Once Sent from the Golden Hall

Swedish death metal is a thriving community of well over a thousand bands. As I’m writing this, there are 5,424 Swedish metal bands on Metal Archives and 478 of those are melodic death metal. Melodic death metal is personally one of my favorite genres. It takes the riffs of Iron Maiden and combines it with the sheer brutality of death metal. It sounds like match made in Heaven. And yes, it was. Amon Amarth were definitely not the first to do melodic death metal at all. There were bands like Dark Tranquillity, Carcass, In Flames, and At the Gates well before 1998. But what makes this album special is that it introduces Amon Amarth. One of modern metal’s greatest and longest running melodic death metal bands. By that I mean they haven’t broke up once and they have never strayed off the path of melodic death metal.

When you listen this album, you are immediately transported into a Norse battle. You feel the soldier’s emotions of leaving their family and you feel their wounds. Truly amazing, especially with this level of production quality. As time went on, the production quality got better and better. Since this is the beginning, it isn’t the best. It sounds a bit noisy but Amon Amarth still manages to translate death metal to a beautifully sad story. Each riff here is absolutely amazing. The riffs are thrashy with a melodic tinge. The opening track, “Ride for Vengeance” is a great opener with an awesome riff. The solos are also completely bonkers. Once again, “Ride for Vengeance” has a truly amazing solo. “Abandoned” has a great riff with rememberable verses making for the best song on the album.

The drumming here is fine. Nothing special or interesting about it. I feel as if Martin Lopez could have been utilized better, because his work with Opeth is phenomenal. The lyrics are great. As I’ve said before, listening to this album transports you right into a Norse battle. It’s great songwriting, something that Amon Amarth falters upon nowadays. Johan Hegg’s vocals are fine as well. It’s not as full as it is on later albums, it’s more high-pitched but only by a little bit. Something that caught me off-guard was this weird shout he does sometimes. From my count he uses it only three times during the entire length of the record (he uses it in “The Dragons’ Flight Across the Waves, Without Fear, and in Victorious March). Whenever he uses it, it sounds so awkward. Because it’s a shout. It doesn’t really fit the melodic background he has. It sort-of sounds like Barney Greenway. Maybe.

A couple of the songs go on for too long. “Victorious March” and “Amon Amarth” do this. It’s really not necessary for these songs to drone on for so long because they’ve already made their case earlier in the song. If they were more compact like other songs then it would have been better. “Abandoned” does get an exemption though. “Abandoned” needs the runtime to let all of its parts soak into the listener. I haven’t talked about it yet, but this album cover is different from most of the Amon Amarth album covers. It’s mostly black, with some fire in the middle. If you know Amon Amarth, then you know fire on the album cover is necessary. But the cover works fine here. It’s simple without being too simple.

Overall, this is a great melodic death metal album and an amazing debut album. Most metal bands only could wish their debut went as well as this. Partly thanks to this album, Amon Amarth has stood the test of time and gives us straightforward melodic death metal albums year after year, whether or not they are good. There would be other melodic death metal bands to follow this debut, The Black Dahlia Murder, Soilwork, The Haunted, just to name a few. But their debuts can't touch this debut.

Highlights: Ride for Vengeance, The Dragons’ Flight Across the Waves, Abandoned

What Amon Amarth was at the beginning of the century is far cry from what they are now. Their interestingly named debut Once Sent from the Golden Hall captures the aura of Vikings' times in an exceptional way which unfortunately they have not been able to imitate again.

Once Sent from the Golden Hall is a brutal and bestial viking black death metal with a breathtaking sound wall destroying everything in its way. Remember the Tunguska event? It was no meteorite or UFO but Amon Amarth's guitars! If proud battles of Vikings ever had a sound, they must have sounded just like this album.

The album begins with the song called Ride for Vengeance which gives the listeners a perfect example of what is about to come in the next songs. A "buzzing" guitar sound so typical for black metal but heavy enough for death metal ehnahnced with catchy melancholic melodies and especially story-like lyrics which are no metaphors but an actuall story. In this case the song follows a mournful nordic dad who holding his dead son who has been slewn by several Christians promises vengeance. And he sets out for the vengeance. How it ends, however the song does not tell.

Basically every song is like Ride for Vengeance. The songs are brutally fast, uncompromising and straight to the point. It is amazing how this album is able to draw such an unique atmosphere of cloudy rainy days with the smell of death all around. Kill or be killed. Only the strongest will survive. The weaklings have no chance. There are just Vikings, their philosophy of life and their pagan gods. If you happen to believe in something else, you will know their blades and wrath! This is basically the main lyrical theme of the whole album. No, it was definitely no fun facing an angry Viking in war.

Amon Amarth describes the hard times of Vikings without any embellishments. Proud men die, proud warriors perish in battles, christian women are raped and christian churches are burnt. You will not find any choruses here, every song has beautifully straightforward lyrics. The Dragons' Flight Across the Waves tells a story of a good father who looking at the horizon goes to war while his family is still sleeping, Abandoned, on the other hand, follows a Nord who had betrayed his pagan gods and became a christian. He is killed and in the moment of his death he realises that his new god is nowhere to be found and he dies alone full of shame.

Actually I cannot imagine this album being released in the present for the first time as our times are known for their political correctness. Yes, sometimes lyrics on this album are, well let's say, not very political correctness-friendly. Victorious March tells an explicit story of five vikings who destroy everything in their path and they... Just read it below.

"All sorrow is left for the women to bare,
the children cries, they live in fear.
No man was spared, no house or farm remains,
no christian woman unraped!"

Yes, this is the early Amon Amarth at the peak of their bestiality.

There is eight songs and every one is a perfectly crafted death metal art. Riffs and melodies create a bestial atmosphere full of tears, hopelessness and blood and guitar solos add to the songs even another level of melancholy. Johan Heggnon's way of singning is variable - growls, black metal shrieking or a drunken roar. Sometimes his voice sounds unseasonably or inexperienced but this is not a complain as it adds to the overall rawness and that´s definitely good. The music is melodic but its melodicity does not betray its rawness and cruelty. It stands like a sword of a Viking proudly stabbed to the chest of his enemy.

The times of Vikings are raw and brutal and so is the music on Once Sent from the Golden Hall. An exceptional album that provides with an exceptional experience.

Amon Amarth are difficult to label with just one term. There's a definite element of death metal in the music, yet simply calling them "death metal" would be terribly misleading as they sound nothing like, say, Morbid Angel, a typical death metal band. They're not 'melodic death metal' either as they're technically, musically and even thematically very different from the early wave of Swedish bands (Inflames, Dark Tranquility etc) and their overflowing of riffy melodies and brighter musical airs. The tone here is a lot more grave.

So instead of spending time thinking of the right label, it seems wiser to break down what their sound is made up of. On their first studio full length here, they use a death metal rhythm section of rapid fire drum kicks, heavy overheads, forceful toms, backed by a prominent bass presence, and for the guitars a heavy use of tremolo picking with the band's trademark system of one dynamic lead tremolo riff conducting the melody on a higher pitch, over the steadier rhythm tremolo riff acting like the bass root-note and chord progression motor.

The vocals, by viking giant Johan Hegg, consisting of growls, loud shouts and screams contribute rhythmic patterns rather than melody although they are not monotonic. They bring the melodic guitar work to life with their foreground presence, injecting an enormous rush of energy necessary to fully animate the surrounding instrumental. So despite being technically similar to death metal the music at its core actually is anything but death metal in what it conveys. It is deeply sorrowful and has a penchant for suspended power chords with reverby leads playing on top, making it powerfully atmospheric and emotionally evocative. In this sense, it is vibrant with life and passion and over-the-surface versus the typical death metal band more focused on producing bleak, atonal and underground music. It should really be emphasized just how much the focus is on sheer, heart-wrenching sorrow; a Swedish specialty, but potently accomplished here in particular.

Every song offers a new aspect of the same album concept. No song repeats the same formula without supplying a fresh idea at the heart of it each time. Some are defiantly epic, others focus more on the profound sadness aspect while some even bring a bit of brightness to the mix ('Friends of the Suncross'). But they're all animated by a relentless vivid passion that never lets down and among the many things that could be said about the album, questioning its intensity is arguably not an option.

Lastly, the first verse riff to the track 'Amon Amarth' towards the end of the record is possibly THE most exceptional melody this reviewer has ever heard. Which sounds absurd, that a single melody could even receive such a distinction, but that's how strongly it might resonate with whoever listens. It sounds primordial and ancient, like it came out of some forgotten moment of human history. It's as invigorating as it is moving on a profound level. It remarkably depicts epic tragedy, with a hint of darkness, and it's almost got that feel of mythical tale/legend to it, like it illustrates musically an old fable from Norse mythology. An absolute hair-raising moment. Most of the time, to achieve such a result bands would resort to gaudy guitar work and overly dramatic and ultimately superfluous ways to produce emotionally intense music; but this instead is just so very plain and unassuming. It is so much the real thing rather than a cheap forced imitation of it.

This debut album was a sign of great things to come, albeit a little raw compared to the later works, and it helped set this band apart forever. How many bands in the field of melodic sounding death metal are instantaneously recognizable the way Amon Amarth are ?

Annable Courts - http://antichristmagazine.com/review-amon-amarth-once-sent-from-the-golden-hall-metal-blade-records/

"Once Sent from the Golden Hall" is the first album from Amon Amarth and easily one of their best. I was never a huge fan of this band, but that was before I listened to this album. The writing on this debut release is stunning and the riffs are beautiful. This is a very raw Amon Amarth and it actually makes you feel like you're in battle with the band. This is pure 90s melodeath and I love almost every minute of it.

What makes Amon Amarth stand out from other bands is definitely the subject matter. This album is filled with tales about war and family. It goes into detail about the emotions of vikings and their mentality besides lyrics that just focus on pure blood and guts. Although, there are many lyrics going over the specifics of war, my favorite parts are when you get to analyze the person doing the killing. For example, the first track, "Ride for Vengeance" is about a man who just lost his son and is riding into battle for revenge. The writing is so damn good that it makes you want to ride with that guy to kill the ones who murdered his son. The drums pick up and the bass imitates riding a horse through the woods at an incredible speed. That pretty much sums up the entire album because the lyrics and instruments are in perfect sync with one another. Say what you will about Amon Amarth, but they can make the listener feel emotions about people that haven't existed for over a thousand years. Another well written track is "The Dragons' Flight Across the Waves". It's about a man who must say goodbye to his family before he leaves for battle. The lyrics don't portray these guys as blind killing machines. A section I enjoyed is,

"He returns to his bed
kissing his sleeping wife goodbye,
and as he leaves his youngest son
a tear rolls from his eye."

It's important because it shows humanity from these people. Amon Amarth had an opportunity to come across as complete savages. Instead, these vikings are classy and focus a lot on emotions. Each track is a story within itself. The lyrics rarely repeat themselves and even the long songs don't feel as they are close to eight minutes. It feels like a story I am eager to know the ending to. It is masterfully done.

The guitar work on this record is really good. There are songs like "Without Fear" and "Amon Amarth" that are down right gorgeous. The solos are okay, but I feel like the rhythm guitar is where it's at. It's constantly building atmosphere and most songs sound completely different than the track before it. That is something Amon Amarth has almost always excelled in, even to this day. Since the production is so raw on this release, I feel like the feelings are amplified ten fold. When a beautiful section comes into play, it means so much more than it would if this had pristine production. The vocals are another thing I loved. Johan Hegg sounds fantastic and he has that distinct 90s melodeath vocal style. Compare that to any other vocalist at the time and he fits right in. As Amon Amarth's career went on he becomes far too polished. Here though? Well, I am convinced he's a fucking viking ready to face off in front of Mount Doom.

This album does have a few down sides. On "Friends of the Suncross" there are a couple times where the drums have very odd timing. You'll be grooving with the song and the drums kind of do their own thing and it takes you out of it. Also, the bass takes a huge back seat to the rest of the music. I understand that there are already two guitarists here, but I think the songs could have used that added bass. There aren't too many negatives, but this album can't be perfect.

Overall, this is a fantastic 90s melodeath release. It has almost everything you want out of a band that is regarded as "viking metal". The lyrics give a lot of respect to these men without coming across as too edgy. The music fits right with the lyrics like a puzzle piece. Each section goes hand in hand with the lyrics and it's done super well. The guitar work and vocals are all top notch. You actually believe these guys are vikings. That sense in Amon Amarth has been lost over time, but this release is something special.

Recs: "Amon Amarth", "Abandoned", "Victorious March", "The Dragons' Flight Across the Waves", and "Ride for Vengeance"

Although death metal is usually not a particularly popular genre among those who begin to approach metal, there is a solution to this. And it's called melodic death metal. Much less heavy than the subgenre itself, it can serve as a swing to switch from lighter metal to extreme metal. If done well, it combines the aggressiveness of death metal with the emotionality of power metal and is energetic and exciting. If done wrong, that is, too soft, it becomes pathetic and boring.

Fortunately, Amon Amarth manage to do their job well, and it is no coincidence that they are one of the first, most influential and most popular melodeath groups around. But even before being famous, they produced good music, as can be seen from their first album, Once sent from the golden hall, dating back to 1998.

As it can be understood by the title, one of the themes the band loves and exploits the most are Vikings, and this is also reflected in the music itself. There is not a moment of peace: songs are generally aggressive and fast, and quickly alternate heavy and melodic parts (the latter in particular are very evocative), unified by almost perfect growls. However, there are a few moments where the change in time and melody are akward and inconsistent (for instance, Abandoned), and sometimes the guitars and drums are not perfectly synchronized. Luckily, the majestic and expressive parts are much more. Also, Johan Hegg's roar is almost always perfectly fierce, but his attempts to use a slightly cleaner voice don't get the same good result. Some songs hold a bit of melancholy or darkness as well, such as Without fear or Once sent from the golden hall, while others (Victorious march is the best example) are somehow catchy. The most important thing is that, most of the time, listening to this album really feels like being on a ship in the middle of a storm, looking for lands to conquer. The battle noises that appear in the middle of Amon Amarth really show this, as they are really suggestive.

This record is slightly heavier than the others of Amon Amarth and has more flaws, but it is still more than pleasant listening to listen to and a milestone of its genre. Consequently, it must be heard at least once in a lifetime.

Best tracks: Amon Amarth, Friends of the suncross, Without fear

For all the ubiquity of their latter-day output, Amon Amarth arrived on the European metal scene rather rudely, not so much knocking politely on the door of the Golden Hall, but applying a large boot to it (surely Johan Hegg must be at least a size 14) and snapping it off its hinges. That abruptness extends beyond the introduction to the already fully-formed epic style, as well as the greater roughness of this album compared to other bands of their ilk. There is a definite argument for putting early Amon Amarth squarely in with the Gothenburg melodic death metal scene (although they actually hail from Stockholm), since the insistent melodies and frequent likeness to At the Gates' early work aligns them more strongly with that city than their hometown of putrid old school death. Then again, the Norse themes emerged with their first releases, keeping them slightly distant from those bands and putting them more in the camp of Enslaved or Unleashed, both of whom had used Viking imagery and stories along with the more epic bent of the former band.

As such, this isn't the polished Amon Amarth of Twilight of the Thunder God, nor even the hooky confident invaders that brought Versus the World to our shores. Johan Hegg, for starters, had not developed his deep, clear roar by this point, screaming in a more strained and visceral tone that occasionally sounds like pure death metal, though fits comfortably with the early Gothenburg bands. On 'Victorious March', I'm even reminded of Jonas Renkse's vocals on Katatonia's Dance of December Souls, which are just about the height of unrefined nastiness. The guitarists, too, don't finesse the songs as they would later do, attacking savagely and at high pace on all but the two epics, utilizing a similar drilling tremolo style to At the Gates on With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness, which even breaks into a black metal riff at 1:18 in 'Abandoned', possibly the most extreme song here. Those tremolos could lead to a less intense style, especially when they roll rather than drill, but Martin Lopez drums in a very active (occasionally schizophrenic) style, well summed-up in Pfuntner's review, where he says that "Lopez drives the tempo like a man in fear for his life". His battery on the opening songs is certainly anything but relaxed, though it's on 'Friends of the Suncross' when things start to get strange: the riff at 0:58 gets a totally random time signature and full-on death metal bludgeon thrown onto it, as though Lopez had suddenly had a premonition that he would later join Opeth but had taken the "progressive death metal" tag a little too close to heart. It isn't the only song where he goes nuts either, branding the closing title track with the same sort of stamp.

These more extreme and less refined elements lends Once Sent from the Golden Hall a special kind of danger that most other Amon Amarth albums don't possess, be that because of the production, songwriting, or more controlled style of the musicians. The way that the sharp guitars, pounding drums, and searing screams of the opening 'Ride for Vengeance' cut through the listener is pretty serious and has nothing to do with catchiness at all, the lasting effect being much greater than any hook, since novices are likely to have shat on the sofa and seasoned headbangers to have pulled a muscle. There are also the presence of two particularly long songs, which the band have never returned to in their career (rarely, if ever, topping 7 minutes on any subsequent album), both of which opt for mid-paced vistas of victory and immortality. 'Victorious March' drops little of the clatter and roar of the other numbers, though has that seminal Amon Amarth "foot-stomping" riff at its core, while 'Amon Amarth' gets a different treatment. This one reminds me especially of Enslaved, Lopez rolling around on his toms to build a stormy atmosphere from the opening, while the drawn-out tremolos have just a hint of frost and darkness to them, which Hegg highlights further with a high snarl and generally more black metal vocals. 'Amon Amarth' does have quite a bit of repetition (it's the only song that is definitely too long), though its widescreen quality is probably its greatest asset, sounding like a view over a battle-torn valley.

As for the remaining songs, 'Abandoned' is the odd one out, with those divergent riffing and drumming styles, while the first and last might be your best bet for pure potency. Some of the leads on these songs work very well too, not merely soloing aimlessly or skilfully, but finding the right tone and mood for the song, something that has always impressed me about Amon Amarth's guitarists. The best of the lot is surely the alternately skittering and soaring lead from 'The Dragons' Flight Across the Waves'. All of this means that Once Sent from the Golden Hall is a rather more complex album than any of the band's more recent efforts, due in part to the richer mixture of influences and styles, while there are moments that would now seem unusual in the context of With Oden on Our Side. I'm not really sure that this is better than an album like that, because there are a fair few differences, though for those that would prefer brutality to hooks and desperation to finesse this is the best choice.

While it is impressive how cohesive the band's approach was by the time of it's release, Amon Amarth's debut, Once Sent from the Golden Hall can't hope to match it's direct successor in terms of sheer destructive merits. What honestly can, though? It isn't that any of this material is bad, but the performance is a little more shaky, almost as if this approach wasn't intrinsic to the band yet. The burly rumble of "The Dragons' Flight Across the Waves" serves as a passable stylistic precursor to stomping behemoths like "Masters of War", but Hegg's diffident inflection drags things back down to earth prematurely. His gravely shouts sound like he is unnaturally stretching his voice to fit the music, which is ironic considering how caustic his modern delivery has become.

Still, even these issues can't keep mid-paced cookers like "Without Fear" from busting through the melodic space-time continuum when the band feels like it. Listen to that opening riff, it rips like no other and reminds me of the gargantuan-sounding title track from Versus the World. The song rides out on a variant of the same movement, making this the best song here by far. The virulent intro of "Friends of the Suncross" open up to more abuse of the minor key that Amon Amarth is so fond of, earning it my melodic stamp of approval all the same. It doesn't even end there though, as the song erupts into a stomping groove that has potent neck-jerking potential and serves as a decent counterpoint to the blistering opening.

The band plays with a near-reckless abandon that is unique to Once Sent from the Golden Hall. "Ride for Vengeance" is a good example of this, coming off as a more spastic and animated "A Fury Divine". It lacks the sophistication of later albums, but is endearing all the same. The sludgy tremolo passages that are a modern Amon Amarth trademark are present here in limited quantity. You can almost hear as the band comes close to the magic formula achieved on later albums, only to kneecap themselves right before the precipice is reached. It infuses the listener with optimism but is at the same time incredibly frustrating.

It is definitely far from perfect, as both "Victorious March" and "Amon Amarth" plod on for far too long. They would be much more searing an memorable if they were more compact like the other songs, but even the best tracks here would be space-fillers on The Avenger. The lower production values damage the potential impact of Lopez's drums, but this is all forgivable since this is a debut. Actually, Lopez may be the main reason Once Sent from the Golden Hall is so much faster than it's younger siblings. He has a decent, unique style on the kit that would have forced the band into a much different sonic landscape had he stayed with them. The pieces are all here, but they had yet to fully cement themselves. Interesting from a historical standpoint, but get The Avenger instead.

This is another one I did for the Crypt a while back that fancied giving the shiny new treatment. As you may have noticed (if you read my reviews) I'm going along the majority of my collection from A - Z in a personal challenge to see if I can do it all before the new year.

So, onto the actual review. This was Swedish death metal superstars Amon Amarth's debut release. Back then their sound still had quite a bit in common with the regional Stockholm death metal style, although they did employ good use of melody, pushed a little further than say Dismember for instance, veering more towards Unanimated levels of melody (note I'm not comparing as similar sound, more similar ideals). It was in the melody where Amon Amarth seperated themselves from their peers, and coupled with the lyrics helped establish the whole viking thing that everyone now of course knows them for.

I really like Once Sent From the Golden Hall and feel it features some of Amon Amarth's very best material. The stupendous "The Dragons' Flight Across the Waves" kicks some serious back-side, with some brilliant riffs and quality melodic themes. "Victorious March" embodies exactly what the song title promises, marching along with excellent guitar work. I had the pleasure of seeing this song live and I remember head-banging myself stupid. That fucking main riff that kicks in after the intro, man; if ever there were a riff to simultaneously bang your head and stamp your foot to this is it. Rounding out my personal picks from the album would be "Friends of the Suncross" which simply smokes, some great riffs and themes here.

Before the boys from Gothenburg came around and sadly bastardized the whole "melodic death metal" thing this was how it was done, and it always will be. Amon Amarth are a quality, reliable band and certainly one of my favorite death metal bands, especially as far as modern death metal goes. Once Sent From the Golden Hall is packed full of great music and is an essential part of any death metal collection, and for that matter any serious metal collection.

The first Amon Amarth song I ever heard was "An Ancient Sign of Coming Storm," and from then on I was hooked. That being said, I've owned their debut album for a long time, but have never seriously listened to it. After doing so, and listening to several other of their albums, I can see a progression in their music from good to great.

Musically, Amon Amarth plays a fast, somewhat thrash oriented death metal, yet they skillfully incorporate melody and harmony into their music. It has an epic feel, has if by putting your headphones on, you're instantly transported into a Norse saga.

The guitars are down tuned, and every riff is a thing of beauty. The opening track, title track, and "Abandoned," have a certain thrash sound to the guitar playing, albeit somewhat heavier, slower, and more melodic sounding. Amon Amarth expertly uses their guitars to create wonderful and aesthetically pleasing harmonies. "Without Fear," the solo on the opening track and the riff on "Victorious March" are prime examples of this. The drums essentially only serve to provide a backbone to the music, and keep the beat going steadily. I feel that the band could have utilized their drummer more effectively but I am highly satisfied with the end result.

Lyrically, every one of Amon Amarth's songs is a Norse epic saga. The opening track describes a father's anger and sorrow over the loss of his son. "Abandoned," tells the tale of a dying warrior who feels abandoned by the traditional native Gods for accepting a new, foreign one, and the beautifully crafted "Friends of the Suncross," tells a tale about five warriors triumphantly riding into battle together. Hegg and his band mates obviously read the tales from their country's history, and expertly merged them into their music to give it a distinctly "Norse" feel to it.

Johann Hegg's vocals are one of my favorite, and least favorite things about the album. For the most part, his vocals are very skillfully done throughout the entire album; however he has his low points. The style that Hegg uses on the debut is different from the more polished, deeper, and ultimately better sound he would use on later releases. Yet on the debut, his voice has a pleasant booming quality to it. Imagine that you're in Scandinavia in the Viking Age, and you're being enthralled by tales of the Norse gods and legends by an expert storyteller that makes you sit on the edge of your seat. That storyteller is Johann Hegg, who masterfully uses his voice to achieve this effect.

However, Hegg does have some flaws. At certain points on "The Dragons Flight Across the Waves," and "Without Fear," he does this awkward sounding thing where he attempts to combine his growls with a combination of a shout and a battle cry that doesn't come out very well. The low points of Hegg's vocals aren't helped by the albums poor production, which produces a fuzzy sound all the way through, and drags the quality of the album down and prevents it from realizing its full potential, and renders the bass pretty much inaudible, at least to my ears.

Overall however, the album is superb and the good points make up for the poor production quality. It certainly is a triumphant start to the bands career.

So this is the first full length album from the metal giants Amon Amarth, and it certainly does not fail to meet expectations. While this is a far cry from the intensely melodic death metal that comes from their more recent albums, this is still fairly melodic. It is still clearly death metal, however, as made apparent by the tremolo picked guitar riffs and the quick double bass pedals in the background. Their style becomes more defined later on in their career, but this only contains a hint of that intense Viking atmosphere.

As I usually do, I will divide the album’s songs into two categories based on the length of the song. The long songs on this album are merely Victorious March, Abandoned, and Amon Amarth, while the rest of the songs on the album make up the slightly shorter section. So, without further procrastination on my part, let’s begin.

The longer songs on this album are certainly some of the strongest, as Amon Amarth and Victorious March have become live staples for the band at their live shows. Both Victorious March and Abandoned are similar in the way they are written; the song is mostly a repetition of different riffs in a pattern that is repeated. In a way, the entire song can be viewed as a refrain in a very mainstream styled analysis. That’s not to say it’s boring; Victorious March features an extensive solo section and Abandoned blows the top off of your head with a sick breakdown at the end. Yeah I called it a breakdown. Deal with it scene haters.

Amon Amarth is an entirely different entity though. It is much the same melody repeated throughout the song, and it weighs heavily in influence from doom and stoner metal. The band adds flavor like tremolo picking that basic melody and experimenting with the tempo with the drumming. This song also features the best(also the most nerdy) lyrics on the entire album. It is a challenge of modern physiology to not head bang to this song in all of its epic glory nonetheless.
The rest of the album contains songs that are shorter in length, averaging somewhere around 4 and half minutes (that is a pure guess). This includes Ride for Vengeance, The Dragon’s Flight Across the Waves, Without Fear, Friends of the Suncross, and the title track. These songs never dwell too long on one riff or another, but are always based around a main riff. The length suits these songs well, as you get enough of everything but it does not feel drawn out.

All of these songs feature guitar solos, all of which are as epic as a lobster knife fight. The best are on The Dragon’s Flight Across the Waves and Without Fear. These are also the best of the short songs, with Johan Hegg dominating on vocals and lyrics, while the guitars remain super fast and the drums provide a nice backdrop of pounding ferocity. Ride for Vengeance and Friends of the Suncross are nice blends of thrash and melodic death metal, and it is difficult not to headbang to. The vocals falter at times here as well the drums, but the guitar riffing is solid here and throughout the album. A word on Ride for Vengeance, now. The song opens the album with a massive chord of Viking brutality that imbeds itself upon your pitiful eardrums. This album happened to be the first CD I played on my new stereo, and, as you can imagine, I had no idea of the volume controls. As a result this chord blasted out at maximum volume and almost blew the speakers, but IT WAS EPIC.

The final track of the album, which bears the same name, is a bit of a mystery to me. I have difficulty understanding it all as everything blends together in a chaos that is rather unpleasant to me. The outro is very unorthodox but it doesn’t work for me. Even the church bells, which usually are a great addition to a song, feel out of place here. The lyrics are odd, Hegg’s vocals strike a poor chord, and the drums feel too random, unlike the precise offbeat drumming in Friends of the Suncross. It is a very poor way to end the album, but I does not ruin it such that the first 7 songs are absolutely amazing.

I also had the pleasure of purchasing the rerelease of the album, which included a live version of the album played in its entirety, as well as information from the band about the recording and writing of the album. It sounds amazing live and Hegg works the crowd while maintaining his roar very well, and the live distortion in the guitars doesn’t take that much away. The solos are even more epic live. The huge (by comparison to other CD booklets) booklet contains a lot of cool comments from the band as well as a lot of pictures from the band at the time. I don’t think I would have enjoyed this album as much without these added bonuses.

In short I would highly recommend to this album, as it contains all the elements of melodic death metal that has made Amon Amarth as famous as they are today. All the instrumentals are there in perfect harmony with some minor blunders along the way. Johan Hegg is a beast as he tells tales of Vikings killing and pillaging. This is a must for new fans to the band like me, although almost anything by them is good (I hate Fate of the Norns). Best songs: The Dragon’s Flight Across the Waves, Without Fear, Victorious March, and Friends of the Suncross. But stay away from the title track, as epic as it sounds.

Amon Amarth, in all their modern Norse power and might, began their career with the EP proper "Sorrow throughout the Nine Worlds." This EP would then lead to a full-length debut, "Once Sent from the Golden Hall." Due perhaps to the raw sound quality of this album (more so than "The Avenger" and "The Crusher,") this album seems to be left behind in favor of more recent outings. While the band's outputs in the last five years or so have yielded some fine listens in their unique niche of heavy metal, its their early career that I believe exhibits the best experience.

On "Once Sent from the Golden Hall," one might be surprised. I was originally curious over this album, desperately wanting to hear it but deep inside wondering if this album might be underdeveloped. I was completely wrong, and in some ways it contains just as much, if not more energy and power than recent efforts. The album also plays a sense of epic strength in its songs, though this comes from the production. Johan Hegg's beserker vocals sound like they emit from a distant peak, as he commands his Norse warriors to battle. This creates a unique effect on songs like "The Dragon's Flight Across the Waves," where at the end Hegg shouts "Attack!" repeatedly, almost as if he is directing his troops to strike their foes. This quality is unique to this album, as it creates atmosphere without the need for the keyboard indulgence of some bands.

Aside from that, the riff attack is killer as usual. Powerful rhythms thunder along like "Ride for Vengeance" and "Victorious March." The unfortunate aspect of all this is that this album does become a tad repetitive. Note that three of these eight songs have a length over five minutes. Most of these do not supply enough ideas equal to their time lengths, though honestly I've heard much worse. Despite that, these three songs are still rather strong in nature, just not anything that noteworthy over more concise and more memorable numbers like "Ride for Vengeance," "Without Fear," and the title track. "Ride for Vengeance" and "Without Fear" are the best of these, the former with its relentless bludgeoning attack and the latter for its melodies.

Despite the repetitive factor that sometimes weaves it way in here (though not nearly to extent of some Gothenburg inspired bands) I see "Once Sent from the Golden Hall" as a milestone in melodic death metal. That's a rather big statement to make, I know, but I can't think of any other band who can deliver such power (notice I use that alot referring to this band) in this genre. Not only that, but Amon Amarth are also a very memorable band and one that several can cling to. Johan Hegg is doing great things with his voice, particularly his ability to be both relentless, but without succumbing to those dumb-assed, unintelligible grunts that are so common these days. Needless to say, Amon Amarth have carved a unique sector of metal for themselves, one I doubt anyone can wrestle away from them.

All things considered, some see "Once Sent from the Golden Hall" as a flawed beginning for Amon Amarth. I personally see it in a different light, one that paved the way for this band's slowly evolving and current, modern day sound. Either way, those diehard legions of Amon Amarth fans definitely need to check on this one while casual listeners might learn a thing or two from this release.

The most consistent criticism I’ve seen of Sweden’s Amon Amarth is that they have consistently released the same album for the last ten years. No piece of evidence does more to disprove this theory than their 1998 debut full length “Once Sent From the Golden Hall”. The sheer amount of growth in song writing from “Once Sent” to their most recent “With Oden on Our Side” proves that the Amon Amarth have been growing and improving over the last decade, not stagnating.

This of course is not to put down their debut. All of the elements that would later be hallmarks of Amon Amarth’s Viking themed melodic death metal are here albeit in a much less polished fashion. All the epic melodic arrangements and slower military marches are here, but feel far more desperate and frantic. A great deal of this frenetic passion comes from Martin Lopez. Unlike the smooth jazzy style he would later employ during his long stint with Opeth, Lopez drives the tempo like a man in fear for his life. This adrenaline charged performance may result in the occasional slip in tempo, but in no way is a detriment to the album.

Of course this is a heavy metal record so the drums are really only a support to the all mighty guitars. Here the guitars are indeed mighty. The production allows for a thunderous guitar sound, perfectly suiting for the charging melodies and driving rhythms that Amon Amarth are known for. “Victorious March” in particular features some of the greatest riffs the band has ever played such as the triumphant opening melody, or the brutal verse riff. The heavy presence of solos on this record also stands out from later Amon Amarth albums. These solos are perfect examples of how to play emotionally charged lead parts without taking away from the mood of the song, a trick many modern death metal bands could use some education in. It’s a shame the production has driven the lead work so low in the mix.

Johan Hegg is nowhere near as brutal as he later became, but what he lacks in skull crushing he makes up for in spades with passion. The man bellows, screams and shouts like the Vikings he sings about with a raw determination that is truly inspiring. His enunciation however is damaged as a result, making it difficult to make out exactly which adventure he is talking about, although it’s safe to assume that some Christians are going to die by the time the album’s over.

This is not Amon Amarth’s best album. At this stage their ability to string together riffs was still under development and some songs, in particular “Abandoned”, suffer for it. The band’s namesake song also drags on a bit, but every time I hear that battle sequence my heart flutters a little so I can’t with any honestly knock them that hard for it. If you’ve never heard Amon Amarth before this probably isn’t the best place to start, but if you know you like them than there should be nothing stopping you to pick this one up.

Once Sent From The Golden Hall is Amon Amarth's debut album, and many people consider it this band's best work, therefore I was very excited when I bought this CD, expecting great things from it.

As soon as the music started, with the incredibly epic and fast Ride for Vengeance, I found myself headbanging next to the stereo. Besides the production (which is far from perfect, although it's not bad either), this very fast track displays many of the things you'll hear on this album: incredible speed, memorable riffs, a really AWESOME drumming and, last but definitely not least, an excellent vocal performance by Johan Hegg. All throughout the album, you'll hear the (almost) never-ending double pedal and the drums backing the epic riffs and melodies coming from the guitars, while Hegg growls and screams very well about revenge against Christians, viking raids, battles and so on. These amazing vocals can especially be noticed in The Dragons' Flight Across The Waves' last section (ROW LIKE THE WIND TO ATTACK!), or during the whole Without Fear (a real masterpiece), where Hegg mixes very good screaming and growling to some almost clean vocals. All of this while epic and fast solos or heavily distorted riffs, aided by the insane drumming, give the songs a brutal speed that can rarely be found in melodic death metal (and even the same band's latest releases haven't been as fast as this one).

While the lyrics are nothing too complex (but man, they're fucking epic!), the way Hegg sings them is definitely one of the best things you can hear on this album. His very particular, "viking" growling is something unique and unheard in death metal, is something that really helps giving this album the amazing epic feel it's got. The songs are all very fast, and some are even quite similar between them, but you'll never get bored of this album, for its insanely quick pace doesn't give you the time to stop headbanging and get bored! The real exception here is Amon Amarth, which is the slowest track on the album. Its lyrics (excellently sang, as always) speak about the band itself, and they mostly do it with a slow, melodic rhythm. You'll be mesmerized by this song's main riff (reason for which it has also become the official Amon Amarth intro in live concerts), and although this song is the longest and the slowest one on the CD, you won't get bored of it. The effects in the central part of the track (with the sounds of men fighting) also give this song a distinct "viking" feel.

The last song on the CD is the title-track Once Sent From The Golden Hall, which returns to the very quick rhythms of the other songs. As a conclusion, I would say that this album is definitely a very good one, which will make your head bang from the first to the last track, and which will have you beg for more after it's ended. And so, I can confirm: this is one of the best Amon Amarth albums, if not the best overall, due to its extremely fast, epic rhythm, thing on which I have focused very much in this review (for it is the most noticeable thing on the whole CD) and also for Johan Hegg's excellent vocal performance. A must for any death metal (and especially melodic death metal) fan, this album is, in my opinion, very influential for the genre and will probably be considered as a "starting point" in the future. So, who said Vikings can't play death metal?

The only word to describe this album is EPIC. This is what we have since come to expect from Vikings Amon Amarth, though this stunning debut is still hailed by many (including me) as their best.

Production wise, it sounds exactly how it should - magnificent melodies on the guitars, thundering drums and of course the ripping, triumphant, screaming vocals. Most of the music on the album is based around the same sort of rhythm, to which I can easily imagine Nordic longboats battling across dark stormy seas. It is therefore the less frequent grooving war-march sections, the odd melancholy solo and the well-placed samples (such as tolling bells and swordfights) that really add spice to the album, making it nothing less than a wild ride!

Something of the pounding repetitive sections such as a few of the middle tracks really get your head banging, and some of the faster earlier tracks are brilliant - all without being over the top. I would usually expect from Viking metal some sort of pomp, but it is not so with this album - there is something very honest and basic about it that I really appreciate. I can also envisage this album never growing old in the metal world - I believe that there will always be a place for this album in the metal (golden) hall of fame. It has a certain ageless quality about it, something that can be accepted by the majority of Metallers, something which can be played between bands at a gig and no one will complain about.

I recommend this album to anyone that is a fan of melodic music, there is something that is easily appreciative about the brilliant writing in these eight epic songs. The best Amon Amarth album in my opinion, and definitely the best starting point for newbies.

Amon Amarth's Once Sent From the Golden Hall, is a solid debut. It is rooted firmly in the Gothenburg school, with melodic leads, growled vocals, and a very active double bass. A few things set them apart from the horde of bands in that style though.

One would be the lyrics. Amon Amarth is one of the few bands to apply viking lyrics to this style of music. It goes over well, as the lyrics combine with the energetic music to evoke an idealized image of viking warfare. The vocals themselves are a mix between death growls and more blackish rasps.

Highlights include: The Dragons' Flight Across The Waves, which contains a battle cry near the end that will make even the most ardent pacifist want to pillage a few French villages; Victorious March, a controlled, militaristic anthem; and Friends Of The Suncross, the frenzied apex of the album.

After Friends Of The Suncross, the album tends to drop off. The first five songs are the most memorable, although the interesting Amon Amarth, with its battle ambience, will recapture attention. The problem, and the only major flaw of the album, is that each song follows more or less the same pattern, and it starts wearing thin after a while. Many melodic death bands have this problem.

But, in the end, this is an enjoyable release that is worth the money and the time. Your CD player will be kept busy for a while, and while you won't gain any new perspectives on life, you will have a hella good time.

This is the Amon Amarth album out their for the purists. Its their most raw work of all their albums. Once Sent From The Golden Hall is mostly the sound of their demo/ep days but more matured, talented, and structured. If your looking for a release by Amon Amarth in the likes of The Crusher and Versus The World, this release is definatly not for you. Some consider this to be their best work, I considerate it to be on par with The Crusher, but hard to compare it to that album because they both have sounds different from eachother.

A noticable differance on this album as compared to newer Amon Amarth releases, is that Yohan sings with a much deaper voice. On The Crusher and Versus The World Mr. Hegg sings in a more coherant voice that sounds more gargled or that is coming from the back of his throat. On Once Sent From The Golden hall Yohan singing seems to origonate from deep within his throat or stomach. Its a very deep singing style filled with volume. You'll notice upon listening to this album that he doesn't limit himself to this style. At times where the music requires a more screaming style vocal, Yohan will sing more from the back of his throat with a sound that is not as deep. It sounds more like he is grasping for air and letting the emotion of the song take him over. As if the lyrics were what was happening to him at this moment and he was singing them to you, showing his heart to you. These moments are few and far between but when they happen its quite amazing and will make for a memorable moment for the listening. I know they give me goosebumps. The majority of the vocals are a more stabble singing style like I desribed before, very deep vocals that have a little rhyrhym to them. They serve very well to deliver the interesting, intense, and enjoyable lyrical themes. The singing can get very emotion at times, usually at the climax of the songs, somewhere in the middle or end. The most noticable vocal work on this album Is done on Ride For Vengeance and Without Fear, perhaps the two most memorable songs on the album. Ride For Vengence starts off fast and strong with the vocals, they deliver alot of intensity and rage. Without Fear has some moments of pure energy and passion when Yohan screams portraying a man dying. Very passionate and moving, he sings as though he is becoming the person in the song, especially in without fear. Vocal work is amazing, bottom line.

The guitar work is equally amazing, with tons of fast complex riffs and great solo's. The guitars work in an unusual way, the songs on Once Sent From The Golden Hall are not very centralized, so many guitar riffs are not repeated. This makes the songs interesting for that the guitars are ever changing throughout them, riffs are hardly repeated. There will be an attention grabing opening riff in a song, some more riffs throughout it that stand out while there is no singing, and a solo to top it off, all well done. The riffs sometimes take on an apocalyptic feel when they are slow, especially the opening riff of Amon Amarth (track 7). The general guitar work and riffs are heavy and fast. They drums play well with the guitars so the riffs have some added volume. Like I said the guitars don't carry the songs, they change alot and don't dictate how a song will sound. Most songs on here are have two main focuses, guitars and riffs, and the vocals. Each do something very interesting and can be apprieciated at the same time, they don't take a backseat to eachother. The range of the guitars is also to be noted, they can be choppy, heavy, and brutal, and also rhythmic and melodic, or a combination of these adjectives. Most of the time they are heavy or melodic, but they always sound great.

These songs have some very memorable moments, like the Ending of The Dragons' Flight Across The Waves has an intense and angry vocal chorus. Ride For Vengence will have a very fast a brutal intro that you will never forget and want more of. The middle to end of Amon Amarth becomes very passionate and emotional, the big draw of this song. Without fear has few great and memorable lines about halfway through the song. I would say each song on this album has something you will remember and make you want to listen to it time and time again. More specifically Ride For Vegeance and Without fear will stick in your heads as songs that you will come to this album for. The album starts out strong and goes out fighting (literally). This is for any straight foward death metal fan that likes a more heavy style of death metal. Its not brutal like some bands, but in its own way shows its brutality, mostly through lyrical themes. This album is flawless and timeless.

Once Sent From The Golden Hall is of course Amon Amarth’s first full-length, and what a debut it was. Combining aggressive Melodic Death Metal, a raw approach to the production, and Viking lyrical themes, Once Sent From The Golden Hall is a unique offering that is solid from beginning to end.

Essentially, Amon Amarth’s main driving force in their songs is the melodies. Taking influence from Swedish Melodic Death bands as well as some Black Metal bands, the melodic guitar sections are truly memorable. The guitar sound is very raw, almost sounding like a thick rusty chainsaw, and this gives a superb contrast to what the guitars are actually playing. Of course there is usually some heavy riffing giving some back ground oomph, but the melodic parts are definitely in the forefront. Meanwhile the rhythm section pounds away with excellent precision, with the bass having a similar raw sound and with the drummer varying the patterns on a consistent basis. A lot of the songs are structured intelligently, without ever repeating any particular section too often and the longer songs such as “Victorious March” are almost epic and progressive in nature. The vocals meanwhile are very gruff, being somewhere in between the deep Death Metal growls and the more high-pitched Black Metal style… the tones are varied often and they fit the harsh sound of the music very well. If you care to read along to the Viking and Norse lyrics the songs will take on a more epic approach as well. Why is that? Most of them tell a story of battle, revenge, or betrayal; all that good stuff but in the aforementioned Viking setting. Likewise, you’ll hear the feel of the music change in conjunction with the mood of the lyrics, thus I highly recommend you read along to the lyrics when listening to this CD because it really enhances the experience and you get the full effect from these masterfully written songs. The style and tempos of the songs are also varied nicely, with some being more brutal, “Ride For Vengeance”; some being more epic, “Victorious March”; and some being more mid-paced and atmospheric, “Abandoned”.

This CD is close to perfect, only some sections in a couple songs are weaker than the rest but this is still an excellent release that fans of this style should check out. Some of the melodies on here have been stuck in my head for a long time and I would go as far to say that this is one of the best combinations of brutality and melody… and the fact that it is all done in a Viking setting only helps add to that.

Song Highlights: Ride For Vengeance, Without Fear, Victorious March, Friends Of The Suncross, Once Sent From The Golden Hall.