Amon Amarth

Rockharz - 2012

Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen

On the most folk/pagan filled day of Rockharz 2012, who would be better suited as the headlining act than the deathly Vikings of Sweden, Amon Amarth?
Well, beats me, hence I had no hesitation telling me that this would be anything less than awesome...

Since it was also the final day of the festival, and the entire crowd was gathered to watch the oncoming slaughter, the whole festival management and crew team took the stage first though, to give a proper thank you to the many, many people visiting their wonderful festival. A fitting summary to three great summer days and nights.
Behind them, fluttering in the wind, were banners depicting the giant Surtur’s final battle against the world, so there was no doubt what was coming next however, and from a cascade of flames, Amon Amarth took the stage and started their epic journey with the fitting choice War Of The Gods.
It was easy to see that the band had once again gone all out on the show here, what with a huge pyro-show, sparklers going off once in a while, smoke cannons filling the air with, well, smoke of course, and definitely not forgetting that even the back and stage-drops were changed about halfway through the set from the burning field with the fighting giant to a much darker imagery of a lone warrior riding with full speed on a furious and chaotic battlefield – I needn’t tell you that both images fit the profile of Amon Amarth like a hand and a glove.
Yes, with all the gaining recognition this band is getting release after release, they seem determined to up the ante for every tour they’re on. Luckily for them (and us, not forgetting) fancy backdrops and gas-burners aren’t the only thing in the bands arsenal though– no, they also come fully equipped with a great set of songs, and the performance skills to carry them across!

The setlist tonight was far from offering us any surprises, instead giving us a long ride of proven classics with only two songs from the new album intertwined. Personally, my favourite was Varyags Of Miklagaard, a song that saw the entire audience jump, but I can’t say I have any real complaints about any of the songs chosen, they all worked well and helped kick our asses back a thousand years or so back to another time and place.
If not the setlist, then at least the performance was something else entirely. These guys know full-well how to pull off a great show, and their standard for this is pretty high to begin with, but what they delivered here at Rockharz was something that even put many of their own top shows to shame!
Clearly the band was in an excellent mood this fine evening, where Johan Hegg tried his luck with German a lot of the time (judging from the response it went rather well), and the rest of the band put their best foot forward. This was a cavalcade of synchronized headbanging, enthusiastic posing, lots of movement, and last but not least, a very cool Olavi Mikkonen – this guy has really upped his stage manner over the years, and it’s a ride that’s been interesting to take part in.
When the show was done, everyone got together to throw out a good dose of drum-sticks and guitar-picks, and as Hegg had neither, he opted to down a full horn of beer instead – a perfect way to round things up!

“You have been through thunderstorms and rain and you’re still standing – that’s fucking metal!”
- Johan Hegg (vocals)


But what is a show without an audience?
Dull, and kind of weird for the band I would suspect. Luckily, that wasn’t the case here, as I believe every single visitor of Rockharz 2012 had met up to take part in this special concert! I tell you the place was packed!
Not only was it packed, but (unsurprisingly so) everyone seemed very enthusiastic about what they were seeing and hearing – normally a metal festival can be almost as diverse as a mixed genre type festival, but this was obviously something everyone could agree on liking. This came to be expressed in loud shouts and applause between songs of course, but also with all the action like headbanging and moshpitting during the songs. Not to mention the sing along chants; during The Pursuit Of Vikings this particular activity grew to such astronomical proportions that the crowd even deafened out the music for a while, and I don’t think I was the only one impressed by this!

No, as you can clearly tell, this was a show above other shows, even in Amon Amarth’s brilliant history. I’m not sure it was the best one ever, but it certainly holds a place in the very top! The fact that we would get the chance to see them both at Wacken and at Metalcamp again this summer had never looked as good as it did right at this moment.

Setlist:

War of The Gods
Runes To My Memory
Destroyer Of The Universe
Death in Fire
The Pursuit Of Vikings
Cry Of The Black Birds
Varyags Of Miklagaard
For Victory Or Death
Victorious March
Twilight Of The Thunder God
Guardians Of Asgaard

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