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)
The Arrival of the Fimbul Winter
Amon Amarth Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Raging across the world
With a fury that defied the memory of man
Terrible wars where fought,
The like had never been seen
Men slew without a thought
The ties of kinship were no more
Arose and devoured the sun and the moon
Darkness descended upon the earth
And the stars fell from the skies
Loud blows heimdall the horne's in the air
Odin quests the head of Mim
Now shakes the holy ash where it stands
The ancient tree moans, Fenris breaks free
How are the Aesir?
How are the Alves?
Loud sounds Jotunheim
Aesir comprise
By the stonedoors dwarfs are moaning
The mountains wise men
Know you now or not?
With his shield at hand
Hrym travels from the east
The serpant is turning, enormous in rage
The serpant breaks the waves
The eagle screams
Nidhoggs tearing corpses
Free comes Nagelfar
Loki leads the legions of the dead
In holy war
Against the justice made by Aesir
The song "The Arrival of the Fimbul Winter" by Amon Amarth, is a classic Norse mythology-themed metal song. It tells a story about the bleak fimbul winter, which is a three-year long winter that marks the beginning of the end of the world in Norse mythology. The winter arrives with great fury and brings terrible wars that have never been seen before. The ties of kinship are broken, and people start killing each other without a thought. Skoll and Hati, the ravenous wolves, rise and devour the sun and the moon, creating darkness on earth, and the stars fall from the skies. The song's lyrics describe the downfall of the world and the events that follow.
The second stanza of the song describes the start of the end. Heimdall sounds the horn, and Odin quests the head of Mim, an event that signifies the beginning of Ragnarok, the end of the world. The holy ash shakes, and Fenris, a monstrous wolf, breaks free from his bonds. The Aesir, the gods of Norse mythology, and the Alves, creatures similar to elves, are in danger, and the giants of Jotunheim are gathering to fight them. The dwarfs moan by the stone doors, and the wise men of the mountains are aware of the situation. The stanza ends with a question- "Know you now or not?" This question implies that the listener should be aware of the events that are unfolding.
In the final stanza, the chaos rises to a climax as Hrym, a giant, comes from the east with his shield at hand. The serpent, Jormungandr, is turning enormous in rage, the eagle screams, Nidhoggs tears corpses, and Nagelfar breaks free. Loki, the god of mischief, leads the dead in a holy war against the justice made by the Aesir, signifying the end of the world. The song's lyrics are an interpretation of the Norse mythology story, The Fimbulwinter, which depicts the rise of chaos and the destruction of the world.
Line by Line Meaning
The bleak fimbulwinter arrived
The terrible winter that signals the end of the world has arrived
Raging across the world
The winter is violent and affecting everyone everywhere
With a fury that defied the memory of man
The winter is so bad, people can't remember anything worse
Terrible wars where fought,
As a result of the winter, horrific battles were fought
The like had never been seen
No one had ever witnessed such battles before
Men slew without a thought
The battles were so intense that the men involved didn't have time to think
The ties of kinship were no more
The bonds between families and communities had been broken by the war
Skoll and Hati, the ravenous wolves
Mythical wolves that signify the end of the world have appeared
Arose and devoured the sun and the moon
The wolves have ingested the celestial bodies, indicating a permanent darkness
Darkness descended upon the earth
The world is plunged into darkness
And the stars fell from the skies
Even the stars are disappearing
Loud blows heimdall the horne's in the air
Heimdall, a god, is sounding a horn loudly and clearly
Odin quests the head of Mim
Odin, another god, is on a quest to obtain Mim's head
Now shakes the holy ash where it stands
Yggdrasil, the cosmic tree, is quaking
The ancient tree moans, Fenris breaks free
Fenris, a giant wolf, has broken free from his captivity, causing the tree to cry out
How are the Aesir?
Someone is asking about the condition of the Aesir gods
How are the Alves?
Someone is also inquiring about the state of the Alves, a group of mythical beings
Loud sounds Jotunheim
A thunderous noise is heard from Jotunheim, the land of the giants
Aesir comprise
The Aesir gods are making a plan
By the stonedoors dwarfs are moaning
The dwarfs that live near the stonedoors are lamenting their situation
The mountains wise men
Wise men who live in the mountains are aware of the impending doom
Know you now or not?
The artist is asking if the listener understands the perilous situation
With his shield at hand
Hrym, a giant, is carrying his shield
Hrym travels from the east
The giant is coming from the east
The serpant is turning, enormous in rage
A serpent is in a frenzied state and becoming larger
The serpant breaks the waves
The giant serpent is moving across the sea
The eagle screams
An eagle is screeching loudly
Nidhoggs tearing corpses
Nidhogg, a dragon, is devouring bodies
Free comes Nagelfar
The Naglfar, a ship made from dead mens' nails, is preparing to launch
Loki leads the legions of the dead
Loki, a trickster god, is leading an army of the dead
In holy war
The dead are fighting a holy war
Against the justice made by Aesir
The dead are fighting against the Aesir gods' decisions
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: FREDRICK ANDERSSON, JOHAN HEGG, JOHAN SODERBERG, OLAVI MIKKONEN, TED LUNDSTROM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind