Founded in 1988 after the rebranding of the band Scum, Amon Amarth is a melodic death metal band whose lyrics deal with Norse mythology and history, which often leads to the erroneous labeling of “Viking metal.” 

Many songs like “Tattered banners and bloody flags” and “War of the gods” are about Norse mythology. For example, Ragnarok and the Aesir-Vanir War respectively are represented well throughout the lyrics. Additionally, others like “The Berserker at Stamford bridge” and “Ironside” deal with Norse history.  The former is about when Vikings fought the Anglo-Saxons for the English throne in 1066, and the latter is about the life of Bjorn Ironside, a legendary Norse king.

My favorite song is “Valhalla awaits” because listening to it while playing a two-handed berserker build in Skyrim is a recipe for good ol’ blood and gore with a thick adrenaline sauce and Nord mead for the drink. It is crazy aggressive with a beat that blinds any sense of rationality and self.  Plus it has lyrics that push you to fight even more brutally than you have ever before. Meanwhile, the instruments blend with the sounds of battle until the song ends, and all that’s left is a mountain of corpses and you standing on top smeared in someone else’s blood.

Upon sampling Amon Amarth through “Guardians of Asgaard,” Grant Bebow was impressed by the guitar work and Mckenzie Reid compared it to every heavy-metal song she had ever heard.

Overall, if you are looking for a good band to accompany you to battle, look no further for Amon Amarth, which is here to give you your battle music fix.