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Pre-Order “Return to Helios”

From the docks, out of Sweden’s southmost harbor, IMMINENCE rises like the tide. The quintet conquers stage after stage with precision, presence and pure commotion to not leave anyone untouched in the audience. 
Their six-stringed progressive post metalcore is as heavy as admiralty-pattern anchors and the atmosphere as endless as the seven seas whilst the lyrics reflect the deepest parts of their minds.
With heavy weight references like Swedish WALKING WITH STRANGERS and American AUGUST BURNS RED, IMMINENCE keeps to unrestrainedly climb the wave of metal that will wash over the genre.

The post Exclusive Premiere | Imminence “Return to Helios” appeared first on Der Metal Krieger.

Click for Glorious Full-Resolution

This Album is set for release on June 25th worldwide via Metal Blade Records.  The band is proud to present that they have multiple pre-order options and bundles that please everyone from the casual listener, to the die hard collector!

If you get the brutally badass bundle pictured above, you’ll receive:

CD #1 – “Deceiver of the Gods”
01. Deceiver of the Gods
02. As Loke Falls
03. Father of the Wolf
04. Shape Shifter
05. Under Siege
06. Blood Eagle
07. We Shall Destroy
08. Hel
09. Coming of the Tide
10. Warriors of the North

CD #2 – Bonus EP – “Under the Influence”
01. Burning Anvil of Steel
02. Satan Rising
03. Snake Eyes
04. Stand Up to Go Down

+ Limited Edition Collectible Loki Bust (Appox. 10 Inches Tall) + Multi-Panel Digipak with 16-Page Full-Color Booklet + Under the Influence Mini Poster + Limited Edition Fliptop Keep Case + Deceiver Of The Gods T-shirt + Limited Edition Vinyl Picture Disc

The post Update | AMON AMARTH – Deceiver of the Gods Release, Track Listing, and Pre-Orders appeared first on Der Metal Krieger.

They’ve been using the power of social media to make sure EVERYONE KNOWS that the Vikings are back and here to pillage your ear drums.  Earlier this week they unveiled the EPIC ALBUM ART via their Official Reddit…yeah reddit, how awesome is that? 

Click for Glorious Full-Resolution

And today they unveiled the title track off of the album for streaming via their official website.  However, there have been some streaming issues so you can listen to it here as well: http://official.fm/tracks/H8oa

You can expect us to bring you more on this already epic sounding LP.  Now we do have a special request for you. GO SEE THEM OPEN THE MAINSTAGE ON THE ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK MAYHEM FESTIVAL.  Tour dates here.  This may be one of the only times you’ll have the opportunity to see Amon Amarth in a festival setting without having to recycle your beer bottle collection for that CA CRV, just to afford a damn plane ticket to Europe.  

Speaking of beer, have you seen AA’s custom brew? (That’s short for Amon Amarth…not Alcoholics Anonymous) Unfortunately, RAGNAROK, as it was so “appropriately” named, was only brewed once by the Three Floyds Brewing Company in Indiana, US.  At least we can look at bottle art! Huzzaahh.  

Click for Larger Alcoholz

Okay, I’ll stop over fluffing this post.  It just seemed so non-Viking to just post “album art…song link. K thanks”

The post New Album | AMON AMARTH – Deceiver of the Gods appeared first on Der Metal Krieger.

This is the first album to feature new guitarist Brandon Ellis, and what a debut he makes! It’s worth pointing out that he’s only 20 years old, and he’s scarily good for his age; his phrasing is excellent and his technique is definitely right up there with the masters. Playing in a band with James Malone, who of course is a phenomenal player himself, will only benefit him; who knows how good he’ll be ten years down the road!  Case in point, the guitar-work on Unwelcome is absolutely brilliant. The leads on this album are simply killer, with tasty arpeggios being sweep-picked and tapped with squeaky clean efficiency. They even manage to slow it down at times, with some mighty-fine melancholic melodies on display. The riffs are a relentless onslaught of melodic technicality that you never get bored with. Guitar-wise, this album is definitely one of metal’s recent highlights, and is quickly becoming one of my personal favorites.

James Malone doesn’t give himself enough credit as a vocalist. In one of his online guitar lessons regarding his multitasking, he proclaims himself a felon at singing but he’s overlooking one important point: this is freaking death metal. Who the hell wants to sing? His harsh vocals are vicious and the fact that he can sing while playing guitar at the level that he does is monumental in itself. The drumming is predictably excellent, as it would have to be to suffice for a tech death band. It’s worth pointing out that the technicality lies more in the guitars than complex time signatures though.

There’s a good blend of juicy flavors to be found on Unwelcome.  King Diamond and Mercyful Fate have repeatedly been cited as a major influence to Arsis, and it rubs off on this release to a shocking degree. Many of the riffs are extremely reminiscent of King’s bands (on Sunglasses at Night especially), and it certainly adds to the overall darkness of the album. If King Diamond was trying to make a death metal album back in 1984, it might not have sounded far off from this. The level of atmosphere is surprising. Instead of sounding completely polished, Arsis retains a degree of old school death metal atmosphere, an element that is largely forgotten about by bands of this day and age. Needless to say, Unwelcome is surprisingly diverse for a technical death metal album.

relentless onslaught of melodic technicality that you never get bored with

Front to back, this is easily Arsis’ finest album. Everything about it is just so well done; the balance of songwriting and technicality, the excellent production, and perhaps most importantly, the guitar playing. Everyone in the band is excellent at their respective instruments of course, but it is really the tag-team of Malone and Ellis who steal the show here. Here’s to hoping this is the beginning of a long and shredtastic partnership. Arguably, the best heavy metal album released thus far in 2013, it should be picked up and enjoyed by any fan of extreme metal. And also by all those cookie cutter tech death bands on the scene right now (you know who you are). Take a leaf out of these guys’ book. This is how it’s done.

Highlight Tracks: Unwelcome, Choking on Sand, Sunglasses at Night, Martyred or Mourning

The post Music Review | Unwelcome by Arsis appeared first on Der Metal Krieger.