The Avenger is the second studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Amon Amarth, released by Metal Blade Records and Sony Music on 2 September 1999. It was the first Amon Amarth album with guitarist Johan Söderberg and drummer Fredrik Andersson, thus completing the line-up that remained up until 2015, when Andersson left the band. It was also released as a digipak version, containing a bonus track "Thor Arise", a re-recording of the title track from their first demo, Thor Arise. The album was also released as an LP version. Later, Metal Blade Records re-released the album in 2005 on Picture LP, limited to 500 hand-counted copies. A deluxe edition was released in 2009 that featured the album remastered by Jens Bogren, and a bonus cd of the original album played live in its entirety in Bochum, Germany.
Exact quote for the album, by the band:
The quote was a result of a short-lived feud with heavy metal band HammerFall, and fears consumers and press alike viewed the album as unoriginal or a near-cover work of another band.