Berserker (Album)
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| Studio album by Amon Amarth | ||||
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Publication |
3rd May 2019 |
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| Label (s) | Metal Blade Records | |||
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Title (number) |
12 |
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running time |
57 min 3 s |
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Jay Ruston |
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Studio (s) |
Secret Sphere Studios, Los Angeles |
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Berserker is the eleventh studio album by the Swedish melodic death metal band Amon Amarth . It was released on May 3, 2019 by Metal Blade Records and reached number one on the German and Swiss album charts.
Emergence
Songwriting
In September 2016, Jocke Wallgren replaced the previous drummer Frederik Andersson. The band began work on their new album in August 2017. After the concept album Jomsviking , the band returned to their previous way of working and wrote the music first before singer Johan Hegg wrote the lyrics. His wife would have helped him with at least two titles and suggested ideas. From a friend, Hegg got the idea to write a song about the Battle of Stamford Bridge that Hegg did not know before. Musically, the band wanted to experiment more with their new album. Singer Johan Hegg worked more with clear vocals.
For their new album, the band wanted to work with a new producer. For this, the band launched a message that the band was looking for a producer, so that the candidates came to the band. The recordings took place in four different studios. For the pre-production the band worked twice with Peter Tägegren and then had the actual producer Jay Ruston flown to Stockholm . All twelve songs were recorded as demos before the actual studio appointment .
Recordings
The final recordings took place in the Secret Sphere Studios in Los Angeles and lasted five weeks. According to Jay Ruston, the band wanted to make a "classic metal album" because both he and the musicians love bands like Iron Maiden . Ruston borrowed some old amplifiers for the recordings and recorded the album on a mixer from 1971. During the recordings, the band placed more emphasis on guitar harmonies, which also made the bass more prominent. Guitarist Johan Söderberg recorded all piano parts himself. The forge noises in the song Mjölnir, Hammer Of Thor were made in the studio. The musicians looked for metallic objects and hit them.
For the recordings of Berserker a new way of working was used for the band. Instead of recording the drums first, then the string instruments and finally the vocals, as usual , each song was recorded individually. According to Johan Hegg, subsequent corrections could be made without much effort. This typical way of working for Jay Ruston was also why the band wanted to work with him.
publication
The German magazine Metal Hammer included a 7 "single with the songs Raven's Flight and Crack the Sky for its subscribers in the May 2019 issue . 666 copies of this edition were pressed on white vinyl. For the songs Raven's Flight and Crack the Sky Music videos were shot over two days in Los Angeles . For both videos, the band was looking for ten and 50 metal fans, respectively, although the extras had to consent on the second day of shooting to be sprayed with fake blood during the shooting .
The album cover shows similarities with those of the albums also titled Berserker by the bands Asenblut from 2016 and Beast in Black from 2017. Moritz Grütz from the German magazine Metal1.info described the motif as kitsch and not very individual.
background
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Berserker's songs , according to singer Johann Hegg, deal with mythological themes, while others are based on historical facts. In addition, there are songs that metaphorically come across as Viking stories, but actually deal with deeper subjects.
Fafner's Gold tells the story of the dwarf Reginn and the dragon Fafnir from Norse mythology. According to Johann Hegg, the song deals with human greed and what it does to people. The song Crack the Sky refers to Thor but also has allusions to baseball player Trevor Bauer of the Cleveland Indians . Bauer is a fan of the band and the song The Pursuit of Vikings is played in the stadium of the Indians when Bauer goes to the throwing hill. Skoll and Hati deals with the wolves Skalli and Hati who try to eat the sun and moon . If they do, everything that, according to Hegg, would be an “exciting concept” will die.
A historical theme is the foundation of The Berserker at Stamford Bridge , which covers the Battle of Stamford Bridge from 1066. English troops took the Viking army by surprise, as they retreated across Stamford Bridge. A Viking, the Berserker, stayed on the bridge and killed several more English soldiers before falling himself. Hegg wrote the text from three perspectives: that of the English, that of the Vikings and that of the berserker. The song has no chorus . The song Raven's Flight was inspired by the TV series Vikings , while Shield Wall is based on the one hand on the battle tactics of the Viking shield wall , but on the other hand is about people sticking together in need.
In Valkyria is about the Valkyries , the fallen in Norse mythology Vikings to Valhalla to bring. According to Johann Hegg, the song is also about the challenges of touring life and homesickness . Ironside tells the story of Bjǫrn járnsíða - according to legend, a son of the Viking king Ragnar Lodbrok - and his attempt to deal with the pressures and expectations of his father's legacy. The song Into the Dark is ostensibly about Loki , but addresses the subject of depression . Wings of Eagles deals with the story of Leif Eriksson and his discovery of America . According to Hegg, while it's a story of failure, it would also be about bravery and success. Johann Hegg had already had the idea for this text in the back of his mind for ten or 15 years, but had not yet found the right song for it. When Once Again We Can Set Our Sails is, according to Hegg, a metaphor for going on tour with his band again .
reception
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Reviews
Berserker was named album of the month by German magazine Metal Hammer. According to Sebastian Kessler, the quintet “succeeded in captivating the audience immediately without looking at ostensible hit singles”. The album "would initially roar past you like a ' Game of Thrones ' battle frenzy and overwhelmingly, while individual songs only gradually emerge - only to shine even brighter". Kessler awarded six out of seven points. Alexandra Michels from the German magazine Rock Hard described Berserker as a “hit grenade”, in which the Swedes “are good for a few surprises if you listen carefully”. Michels awarded 8.5 out of ten points. Moritz Grütz from the online magazine Metal1.info was more critical. He described Berserker as an Amon Amarth album on which "total failures and embarrassments as well as real hymns would not be recorded". A little "more consistent and with more courage or creative freshness, Berserker could have been a crisp Death Metal album". Grütz awarded seven out of ten points.
Chart success
Like its predecessor, Berserker rose to number one in the German album charts straight away and also secured the top position in Switzerland . The album was number two in Austria and number five in Sweden. The album also ranked 25th in the United Kingdom and 47th in the United States.
Individual evidence
- ↑ AMON AMARTH To Begin Work On Follow-Up To 'Jomsviking'. Blabbermouth.net , accessed April 18, 2019 .
- ↑ a b c Katrin Riedl: Old virtue, new ways . In: Metal Hammer , March 2019, page 124
- ↑ a b c d Katrin Riedl: All-round blow with depth . In: Metal Hammer, May 2019, page 22
- ↑ Katrin Riedl: New Worlds . In: Metal Hammer, May 2019, page 24
- ↑ Katrin Riedl: Off to new shores . In: Metal Hammer, May 2019, page 18
- ↑ a b c d Maximilian Blum: Of bridge fighters and Valkyries . In: Rock Hard , May 2019, page 28
- ↑ Amon Amarth: BERSERKER album + world exclusive 7 ″. Metal Hammer. Retrieved April 18, 2019 .
- ↑ AMON AMARTH To Film New Music Video Next Weekend. Blabbermouth.net, accessed April 18, 2019 .
- ^ A b Moritz Grütz: Amon Amarth - Berserker. Metal1.info, accessed April 26, 2019 .
- ↑ AMON AMARTH Completes Work On New Album With Producer JAY RUSTON. Blabbermouth.net, accessed April 18, 2019 .
- ↑ Chart sources: DE
- ↑ Sebastian Kessler: Amon Amarth - Berserker. Metal Hammer. Retrieved April 18, 2019 .
- ↑ Alexandra Michels: Amon Amarth - Berserker . In: Rock Hard, May 2019, page 90