Once Sent from the Golden Hall in Bloomington, MN

When a band is named after the Mountain of Doom in
Tolkien
's
Lord of the Rings
, you're pretty much guaranteed epic
metal
at its most extravagant. But despite their lyrical bent (including
Dungeons & Dragons
titles like
"Ride for Vengeance,"
"Victorious March,"
and
"The Dragons' Flight Across the Waves"
), Sweden's
Amon Amarth
eschews the expected Germanic
power metal
usually associated with such subject matter for brutally intense Scandinavian
death metal
. Firmly rooted in the
At the Gates
school, the band doesn't really break any new ground here. But they get the job done with plenty of spirit, more than competent songwriting, and excellent musicianship -- most notably from future
Opeth
drummer
Martin Lopez
. The song that bears the group's namesake is probably the most memorable, as it contains the chaotic noises of battle, the screams of the dying, and much sword-clashing to boot. Cool! Ultimately,
's war hymns often take themselves a bit too seriously and are bound to provoke either delirious head-banging or irresistible laughter, but what else would you expect from good
heavy metal
? ~ Eduardo Rivadavia