Amon Amarth

If you know Amon Amarth and the pretty much straight-ahead Norse metal they play, you know exactly what you're getting with a new Amon Amarth album. Surtur Rising, their latest, does nothing to wreck the formula ― the riffs are tight, the leads are electric and the drums are solid. The vocal growls resonate with intensity, contributing to the delicious harshness that, nevertheless, shelters a steady melodic vein. Mostly it's full speed ahead, but things slow down for a dramatic, epic even, contrast. Surtur Rising is lively and entertaining, but the precision and bombast feel just slightly too serious, and in the end, that's just not as fun.