Embrace of the Endless Ocean - Amon Amarth

Album: Twilight of the Thunder God

Embrace of the Endless Ocean  is the closer of one of Amon Amarth’s most popular albums, and it finishes it in epic style, with the tale of a slave going back home. The vocals adjust the subject matter, with vocalist Johan Hegg giving a passionate performance. His deep guttural vocals are outstanding during the whole track, especially in the climax of the song. The drums in the opening of the song have an introductory nature to them, as if they were drowning the listener into the world that the story depicts. They are very solid all through the song, especially during the “storm” section

The guitars are the highlight instrument of the song. The riffs present throughout the song are aggressive and match perfectly with the story. The song opens with the guitars playing the main musical theme of the song, which is repeated each time the character reflects upon his home and the things he misses from it. It is a very mournful melody, full of sentiment and a feeling of longing. As the song progresses the guitars become faster as they keep up with what’s going on lyrically in the song, a storm striking the speakers boat. As the last words are sung by the vocalist, a wistful solo ends the song in a tone of despair and grief as the hero of the story dies and is buried beneath the sea. The whole song sounds as if it were a dirge for the main character, as the music tells the story as much as the lyrics do, giving it a feeling of cohesiveness.