Return of the Vikings

Amon Amarth

On 7 May 2016, I went to see Amon Amarth in the concert for the second time.  The first time I saw them was in 2011 in a sold out venue that holds just under 1000 people.  Five years later, they sold out a venue holding just under 1700 people.  Suffice to say, Amon Amarth is getting huge and they will probably continue to blow up as time goes on.  This time, they came with Entombed A.D. and Exmortus.  I was always a fan of Entombed and I still like them as Entombed A.D.  I had previously seen them the year before and I enjoyed their set quite a bit.  Exmortus was a band I was completely in the dark about, having no prior exposure to them at all.

Exmortus is a band that plays a style of death and thrash metal that is similar to Bewitched but with a more technical style of guitar playing.  Some of their titles were a little…self-aware.  “For the Horde” and “Metal is King” followed a little bit in the thrash vein of a band breaking the fourth wall and recognizing that they exist within their songs.  They happened to play a super sweet version of Moonlight Sonata.

Entombed A.D. played a few newer songs but I was pleasantly surprised when they played classics like Wolverine Blues and Left Hand Path.  The singer was having a great time and seemed genuinely pleased to be playing live which I can really appreciate from a seasoned band like Entombed A.D.

Amon Amarth played a great set of about 19 songs.  They had a huge Viking style boat on stage with people decked out in battle armor with swords and shields.  Also, the singer of Entombed A.D. came out to do one song, which never even occurred to me would be a possibility.  The crowd got really rough.  I remember seeing three people being taken out to ambulances because of how rowdy the crowd was.

Next week I will telling you about the Metal Alliance Tour so stay tuned!

-Ryan