Twilight of the Thunder God

Twilight of the Thunder God
Studio album by Amon Amarth
Released 30 September 2008
Recorded May to June 2008 at Fascination Street Studio
Genre Melodic death metal
Length 43:34
Label Metal Blade
Producer Jens Bogren
Amon Amarth chronology
With Oden on Our Side
(2006)With Oden on Our Side2006		 Twilight of the Thunder God
(2008)		 Surtur Rising
(2011)Surtur Rising2011

Twilight of the Thunder God is the seventh studio album by the Swedish melodic death metal band Amon Amarth. Twilight of the Thunder God was released in September 2008. It is based on Thor's slaying of the serpent Jörmungandr.

Pre-release and production

In anticipation of this album, there was a series of studio diaries in the form of vlogs that discussed the recording process of this album in the studio. There were six vlogs recorded. The first focused on Fredrik Andersson recording the drums.[1] The second vlog focused on Olavi Mikkonen recording the rhythm guitar position.[2] The third blog focused on Ted Lundström recording bass guitar and band members preparing food. The fourth episode focused on Johan Hegg recording vocals. The fifth video was Johan Söderberg performing and recording guitar solos. The final vlog featured Olavi Mikkonen and Ted Lundström packing up the studio and a sneak peek of the album.

A series of 8-page comics were made during the production of the album, eponymously entitled "Twilight of the Thunder God", released in magazines throughout Europe.[3]

On 27 June 2008, the title of this album was announced, it being "Twilight of the Thunder God". Twilight of the Thunder God features several guest appearances featuring Entombed vocalist Lars Göran Petrov on "Guardians of Asgaard", Children of Bodom and Stone guitarist Roope Latvala who contributes a solo on the track "Twilight of the Thunder God", and Finnish cello metal band Apocalyptica as a guest appearance on "Live for the Kill".[4]

Approximately a month later on 25 July 2008, the album artwork was revealed, featuring Thor, the Norse God of Thunder, in battle with Jörmungandr.

On 27 August 2008, Amon Amarth released the information that they had recently finished work on a video clip for the title track of the album. The video clip was shot in Jomsborg, Poland. The band notes that while they were there, a heavy storm came through the town, resulting in the roughest conditions the band has ever shot a music video in.[5]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(80/100)[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[7]
Allmusic[8]
Blabbermouth[9]
IGN[10]
PopMatters[11]
Sputnikmusic[12]

The album debuted at number 50 on the Billboard 200, and debuted at number 11 on the Swedish album charts. This makes the band's first album to chart on the top 200, and also the band's highest chart debut in their native country of Sweden, debuting 10 places higher than their previous release, With Oden on Our Side.

Initial critical response to Twilight of the Thunder God was positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 80, based on 5 reviews.[13]

The album was ranked number six on Metal Hammer's Top 50 Albums of 2008.[14]

Famously, frequent contributor to The Chris Gethard Show, Juan, professed his love for the album on TCGS.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Amon Amarth.

No.TitleLength
1."Twilight of the Thunder God" (feat. Roope Latvala)4:09
2."Free Will Sacrifice"4:09
3."Guardians of Asgaard" (feat. Lars Göran Petrov)4:23
4."Where Is Your God?"3:11
5."Varyags of Miklagaard"4:18
6."Tattered Banners and Bloody Flags"4:30
7."No Fear for the Setting Sun"3:54
8."The Hero"4:02
9."Live for the Kill" (feat. Apocalyptica)4:10
10."Embrace of the Endless Ocean"6:44
Total length:43:34

Bonus CD/DVD track listing[15]

  1. "Intro"
  2. "Valhall Awaits Me"
  3. "Runes to My Memory"
  4. "Cry of the Black Birds"
  5. "Asator"
  6. "Pursuit of Vikings"
  7. "Fate of Norns"
  8. "Without Fear"
  9. "With Oden on Our Side"
  10. "Where Silent Gods Stand Guard"
  11. "An Ancient Sign of Coming Storm"
  12. "Victorious March"
  13. "Death in Fire"

Personnel

Band members

Guest musicians

Credits

Release history

Region Date Label Format
Sweden, Finland 17 September 2008 Metal Blade Compact Disc
Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Italy 19 September 2008 Metal Blade Compact Disc
The rest of Europe 22 September 2008 Metal Blade Compact Disc
North America and elsewhere 30 September 2008 Metal Blade Compact Disc, Enhanced CD

References

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