AMON AMARTH: 'Surtur Rising' Track-By-Track Review Available

A track-by-track review of "Surtur Rising", the eighth studio album from Swedish melodic death metal tyrants AMON AMARTH, can be found at RadioMetal.com. Named in tribute to Surtur, leader of the fire giants of Muspelheim ("flame land") and the oldest being in the nine worlds of Norse mythology, the record, which is due in North America on March 29 via Metal Blade Records, features 10 tracks of sword-wielding, fist-pumping, hyper climactic battle anthems. The follow-up to 2008's monolithic "Twilight Of The Thunder God" full-length was recorded again at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with Jens Bogren and features strikingly brutal cover art by Tom Thiel.

The official album landing page can be acccessed at this location. The new web site, dedicated exclusively to "Surtur Rising", includes album pre-orders for North America and Europe as well as up-to-the-minute news updates, tour announcements, videos and singles leading up to the record's release.

U.S. fans will have ten "Surtur Rising" pre-order options:

* Deluxe Box Set
* Deluxe Box Set + LP
* Deluxe Box Set + LP + exclusive shirt
* Deluxe Box Set + exclusive shirt
* CD/DVD
* CD/DVD + LP
* CD/DVD + LP + exclusive shirt
* CD/DVD + exclusive shirt
* LP
* LP + exclusive shirt

The shirt is a Metal Blade U.S. pre-order exclusive and will be unavailable for purchase after street date.

CD/DVD digipak includes:

* 10 tracks of brand new music
* Multi-panel digipak
* 28-page full-color booklet

DVD includes over four hours of live concert footage filmed during the "Bloodshed Over Bochum" concert series in 2008.

Deluxe CD/DVD package with Surtur action figurine includes:

* Limited collectible Surtur figure (approx 5.5" tall)
* 10 tracks of new music
* 2 bonus tracks: KISS' "War Machine" and ACCEPT's "Balls To The Wall"
* 28-page full-color booklet
* Multi-panel digipak

DVD includes over four hours of live concert footage filmed during the "Bloodshed Over Bochum" concert series in 2008.

Picture disc includes:

* Two-sided "Surtur Rising" picture disc
* Die-cut gate-fold sleeve

"Surtur Rising" track listing:

01. War Of The Gods
02. Töck's Taunt - Loke's Treachery Part II
03. Destroyer Of The Universe
04. Slaves Of Fear
05. Live Without Regrets
06. The Last Stand of Frej
07. For Victory Or Death
08. Wrath Of The Norsemen
09. A Beast Am I
10. Doom Over Dead Man

"Slaves Of Fear", a brand new song from Swedish melodic death metal tyrants AMON AMARTH, is available for streaming at DecibelMagazine.com. It can also be heard using the audio player below.

Commented AMON AMARTH drummer Fredrik Andersson: "'Slaves Of Fear' is not the all-typical AMON AMARTH song. It was one of the last songs we finished for the album and what makes this song a little bit different is the collaboration between me and [guitarist] Olavi [Mikkonen] as songwriters. Usually, most songs are written by Olavi and [guitarist] Johan [Söderberg]. It's definitely one of the darkest songs we've ever written and the main/intro riff is my personal tribute to the passing of Ronnie James Dio as the riff came to me after listening to 'Holy Diver'. Lyrically, it’s about how religions keep people under its control and from thinking for themselves. It includes some of the most angry lyrics [vocalist] Johan [Hegg] has written and they kind of remind me of 'The Sound Of Eight Hooves' [off 2001's 'The Crusher' full-length] in a way. It works exceptionally well with the melancholic feel of the riffs."

"Slaves Of Fear" audio stream: