With Oden on Our Side

It was recorded in May and June 2006 and released in Europe by Metal Blade Records on 22 September. This was the first Amon Amarth album to enter the Billboard charts, reaching number 15 on Top Heatseekers and 26 on Independent Albums. It is a heavier record than Fate of Norns before it. The singer Johan Hegg told the Dutch magazine Aardschok that it would go back to their roots, to something like the debut Once Sent from the Golden Hall. Asked what the title meant, he answered: "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." The cover shows Odin riding his eight-legged horse Sleipnir, a depiction borrowed from the Tjangvide image stone, over a Valknut whose triangles carry runes: the ones on top spell out "With Oden on our Side" and those at the bottom right spell "Amon Amarth" in the Elder Futhark. A limited digipak came with a second disc of live songs, demos and unreleased recordings, and there was a limited red LP. The running order here is the original's as printed.