We included the title track from Amon Amarth’s forthcoming ninth album, Deceiver Of The Gods, in last month’s installment of the Black Market, our monthly metal column. As Aaron wrote in that space:

In the conservative world of true heavy metal, consistency is a virtue above all. Standard-bearers like Iron Maiden and Cannibal Corpse have built careers off rewriting the same song. This is a good thing, a sign of strength and commitment to the fans. In this world change is compromise, and compromise is the manifestation of weakness itself. Amon Amarth do not compromise. They release new material every few years; invariably it sounds roughly the same — predictably powerful, reliably catchy. Any change is incremental, most likely accidental, so slight as to never ruffle the feathers of the faithful. Yet the band gets better with each release. Repeated motion leads to proficiency and efficiency; your one trick becomes one helluva trick. The title track off their latest release, Deceiver Of The Gods, sounds like … Amon Amarth, meaning it’s everything we want out of melodic death metal: hooks, riffs, and majesty.

Aaron kind of says it all right there; I agree wholeheartedly with his endorsement, especially the notion that Amon Amarth’s albums have actually slowly gotten better over the years: Their last, 2011’s Surtur Rising, was an absolute triumph, and Deceiver is, at least, every bit the equal of its predecessor. We’ve got another Deceiver track for you to spin today; it’s called “Shape Shifter” and it’s great. Listen.

Deceiver Of The Gods is out 6/25 via Metal Blade. After its release, the band will embark on a genuinely epic North American tour. Here are the dates:

06/29 San Bernardino, CA @ San Manuel Amphitheater
06/30 Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
07/02 Nampa, ID @ Idaho Center Amphitheatre
07/03 Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
07/05 Phoenix, AZ @ Desert Sky Pavilion
07/06 Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheatre
07/07 Englewood, CO @ Fiddler’s Green Ampitheatre
07/09 Grand Rapids, MI w/ Children of Bodom, Job for a Cowboy, Battlecross, Huntress @ The Intersection
07/10 Toronto, ON @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
07/12 Burgettstown, PA @ First Niagara Pavilion
07/13 Scranton, PA @ Toyota Pavilion
07/14 Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
07/16 Mansfield, MA @ Comcast Center
07/17 Bangor, ME @ Bangor Waterfront
07/19 Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
07/20 Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
07/21 Hartford, CT @ The Comcast Theatre
07/23 Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
07/24 Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
07/26 Noblesville, IN @ Klipsch Music Center
07/27 Tinley Park, IL @ First Midwest Bank Ampitheatre
07/28 Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
07/29 Louisville, KY w/ Children of Bodom, Behemoth, Emmure, Motionless In White, Born of Osiris, Job for a Cowboy, Battlecross, Huntress @ Expo Five
07/30 Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheatre
07/31 Tampa, FL @ Live Nation Amphitheatre
08/02 Austin, TX @ Austin 360 Ampitheatre
08/03 The Woodlands, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
08/04 Dallas, TX @ Gexa Energy Pavilion
08/05 Kansas City, MO w/ Rob Zombie, Machine Head & Children Of Bodom @ Cricket Wireless Ampitheater
08/07 Sauget, IL w/ Children of Bodom, Battlecross, Huntress @ Pop’s
08/08 Nashville, TN w/ Children of Bodom, Battlecross, Huntress @ Marathon Music Works
08/09 Cleveland, OH w/ Children of Bodom, Battlecross, Huntress @ Peabody’s
08/11 Montreal, QC @ Heavy MTL Festival