The Swedish Vikings of Amon Amarth, or ‘The Mountain Of Doom’ as depicted by J.R.R. Tolkien in his tremendous The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, spread the words of their ravaging and pillaging ancestors once again. Versus The World is their fourth full-length album and continues where its predecessor, The Crusher left off.

Anyone who knows Amon Amarth knows what this band stands for, melodic yet brutal death metal played in a unique style. Thundering guitar riffs, sweeping melodic passages and raw screaming vocals wrapped in a technical package. This band has truly managed to develop their own unique style without resorting to compromises; a remarkable and praiseworthy achievement in the current metal scene, which seems to be dominated by bands that lack inspiration as well as originality.

Versus The World is a diverse album that features songs that just force you to bang your head and whip you up into a frenzy.

Whether it is the melodic title track, the pounding “Death In Fire” or the aggressive “For The Stabwounds In Our Backs”, it is all right to the mark. Lyrically the album revolves (of course) around the ways of the bygone Vikings, slaughtering and butchering the infidels and heathens in the name of Odin.

My only complaint about this album is the speed of the songs. Most of the songs are played in mid-tempo and Amon Amarth rarely speed things up. Although this results in a very bombastic album, it might be one that has a tendency to quickly bore those poor and unfortunate souls born with a short attention span. Nevertheless, Versus The World is an excellent CD that shines with originality and has Amon Amarth’s trademark written all over it. May these Vikings spread their words of Odin for years and years to come!