Deceiver of the Gods

Deceiver of the Gods is the ninth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Amon Amarth. It was released in Sweden and Finland on 19 June 2013, and in the US on 25 June 2013 through Metal Blade Records and Sony Music. Former Candlemass singer Messiah Marcolin makes a guest appearance on the track "Hel".^[1]

Deceiver of the Gods
Studio album by Amon Amarth
Released	25 June 2013 (2013-06-25)
Studio	Backstage Productions, Derbyshire, England
Genre	Melodic death metal
Length	47:52
Label	Metal Blade, Sony Music
Producer	Andy Sneap
Amon Amarth chronology
Surtur Rising (2011) Deceiver of the Gods (2013) Jomsviking (2016)

The title of the album and its artwork were revealed on 12 April 2013,^[1] and the title song was released on the band's homepage a day later, available for streaming or as a free download. A video for the song was released in September 2014.^[2]

In Canada, the album debuted at number 9 on the Canadian Albums Chart.^[3] This was the band's last album with longtime drummer Fredrik Andersson before he left the band in March 2015.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	67/100^[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	^[5]
AllMusic	^[6]
Decibel Magazine	^[7]
Exclaim!	8/10^[8]
The Guardian	^[9]
Pitchfork	5.6/10^[10]
Revolver	^[11]

According to Metacritic, the album received "generally favorable reviews based on 7 critics", with an aggregate score of 67 out of 100.^[4]Allmusic praised the album for balancing "unyielding blasts of Viking brutality" with "artful melodies"^[6] while Exclaim.ca similarly awarded a favorable score for the band's mixture of "soaring melodies" with the "raw precision" of the rhythms.^[8] However, Pitchfork criticized the album as formulaic and uninspired^[10] while About.com described the album as a "letdown" due to Amon Amarth's "playing it safe" approach.^[5] This view was contrary to that expressed in Decibel Magazine, where the album was praised for duelling guitars invoking Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest while the "expertly woven ebb and flow of tempo and style" caused the album to go "from rampaging to brooding to anthemic over a well-conceived trajectory."^[7] Tony Vilgotsky of Russian magazine Mir Fantastiki have rated this album with 7 of 10, saying that Deceiver of the Gods slightly doesn't reach the level of previous Amon Amarth's work, Surtur Rising, but this doesn't spoil the overall impression of the record.^[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Amon Amarth

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Deceiver of the Gods"	4:19
2.	"As Loke Falls"	4:38
3.	"Father of the Wolf"	4:19
4.	"Shape Shifter"	4:02
5.	"Under Siege"	6:17
6.	"Blood Eagle"	3:15
7.	"We Shall Destroy"	4:25
8.	"Hel" (featuring Messiah Marcolin of ex-Candlemass)	4:09
9.	"Coming of the Tide"	4:16
10.	"Warriors of the North"	8:12
Total length:		47:52

Under the Influence - Limited digipak edition bonus CD

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Burning Anvil of Steel" (Style Parody of Judas Priest)	4:27
2.	"Satan Rising" (Style Parody of Black Sabbath)	4:20
3.	"Snake Eyes" (Style Parody of Motörhead)	3:13
4.	"Stand Up to Go Down" (Style Parody of AC/DC)	3:27
Total length:		15:27

Japanese edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Masters of War" (live)	5:10
12.	"Ride for Vengeance" (live)	4:37
13.	"Versus the World" (live)	5:57
Total length:		63:36

Personnel

Amon Amarth

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

Additional musicians

• Messiah Marcolin (ex-Candlemass) − guest vocals on "Hel"

Production

• Andy Sneap − production, mixing, mastering
• Tom Thiel − artwork

Charts

Chart (2013)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[13]	7
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[14]	48
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[15]	44
Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[16]	9
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)^[17]	27
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[18]	12
French Albums (SNEP)^[19]	67
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[20]	3
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)^[21]	15
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[22]	156
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[23]	37
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[24]	9
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[25]	9
UK Albums (OCC)^[26]	67
UK Independent Albums (OCC)^[27]	14
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)^[28]	4
US Billboard 200^[29]	19
US Independent Albums (Billboard)^[30]	4
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)^[31]	4
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[32]	5
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)^[33]	2

References

1. "AMON AMARTH: New Album Title, Cover Artwork Unveiled - Apr. 12, 2013". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
2. "Video Premiere: Amon Amarth's 'Deceiver of the Gods'". Blabbermouth.net. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
3. "Billboard Canadian Albums". Billboard. 2 January 2013.
4. "Deceiver of the Gods Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
5. Schalek, Dave. . About.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
6. Monger, James. "Deceiver of the Gods Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
7. Tepedelen, Adam (August 2013). "Amon Amarth - Deceiver of Gods". Decibel Magazine (106): 90–92.
8. Wiebe, Laura (24 June 2013). "Amon Amarth - Deceiver of the Gods". Exclaim!. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
9. Lawson, Dom (20 June 2013). "Amon Amarth: Deceiver of the Gods – review". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
10. Currin, Grayson (19 July 2013). "Amon Amarth Deceiver of the Gods". Pitchfork. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
11. Camisasca, Paige (11 June 2013). . Revolver. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
12. Tony Vilgotsky - Review of Deceiver of the Gods by Amon Amarth
13. "Austriancharts.at – Amon Amarth – Deceiver of the Gods" (in German). Hung Medien.
14. "Ultratop.be – Amon Amarth – Deceiver of the Gods" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
15. "Ultratop.be – Amon Amarth – Deceiver of the Gods" (in French). Hung Medien.
16. "Amon Amarth Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
17. "Danishcharts.dk – Amon Amarth – Deceiver of the Gods". Hung Medien.
18. "Amon Amarth: Deceiver of the Gods" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
19. "Lescharts.com – Amon Amarth – Deceiver of the Gods". Hung Medien.
20. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
21. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2013. 27. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ.
22. "ディシーバー・オブ・ザ・ゴッズ - アモン・アマース - ORICON STYLE".
23. "Norwegiancharts.com – Amon Amarth – Deceiver of the Gods". Hung Medien.
24. "Swedishcharts.com – Amon Amarth – Deceiver of the Gods". Hung Medien.
25. "Swisscharts.com – Amon Amarth – Deceiver of the Gods". Hung Medien.
26. "Amon Amarth | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
27. July 2013/131/ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company.
28. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
29. "Amon Amarth Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
30. "Amon Amarth Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
31. "Amon Amarth Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard.
32. "Amon Amarth Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
33. "Amon Amarth Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.