Metal, beer, and Vikings. What’s a better combination? Amon Amarth invaded Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom as a part of their latest raid, The Great Heathen Tour.
Kicking off the night were Cattle Decapitation delivering their unflinching death metal and unapologetic, if at times nihilistic, stances on the current state of the world. Featuring hyperspeed blast beats; sweeping double-bass runs; breakdowns that’ll make your skin peel back; and almost inhuman, alien-esq vocals, Cattle Decapitation were the perfect landing force for Amon Amarth’s current siege.
Up next were the original Florida boys of death metal, Obituary, bringing forth their lo-fi death metal/hardcore hybrid sound that is often imitated, but never replicated. Sitting at the top of the death metal food chain, Obituary have been delivering relentless aggression and ferocity since 1986. Filled with corpse-crushing grooves, bone-ripping guitar solos, and blistering drum beats, Obituary embody unfiltered aggression paired perfectly with technical mastery resulting in one big swift left hook to the chin of listeners.
Obituary are the perfect example of an older metal band still crushing it today, delivering what’s expected from older fans while roping in new ones into the genre through their devastating style, flying guitar elements, and harsh vocals creating the perfect death metal cocktail.
Just like Obituary, Carcass sit at the high table of death metal/grindcore OGs who helped start it all over 30 years ago. Carcass’ ability to dissect and rip the guts out of the genre, proudly displaying them, only to shove them back in, but in a completely different order, is nothing short of impressive. Their ferocious and uncompromising attitude coupled with their tenacious execution is why they continue to be massively relevant and inspiring today.
Bringing modern punches and tools to the mix, while still keeping it old-school, Carcass continues to release incredible music that pushes them as musicians while still staying true to their old sound, both of which are no easy tasks, especially since Carcass took a nice, long 17-year nap before returning in 2013. In other words, Carcass manage to operate in this perfect middle ground of not overusing the older, edgier methods of their early work, but also don’t lean too heavy on today’s modern approaches, thus currently existing in a middle plane of both worlds… which is exactly how they like it.
Formed in 1992, Amon Amarth are one of the great modern metal acts creating a reputation as a ferocious, dominating live band while also pushing melodic death metal forward, along with being one of the biggest pushers for Viking metal. With massive breakout releases such as 2006’s With Oden on Our Side and 2008’s Twilight of the Thunder God, Amon Amarth continue to cement itself as one of the biggest and boldest musical acts in metal today.
While technically considered melodic death metal, Amon Amarth focus on thematic elements of the Viking age, which is why they are categorized often as “Viking Metal.” By the time they popped up in ’92, Viking metal had already existed since the late ‘80s and early ‘90s as an offshoot of black metal from bands like Bathory and Enslaved. Imke von Helden, who wrote Barbarians and Literature: Viking Metal and Its Links to Old Norse Mythology, states how “Viking metal is defined by topics rather than music… (which) is why death metal bands like Amon Amarth… are often included… (as) Viking metal bands.” While it may seem nitpicky or trivial, it’s important to note the distinctions and differences to better understand and appreciate these bands.
Consisting of fast-paced riffs, melodic harmonies, and soul-crushing rhythms paired with stories of Norse mythology and the Viking Age, Amon Amarth has never slowed down nor shied away from pushing themselves in the studio or as live performers. My number-one criterion for any form of art is, “What does it make the audience feel?” If it made the audience feel something, then it accomplished its job. I believe Amon Amarth have perfected this, especially in their live performance.
As someone who never listened before seeing them, I thoroughly enjoyed their set because not only did it sound great, but it was an experience. From the stage production to the Viking bit to even fans getting down on the ground to pretend they’re rowing a massive longship, everything about an Amon Amarth performance is built around the goal of their fans having fun and walking away feeling like they saw a performance, not just a concert. After over 25 years, it is no surprise that Amon Amarth still stand tall and continues to reign terror on their enemies.
Amon Amarth
Obituary
Cattle Decapitation
