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It’s finally here! The latest Moonsorrow opus has landed and EPIC is the first word that comes to mind. The enormous sound is only truly matched by the hefty duration of each of the album’s five offerings. It reminds me of the old days of the first Opeth records. Each song was truly a journey, and this album is no different. And while a few spins leave me placing this firmly below the band’s 2011 masterpiece, Jumalten Aika got me pumped up more and more on each subsequent listen. I’ll avoid the genre tags everyone so often loves to toss about, but it’s got everything I love about music and the lyrics…well, I don’t care about lyrics so there’s that. It may not end up being AOTY, but that’s OK. It’s fucking brilliant and it’s everything I wanted it to be. In fact, I can’t even finish writing this without bobbing my head in folky enthusiasm. I love this band.

I just finished The Saga Of The Jómsvíkings and found it a decent read. Most of the tale was the traditional Nordic heritage tales but the end was exciting. Now, Amon Amarth’s take on the legendary warriors is far more memorable! Barring the song featuring Doro, I love every single song. The production is utter perfection, it’s heavy as hell and it is memorable and catchy. This album is their strongest in quite a while IMO and it’s a temporary Album of the Year thus far. Let’s not forget Moonsorrow comes out next week, though. \m/