Metallurgy

For Sweden's Amon Amarth, the Viking invasion never ended. Using Norse trickster god Loki as its focal point, the quintet's ninth LP swings the battle-axe of death metal while digging into human duality as a theme. Ultimately, it's about the extra-chunky riffs and Johan Hegg's inhuman gargle. Ex-Candlemass singer Messiah Marcolin adds otherworldly moans to "Hel." (Amon Amarth cleaves skulls at Austin 360 Amphitheater's Mayhem Fest on Friday, Aug. 2.)