Amon Amarth preview

Amon Amarth
House Of Blues, Chicago
Monday, October 13, 2008

Sweden’s Amon Amarth picked the perfect time to release Twilight Of The Thunder God (Metal Blade) because somehow, someway, “viking metal” has become hot shit.

We don’t envision Rolling Stone giving Tyr four stars (though Land deserves it) anytime soon and don’t know if Bathory (whose classic Twilight Of The Gods sure played into Amarth’s most recent album title) T-shirts can be bought at Hot Topic yet, but there is a lot of this stuff being released. More surprising than the quantity, though, is the quality. In the last two years, Turisas, Tyr, Ensiferum (Amarth’s current tourmate), and Grand Magus (maybe not technically viking metal, but close, and awesome, enough) has each released very strong albums, and now comes Amarth with the best of the bunch in Thunder God. Shields high and blades drawn, Amon Amarth charge through 10 tracks of serpent-slaying, sword-clashing, fortress-protecting, Odin-worshiping death metal – undoubtedly the group’s strongest effort in its 16-year career (nearly all of it spent with Metal Blade).

Apparently, Amon Amarth don’t just slay on CD, either. A high-ranking, top-secret Illinois Entertainer operative based in Portland, Oregon recently witnessed Amarth annihilate – literally. “I saw a wall of 10 to 12 people get thrown onto a merch table (destroyed); a dude draped in pelts (fresh?); a steel Viking cap; and plenty of plastic swords,” our man insists. “The venue was over capacity, and the band just rocked it. Sweaty times.”

Pelts? Viking headgear? Fake swords? Broken merch tables? Great Odin’s raven!

Ensiferum, Belphegor, and The Absence open.

— Trevor Fisher

Click here to download Amon Amarth’s “Twilight Of The Thunder God” video.

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly