“The first man I killed was the earl’s right-hand man / When he came to take her away / I ran his own sword straight through his throat / And then I stood there, watching him fall!” Amon Amarth’s Jomsviking wastes no time reminding you to whom you are listening. Of the Swedish metal scene of the 1990s—a scene so legendary and influential that it became almost cliché after incessant imitation—Amon Amarth is one of the very few who has continued strong. While not every record has been a Lindesfarne, their discography is like a series of profitable raids that have raised their profile so high that Jomsviking isn’t being released on Metal Blade in Europe. Amon Amarth is officially a major label band now, having signed to Sony in the three years since Deceiver of the Gods was released in 2013.
