. Unlike the previous two efforts (2008's "Twilight of the Thunder God" and 2011's "Surtur Rising"), we see Amon fully return to the sound they have been known for and true ferociousness they are capable of that hasn't really been there since 2006's “With Odin On Our Side”, but have shown signs of on recent albums.

Drummer Fredrik Andersson worked twice as hard to step things up this time around as all the songs are mostly full on double bass with challenging arrangements. In post-production interviews it was pointed out that the band was listening to the latest Accept album “Stalingrad” to get inspiration for the writing for this one. I do admit this worried me a little cause I wanted a true to spirit Amon Amarth album this time around, but I need to remember this band rarely ever does wrong. You can hear some of the Accept influences in title track and ‘Father of the Wolf’ (even get a little Maiden in there), but it’s still fucking Amon Amarth! I understand for a band to stay fresh they have to experiment and change it up sometimes but the key formula that makes the bands what they are has to still be there. Amon Amarth has always done this well, but it was time they went back to their roots and released an album for the old school fans and that's what “Deceiver of the Gods” is.

‘As Loke Falls’, ‘Blood Eagle’, ‘Under Siege’, and one of my personal favorites, ‘Coming Of The Tide’ could easily be off 2002's masterpiece “Vs the World” as the crunch and drive of guitars brought me way back. I love how ‘Under Siege’ at the end there is break and you think the song is over but it turns into a sort of solo from bassist Ted Lundstrom, and then full on melody that reminded me of a favorite off of “Twilight”, ‘Embrace of the Endless Ocean’. I call this ‘Embrace of the Endless Ocean part 2’ since it's so similar. Then there is opening sample to ‘Blood Eagle’ which makes me cringe every time but it works with how fast this tempo is. ‘Blood Eagle’ is like ‘Asator’ of the album, nonstop in your face brutality and with Johan's gruesome lyrics this also sure to be a crowd favorite. ‘Coming of the Tide’ starts off strong with vintage Amon Amarth melody and double bass, completed by the break and the killer solo in the middle. ‘Warriors of the North’ is the epic next to ‘Under Siege’ and is probably the most complex track as it constantly switches up pace going from slow to fast to a section that is almost like a marching beat (similar to the classic ‘Victorious March’). Even at the end it repeats with frontman Johan Hegg screaming "WE!! MARCH AGAIN!!! FIRST IN LINE!!! TO REACH VAHALLA'S MIGHTY GATES!!!!!!"

My only one gripe on the album is the track ‘Hel’ that legendary vocalist Messiah Marcolin (ex-Candlemass) guest stars on. While still a great tune it otherwise slows down the energy and would of been better as a bonus instead of right in the middle of the album. Amon Amarth continue to transcend the Death Metal genre and artistically create new life in it with every album they release and only seem to be getting better and better. I'm curious where they will go next but for now the band will be supporting the album by playing the Rockstar Mayhem Festival this Summer as well doing some co-headline off-dates with Children of Bodom and I'm sure in 2014 they will be returning to do their headlining tour of the album. ODIN BE PLEASED!!!