Coming off an awesome new album, Twilight of the Thunder God, and bringing a stronger mob of openers than anyone could've reasonably hoped, Amon Amarth took over Irving Plaza on their New York stop. Florida-based starters the Absence offered song-driven death metal and a solid cover of Testament's "Into the Pit," and Austrian followers Belphegor resembled a live-action Dethklok with their hooky death metal, campy attire and especially their tendency to pluralize random words in their stage banter ("Are yous readys fors the blast beats??")
Best of all openers were Ensiferum, probably the second-best Viking-themed metal band in existence. The Helsinki metal warriors incorporated medieval-sounding instrumentation and structure into their melodic death metal, spouting tales of vengeance, monstrous creatures, sorcery and epic battle. Suggesting troubadours from the middle ages who were dropped off in the era of blast beats, Ensiferum tore through a masterful set of metal that was both catchy and colorful, sounding like they could raise a kraken or entertain a king's court on "One More Magic Potion" and "Ahti." "This one is called 'I-ron!'" stated ethereal singer guitarist Petri Lindroos, phonetically pronouncing the song title and urging the crowd to sing the "da-dadada, da-dadada" part. With the conviction of Manowar devotees, we all obliged him.
Still, Sweden's Viking leaders ruled the evening. Twilight of the Thunder God's phenomenal title track was a perfect opener, blending a melodic riff with a death metal assault over prose seemingly culled from Edda. Sandwiched around the kind of Guitar Hero solo that Dragonforce would sacrifice Herman Li for, Amon Amarth came roaring into New York like the hammer of the gods. Come from the land of the ice and snow, from the midnight sun where the hot springs blow...
"New York City, you have shown us that you have true Viking spirit!" bellowed jolly, enormous frontman Johan Hegg. Lesser bands fall prey to bombast and gimmickry, but Amon Amarth's music is stripped down, song-driven and even subtle enough to defy any Lordi comparisons. Amon Amarth never turned being loud, fast or technical into a competition, it simply came with great songs like "Death in Fire," "Asator" and "Runes to My Memory." Plus, they're getting better--Thunder God's "Free Will Sacrifice" succeeded everywhere that Frank Miller's 300 failed, and the anthemic "Guardians of Asgaard" is sure to be a staple in future sets. Bringing Norse mythology to life with the same vigor that helped Metallica capture Dalton Trumbo, Amon Amarth created a soundtrack that was both self-empowering and apocalyptic.
Thankfully, Amon Amarth are also as non self-important as death metal gets. Their show-stopping tradition of drinking beer out of Viking horns remains worth the admission price, and the war cries they elicited for "Steve" the beer guy were also admirable. Most bands whose stage props include shields with the band's initials would be unable to engage in such everyman tactics, but, alongside death metal beasts like "Valhall Awaits Me," that's part of the magic of Amon Amarth.
Ending with "The Pursuit of Vikings," Amon Amarth left everyone feeling a little more like Thor. If your friend didn't like it, then chances are they'll never enjoy death metal. Which raises the question--why are you affiliating yourself with someone who doesn't get Amon Amarth?
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