Amon Amarth - With Oden on Our Side (2006)

   1. "Valhall Awaits Me" – 4:44
   2. "Runes to My Memory" – 4:33
   3. "Asator" – 3:04
   4. "Hermod's Ride to Hel - Lokes Treachery Part 1" – 4:41
   5. "Gods of War Arise" – 6:03
   6. "With Oden on Our Side" – 4:35
   7. "Cry of the Black Birds" – 3:50
   8. "Under the Northern Star" – 4:17
   9. "Prediction of Warfare" – 6:37

Personnel:
    * Johan Hegg − vocal
    * Olavi Mikkonen − guitar
    * Johan Söderberg − guitar
    * Ted Lundström − bass guitar
    * Fredrik Andersson − drums

With Oden On Our Side is straight out melodic stuff. The album starts off with Valhall awaits me, which in itself is a pretty good opener. The vocals on this album are the death grunts that you get in death metal. Although not as extreme as a traditional death metal growl. Hegg uses the grunt all throughout this album, and although sometimes it may become repetitive and boring after a few listens, im pretty sure his voice suits the music. There are basically no standouts from Hegg as he does nearly the same thing for every song.

Most of the songs on this album has tremolo picked riffs (if im not wrong). Again, too much of it may not be really good, but it does give the songs that melodic edge that this band is known for. I dig it. But of course, Soderberg and Mikkonen do come up with some non-tremolo but yet still outstanding riffs, like the one in Cry of the black birds and With Oden on our side...the title track. Like what you'd expect from a melodic death band, there are some solos here and there, but not on every song. There is a good solo in the opening track Valhall awaits me and another on the less melodic but more brutal Asator. The guitarists do not really shred on here, but they still solo well, concentrating more on melody and emotion. The guitar has a good tone to it, and they've done what they intended to well - that is to craft good melodic riffs. Every song is memorable in itself because of the ever-present melody.

The bass is generally not heard most of the time...(like well, duh?). Or it maybe due to my headphones, i dont really know. But anyway, Lundstrom may not be the best bassist in the world. Heck, he may not even be one of the top 30, but he still contributes to the band. Plays well in co-operation with the drums and guitars. But then again, i would have loved to have him had more exposure and show off some of his skills. The drums, courtesy of Andersson is good, if not excellent. Double bass drumming can be heard virtually on most of the songs, and there are some odd but awesome fills here and there. The fact that he is also consistent as well, just does more good to the album. Again, he may not be the most technically skilled of the drummers, but unlike Andersson, he sometimes showcases his talent with some blast beats? and quick-fire like double bass.

The production on this album is crisp and clean. The guitars, drums and vocals can all be heard really clearly, and although the bass is sometimes drowned out, the production is still pretty kick-ass.

Overall, this album is a strong one. Comprising of the more melodic side of death metal and sometimes even, i dare say emotional, which you can find in songs like Runes to my memory...which btw sounds really epic when it reaches that 1:40 mark and that awesome melodic, yet simple riff is played. Another "emotional" song on here would obviously be the slower paced song of the album, Under the northern star and maybe even Cry of the black birds. ---loathed, sputnikmusic.com

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