With Oden on Our Side

With Oden on Our Side is the sixth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Amon Amarth, and their first album to enter the Billboard charts, the Top Heatseekers and the Independent Albums chart, peaking at number 15 and number 26 respectively.

It was recorded in May and June 2006 and was released in Europe on 22 September 2006 by Metal Blade Records and Sony BMG. A limited edition digipak was also released with a second disc that includes live songs, demos, and unreleased recordings. With Oden on Our Side was also released on a limited red LP. The songs "Runes to My Memory" and "Cry of the Black Birds" were both made into music videos, with the first single being featured in the 2011 video game Saints Row: The Third by developer Volition.

Style
With Oden on Our Side takes on a heavier approach compared to their previous album Fate of Norns; according to vocalist Johan Hegg, in an interview with Dutch metal magazine Aardschok, the album would go back to their roots such as their debut, Once Sent from the Golden Hall. When asked about the meaning of the album's title, Hegg remarked: Well, it kind of has several meanings to it. Oden is, of course, the highest god in Scandinavian mythology, and he's the god of warfare, wisdom, poetry, and artistry. The reason we chose the title is that it suited the lyrical concepts of the album and signified the feeling we had during the writing and recording of the album. We literally felt as if we had the Gods on our side.



Cover art
The album cover art features the Norse God Odin riding on his fabled octopedal horse Sleipnir in a depiction borrowed from the Tjängvide image stone. The background depicts the Valknut, a symbol whose meaning is uncertain, though archeological evidence suggests it to be associated with Odin. Letters of the Runic alphabet can be seen on the edges of the triangles forming the Valknut. The Runes on top spell out "With Oden on our Side", whereas the bottom right runes spell "Amon Amarth" using characters from the Elder Futhark.

Reception
Since its release, With Oden on Our Side has received favorable reviews. Greg Prato of AllMusic gave the album three and a half stars naming it a competent example of the melodic death metal genre, stating that Johan Hegg's vocals complement the Iron Maiden-esque guitar riffing from Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg. Blabbermouth.net gave With Oden on Our Side a score of 8 out of 10 comparing its quality to that of Versus the World and Fate of Norns.

Amon Amarth

 * Johan Hegg − vocals
 * Olavi Mikkonen − lead guitar
 * Johan Söderberg − rhythm guitar
 * Ted Lundström − bass
 * Fredrik Andersson − drums

Production

 * Jens Bogren – production, engineering, mixing
 * Anders "Shadow" Ström – additional recording
 * Thomas Eberger – mastering

Studios

 * Fascination Street studios, Örebro, Sweden
 * Cutting Room, Stockholm – mastering
 * Amon Amarth's rehearsal studio – recording (2006 demos)
 * Sunlight Studio – recording (1997 demos)