review by: Matt Smith

This album is a marked improvement over The Crusher. Everything from production to richness of vocals and guitar riff quality was improved between the two. The drumming is better on this one, but it's not as drastic a change as with the other aspects. The Viking theme is as strong as ever, and the menacing guitar melodies make me think of being on a ship ready to pillage in the same way Nile makes me think of building a pyramid. It may not be authentic, but it does a hell of a job setting the mood for imagining times past.

Amon Amarth chose a good track to title the CD after, with rich guitars and intricate drumming. "Versus the World" is my favorite on the album, and it uses the same melody and rhythms throughout but varies on them enough to keep it interesting all the way through. Another song I particularly enjoyed was "For the Stabwounds in Our Backs." Fredrik Andersson plays a blistering drum track that picks up the slow, ponderous guitars into a frenzy. Altogether, Versus the World is a very strong album, good from beginning to end. (8/10)