The band is composed of lead guitarist Olavi Mikkonen, vocalist Johan Hegg, bassist Ted Lundström, rhythm guitarist Johan Söderberg, and drummer Jocke Wallgren. Amon Amarth has released 12 studio albums, one compilation album, one EP, one video album, and ten music videos. Their first studio album, Once Sent from the Golden Hall, debuted in 1998. Five more studio releases followed, before the band saw its breakthrough with the 2008 album Twilight of the Thunder God, which debuted at No. 10 on the Swedish album charts and No. 50 on the US Billboard 200. Five more albums, Surtur Rising, Deceiver of the Gods, Jomsviking, Berserker, and The Great Heathen Army followed in 2011, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2022 respectively.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amon_Amarth
Studio albums
Once Sent from the Golden Hall (1998)
The Avenger (1999)
The Crusher (2001)
Versus the World (2002)
Fate of Norns (2004)
With Oden on Our Side (2006)
Twilight of the Thunder God (2008)
Surtur Rising (2011)
Deceiver of the Gods (2013)
Jomsviking (2016)
Berserker (2019)
The Great Heathen Army (2022)
Gods of War Arise
Amon Amarth Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The village lies ahead
It will wake to a new day soon
Soon they'll all be dead
We came in cover of moonless night
Fifty men at arms
Now at first morning light,
The church bell sounds the alarm
Sacrifice to Gods of old
Bleed them of their lives
Fresh blood on our swords
Gods Of War Arise!
Sacrifice to Gods of old
Bleed them of their lives
Fresh blood on our swords
Gods Of War Arise!
Hear the tortured screams
Shattering the air
They awake from soothing dreams
Into their worst nightmare
Fire sweeps their homes
They feel the dragon's breath
Consuming and destructive flames
Agonising death
Some seek shelter in the church
A refuge for those with faith
But we know how to smoke them out
A pyre will be raised
But those who choose to stand and fight
Will die with dignity
For the unfortunate few who survive
Waits a life in slavery
The day draws to an end
The night comes dark and cold
We return to our ships
With silver, slaves and gold
We gave them agony, as they fell and died
The Gods have granted victory
For our sacrifice
*solo Mikkonen*
The day draws to an end
The night comes dark and cold
We return to our ships
With silver, slaves and gold
We gave them agony, as they fell and died
The Gods have granted victory
For our sacrifice
The song "Gods of War Arise" by Amon Amarth is a depiction of a Viking raid on a village. The song describes how the Vikings arrived at the village under the cover of a moonless night with fifty men at arms. As soon as the morning light appears, the church bell sounds the alarm, and the Vikings begin their pillage and destruction. The lyrics also describe the sacrifices made to the ancient gods by bleeding the villagers of their lives. The Vikings set the village ablaze, and the song continues to describe the screams of the villagers as they awake to the horror of their worst nightmare. The church becomes a temporary refuge for those with faith, but the Vikings eventually find a way to smoke them out by raising a pyre.
Those who choose to fight with dignity will still meet their death in battle, and the few who survive will be doomed to a life of slavery. The song ends with the Vikings returning to their ships with their spoils of war, including silver, slaves, and gold. The gods have granted them victory for their sacrifices made in their name.
Overall, "Gods of War Arise" is a violent and graphic depiction of a Viking raid, emphasizing the brutality and savagery that characterized these ancient Norse people. The song highlights the importance of the gods to the Vikings and the lengths they were willing to go to in their name.
Line by Line Meaning
Darkness flees the rising sun
As the sun begins to rise, the darkness of the night fades away
The village lies ahead
The raiders are approaching a village
It will wake to a new day soon
The village is about to awaken to a new day
Soon they'll all be dead
The raiders plan to kill all the villagers
We came in cover of moonless night
The raiders snuck in during the night with no moon to hide their approach
Fifty men at arms
There are fifty armed raiders attacking the village
Now at first morning light,
As the sun begins to rise, the attack begins
The church bell sounds the alarm
The church bell rings, warning the villagers of the attack
Sacrifice to Gods of old
The raiders are offering a sacrifice to their ancient gods
Bleed them of their lives
The raiders are killing the villagers
Fresh blood on our swords
The raiders' swords are covered in the blood of their victims
Gods Of War Arise!
The raiders call upon their gods of war for assistance
Hear the tortured screams
The villagers are screaming in agony
Shattering the air
The sound of the screams is piercing and loud
They awake from soothing dreams
The villagers were sleeping peacefully before being attacked
Into their worst nightmare
The attack is the villagers' worst nightmare come true
Fire sweeps their homes
The raiders are burning down the villagers' homes
They feel the dragon's breath
The villagers feel as if a dragon is breathing fire upon them
Consuming and destructive flames
The fire is destroying everything in its path
Agonising death
The villagers are dying in great pain
Some seek shelter in the church
Some of the villagers are taking refuge in the church
A refuge for those with faith
The church is a place for those who have faith in God
But we know how to smoke them out
The raiders know how to force the villagers out of the church
A pyre will be raised
The raiders will create a fire to force the villagers out of the church
But those who choose to stand and fight
Some of the villagers have decided to fight back
Will die with dignity
The villagers who fight back will die honorably
For the unfortunate few who survive
The few villagers who survive the attack
Waits a life in slavery
Those who survive will become slaves to the raiders
The day draws to an end
The day is coming to a close
The night comes dark and cold
The night is dark and cold
We return to our ships
The raiders are returning to their ships after the attack
With silver, slaves and gold
They have collected silver, slaves, and gold during the attack
We gave them agony, as they fell and died
The raiders caused the villagers great pain as they killed them
The Gods have granted victory
The raiders attribute their victory to their pagan gods
For our sacrifice
The raiders believe their victory was due to the sacrifices they made to their gods
Contributed by Eli V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.