The Bad Penny (beta)

Amon Amarth are finally being summed back from … Valhalla? They never died or broke up, but they’ve been off cavorting somewhere probably involving thunder, fireballs and drinking horns filled with Fireball.

Breaking the longest stretch between studio records since they started releasing them in 1998, four years and two months, the sons of Odin and high-ranking heroes of Swedish melodic death metal will release The Allfather Awakens on October 2. They also released the above video an hour or so ago.

As stated in an Allfather press release issued early Wednesday: “As with previous records, Oden, the Norse “all father” who is a deity of war, wisdom, death, magic, and poetry, is the through-line in Amon Amarth’s lyrics and artwork. Once again, Oden is the band’s inspiration, but The Allfather Awakens is not a concept album, rather a collection of historically inspired epic tales of conflict and sacrifice for a greater good.”

Sounds promising – as do the song titles, of course: “Gjallarhorn,” “Eight Legs of Thunder,” “Kvasir’s Blood,” “We Rule the Waves,” “Upphaf,” “Die With a War Cry,” “Raven God,” “The Allfather Awakes,” “Oden’s Hunt” and “Ascending Like an Eagle.”

References to thunder, blood, war, death, unpronounceable Scandinavian cities, hunting and at least one phrase well-suited for the back of a biker jacket (“Ascending like an eagle”) … sounds like it touches all the Amon Amarth bases. Even ravens! Welcome, ye third Amon Amarth song with that bird featured in the title. The misspelling of the god of the dead in “Oden’s Hunt” is curious, however. Surely the band will be asked about that alternate spelling in every interview, so we promise not to if they decide to pay The Bad Penny a visit.

Of course, the album artwork for The Allfather Awakens is both perfect and perfectly in keeping with Amon Amarth motifs:

Amon Amarth’s 13th effort comes courtesy of the label they’ve called home during their entire career – an impressive feat for one of the more impressive Swedish MDM bands. Their over-the-top stage sets, sometimes hammed-up leaning-in on clichés about metal’s excessive obsession with Viking and Norse lore, and general self-effacing appeal have won them significant crossover success with both the tröo Tolkein and ironic-hipster-metal-fan sets.

Amon Amarth’s enduring tenure and consistently strong catalog, array of irresistible singles (from 2003’s “Death in Fire” to 2022’s “The Great Heathen Army”), and commendably original take on well-trod mythologies in metal make them, well, pretty lovable.

The band quite clearly really wants you to buy a physical version of Allfather, as there are four CD editions, three special LP packages – one featuring fake blood – and nine vinyl variants. Happy (Oden’s) hunting!

Amon Amarth have already lined up a slew of dates in support of Allfather, starting one week after the album’s release:

10.9: England – Manchester, O2 Apollo 
10.10: England – London, Eventim Apollo 
10.11: England – Wolverhampton, Civic Hall 
10.13: France – Paris, Zenith 
10.14: Luxembourg – Esch sur Alzette, Rockhal 
10.16: Germany – Stuttgart, Schleyer-Halle 
10.17: Germany – Frankfurt, Festhalle 
10.18: Belgium – Antwerp, Lotto Hall 
10.20: Netherlands – Den Bosch, Mainstage 
10.21: Germany – Hamburg, Sporthalle 
10.23: Sweden – Gothenburg, Scandinavium
10.24: Sweden – Stockholm, Hovet 
10.26: Finland – Helsinki, Ice Hall 
10.27: Estonia – Tallin, Unibet Arena 
10.29: Poland – Gliwice, PreZero Arena Gliwice 
10.30: Germany – Leipzig, Quarterback Immobilien Arena 
10.31: Germany – Oberhausen, Rudolf Weber Arena 
11.2: Hungary – Budapest, Barba Negra 
11.3: Austria – Vienna, Gasometer 
11.4: Germany – Bamberg, Brose Arena 
11.6: Czech Republic – Prague, O2 Universum 
11.7: Germany – Berlin, Velodrom
11.8: Germany – Munich, Zenith 
11.10: Italy – Milan, Alcatraz 
11.11: Switzerland – Zurich, The Hall
11.13: Spain – Barcelona, Sant Jordi Club 
11.14: Spain – Madrid, Vistalegre 
11.15: Portugal – Lisbon, Sala Tejo

U.S. dates are sure to follow.

From 2007 to 2016, Amon Amarth maintained a routine of playing 110 or so shows one year, then roughly half that the following year. The band averaged around 50 shows in more recent years and – as far as gigs announced thus far – are on track to hit around that same number in 2026.

For more on Amon Amarth, check out:

• Fimbul Winter’s Ex-Amon Amarth Members Name Their Favorite Amon Amarth Songs

• Fimbul Winter Has Come; Ex-Amon Amarth Players Call EP ‘Best Thing’ They’ve Recorded

• Exclusive: Ex-Amon Amarth Drummer Pays Tribute to At the Gates’ Tomas Lindberg With a Riotous Recollection

• Amon Amarth, Liminal Shroud: Best New Releases

• Best Albums Of 2008

This entry was posted on 07/22/2026 at 9:11 am and is filed under News with tags Amon Amarth, melodic death metal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.