Amon Amarth's Thunderous New Album

Thor is the god of thunder in Norse mythology. He and his hammer are much beloved by metal bands, and Sweden's Amon Amarth are no exception. Their new Twilight Of The Thunder God album will be released by Metal Blade on Sept. 30.

The disc was recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Orebro, Sweden. It was produced by Jens Bogren (Opeth) and features guest appearances from Entombed singer Lars Goran Petrov, Children Of Bodom guitarist Roope Latvala and Apocalyptica. Its release will also be accompanied by a series of eight-page comics that will be published in European magazines. This is appropriate, considering the album cover features a painting of Thor fighting his arch enemy, Jormungandr. You can hear the title track on Amon Amarth's MySpace page.

Amon Amarth formed in Tumba, Sweden in 1992 and are named after a phrase which means "Mount Doom" in an Elven language used in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings. They've released six studio albums, which combine death, black and power metal fused with fantasy. Amon Amarth's membership includes vocalist Johan Hegg, guitarists Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Soderberg, bassist Ted Lundstrom and drummer Fredrik Andersson.

Here's where you can see Amon Amarth, Ensiferum, Belphegor and The Absence (but not Thor, unless the bodybuilding Canadian rocker by the same name makes a surprise appearance):

Oct. 6 Vancouver, BC @ Croatian Cultural Centre
Oct. 8 Edmonton, AB @ The Starlite Room
Oct. 9 Calgary, AB @ The Warehouse
Oct. 10 Regina, SK @ Riddell Centre
Oct. 11 Winnipeg, MB @ Garrick Centre
Oct. 15 Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
Oct. 16 Montreal, QC @ Le Medley
Oct. 17 Quebec City, QC @ Imperial Theatre

Here are the tracks on Twilight Of The Thunder God:

"Twilight Of The Thunder God"
"Free Will Sacrifice"
"Guardians Of Asgaard"
"Where Is Your God?"
"Varyags Of Miklagaard"
"Tattered Banners And Bloody Flags"
"No Fear For The Setting Sun"
"The Hero"
"Live For The Kill"
"Embrace Of The Endless Ocean"