The Avenger (album)
Encyclopedia
The Avenger is the second full-length studio album
by the Swedish death metal
band Amon Amarth
, released by Metal Blade Records
on September 2, 1999. It was also released as a digipak
version, containing a bonus track "Thor Arise", a re-recording of the title track from their first demo, Thor Arise. The album was also released as an LP
version. Later, Metal Blade Records re-released the album in 2005 on Picture LP, limited to 500 hand-counted copies. The lineup of the album has continued on to present. A deluxe edition was released in 2009 that featured the album remastered by Jens Bogren
, and a bonus cd of the original album played live in its entirety in Bochum, Germany.
The quote was a result of a short-lived feud with heavy metal band HammerFall
, and fears consumers and press alike viewed the album as unoriginal or a near-cover work of another band.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by the Swedish death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
band Amon Amarth
Amon Amarth
Amon Amarth is a Swedish viking metal band from Tumba, Sweden founded in 1992, and takes its name from the Sindarin translation of Mount Doom, a location in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. The band comprises vocalist Johan Hegg, guitarists Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg, bassist Ted Lundström...
, released by Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The U.S. corporate office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Arizona, Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music...
on September 2, 1999. It was also released as a digipak
Digipak
Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...
version, containing a bonus track "Thor Arise", a re-recording of the title track from their first demo, Thor Arise. The album was also released as an LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
version. Later, Metal Blade Records re-released the album in 2005 on Picture LP, limited to 500 hand-counted copies. The lineup of the album has continued on to present. A deluxe edition was released in 2009 that featured the album remastered by Jens Bogren
Jens Bogren
Jens Peter Daniel Bogren is a record producer, mixer and recording engineer who has worked on albums by Opeth, Katatonia, Soilwork, God Forbid, Iron Mask, Amon Amarth, and Symphony X, amongst others...
, and a bonus cd of the original album played live in its entirety in Bochum, Germany.
Quote and feud
Exact quote for the album, by the band:The quote was a result of a short-lived feud with heavy metal band HammerFall
HammerFall
HammerFall is a power metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was formed in 1993 by ex-Ceremonial Oath guitarist Oscar Dronjak.- Early days :...
, and fears consumers and press alike viewed the album as unoriginal or a near-cover work of another band.
Track listing
Band members
- Fredrik Andersson − drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Olavi Mikkonen − guitarsElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Johan Hegg − death vocalsDeath growlA death growl, also known as death metal vocals, guttural vocals, death grunts, and harsh vocals among other names, is a vocalisation style usually employed by vocalists of the death metal and black metal music genre, but also used in a variety of heavy metal and hardcore punk subgenres.Death...
- Johan Söderberg − guitarsElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Ted Lundström − bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Other
- Engineered and mixed by Peter TägtgrenPeter TägtgrenAlf Peter Tägtgren is a Swedish musician and producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band PAIN in which he is the only member....
. - Mastered at Cutting Room in StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
by Peter In De Betou, April 1999. - Cover and layout by Thomas Everhard.