Amon Amarth

Vega, Copenhagen - 2013

Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen

There was a bit of trepidation about visiting Amon Amarth in cold December as their tour brought them to Vega in Copenhagen.
On the one hand, their show at Copenhell this summer had far from impressed me, but on the other hand, the last time they were in Vega the show was so good that I accidentally got so drunk that I could hardly remember my own name...
So, what was it going to be tonight, boring and painfully remembered or amazing and erased from my memory the day after?

“God aften København, er det godt? Jeg ved det er onsdag men det føles som en rigtig metal dag!”
- Johan Hegg (vocals)


The trepidation was still present as the familiar horn-blowing intro thundered through the speakers, but I was impressed by the new stage setup they had created (even if the ship would have been cool as well). It waned quickly though as the band took the stage, and Johan Hegg greeted us with a broad smile and a pretty damn good Danish for a foreigner (but what do I know, I’m a Swede myself), where he declared this common Wednesday a true metal day! Not true as in Manowar, but rather as opposed to your normal, grey work/school day that it could have been. You get the picture, I’m sure.
Amon Amarth’s latest opus, Deceiver Of The Gods, had hit the streets during the summer and they were now ready to give us a full dose of what it had packed, only in a live setting. Not all of the album was played, but Amon Amarth certainly had packed their set with a lot of the new songs! Material older than Versus The World was skipped entirely this time around in preference of a Deceiver... and Twilight Of The Thunder God laden set; not necessarily a bad thing although I’m sure there was an old purist or two that grumbled and ground their teeth over this decision.

Amon Amarth had, just like their two support bands, a very well-mixed sound at this gig where everything got through just where it was supposed to and nothing drowned anything else.
This was as positive as it was surprising, and it was really nice to be able to fully take in all that sweet melody that Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg are so good at creating, all the while being fully supported by the thunderous rhythm section provided by Ted Lundström and Fredrik Andersson.
So far, it had come to light that both setlist and sonic delivery were in the positive section, but we still needed to know more about the all-important performance!
Well, rest assured that the Swedish Viking horde was back on the oaken throne once more! Every single man in the band brought a good vibe and an abundance of energy to the hall that could not be overlooked by anyone! Hegg spoke a lot without taking the momentum out of the show, and gained extra points by praising local fancy-pants brewery Mikkeller after downing his hip borne drinking horn, whereas string-benders Mikkonen, Lundström and Söderberg were happy to part ways with their picks throughout the evening. All of them had an unbreakable connection with the audience which made everyone feel welcome.

On the more technical side, things had evolved as well. Amon Amarth hadn’t brought any of their trademark fire with them this time around, maybe the hall was too small, but they had smoke cannons going off every now and then, they had the new build up on the stage which allowed for a lot of movement (and it was used in plenty as well), and they had no less than three different backdrops!
The show started out with Thor and Loke battling it out, Deceiver Of The Gods style, and when the set hit upon Destroyer Of The Universe or the end of the ballad section as Hegg put it, the two gods fell down and revealed an army marching towards us, the same that had been used back in 2012 on the Surtur Rising tour. Later, as we arrived at the encore section of the set, Thor was back from his break, now battling it out with Jörmungandr as he back in the Twilight Of The Thunder God days, which incidentally was exactly what was on the song menu as well.
The With Oden On Our Side backdrop may have been buried too deep in the archives to get aired out on this show, but instead Runes To My Memory saw two large rune-stones rolled out on the stage, where they shone majestically from the red light they had inside.

Out of the two scenarios that I had predicted for this concert, we were definitely and heavily leaning towards amnesia, although even with a hefty intake of alcoholic beverages my mind stood strong this time around.
The entertainment value was not to be missed though, and my favourite parts of the show were probably the Iron Maiden moment we had at the beginning of the song Deceiver Of The Gods, where all sang along with a resounding “oh-oh-oh” to the guitar melody in the beginning of the song, true arena rock style, and who could forget how the floor crumbled beneath our feet when Varyags Of Miklagaard (best song of the evening by the way) slashed through the unheathened? More of this Amon Amarth, and don’t make us wait too long!

Setlist:

Father Of The Wolf
Deceiver Of The Gods
Death In Fire
Free Will Sacrifice
As Loke Falls
Runes To My Memory
Varyags Of Miklagaard
The Last Stand Of Frej
Guardians Of Asgaard
Blood Eagle
Warriors Of The North
Destroyer Of The Universe
Cry Of The Black Birds
War Of The Gods
Twilight Of The Thunder God
The Pursuit Of Vikings

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