Swedish death metal band Amon Amarth delivers a sonic and visual spectacle on The Great Heathen Tour with support from Carcass, Obituary, and Cattle Decapitation.
Absolutely brutal. That pretty much sums up the set by the opening band Cattle Decapitation. They have been putting out intense death metal music since 1996 with seven albums to their name. All but one song tonight come from their 2019 release Death Atlas, including the first three songs “The Geocide,” “Vulturous,” and “Finish Them.” Vocalist Travis Rose delivers a harsh, guttural punch, augmented with screams, and even some occasional lucid singing. The rapid-fire blast beats by drummer Dave McGraw and searing leads by Josh Elmore are amazing, to say the least, and will get anyone’s heartbeat racing. Rhythm guitarist Belisario Dimuzio and bassist Olivier Pinard provide some sanity to the madness, but make no mistake, it is still heavy. They also headbang while cranking out the music. It does not take long to get the early fans moshing in the general admission floor section, and they keep it up throughout the set. They treat the fans to a new song, “We Eat Our Young,” from their upcoming album. The fans seem to like it as they respond with horns in the air. Finishing off the set is “Time’s Cruel Curtain” and “Bring Back the Plague.”
Next up is Tampa-based band Obituary, who have been around for close to 40 years. Their set may only be eight songs long, but they manage to fit some in from seven of their albums including all the way back to the 1990 release Cause of Death. It is great to see such a diverse group of fans from 50+ all the way down to probably under 10. And it seems many are very familiar with Obituary’s songs and are immediately into it right from the time they take the stage and play “Redneck Stomp.”Lead singer John Tardy is all smiles as he paces about the stage and whips his long hair about. He seems to be having as much fun as the crowd. Speaking of the crowd, they are fired up as the madness on the floor continues with moshing, crowd-surfing, and plenty of headbanging. “Sentence Day” and “A Lesson in Vengeance,” both from 2017 self-titled release, are killer with an awesome grove laid down by drummer Donald Tardy and bassist Terry Butler. Trevor Peres and Ken Andrews provide the one-two punch on guitar. Following “Visions in My Head” and “Circle of Tyrants,” they play the new song “The Wrong Time” from their upcoming January 2023 album called Dying of Everything. It starts a bit more melodic before transitioning into some pummeling drums and fast riffing. The fans love it. They close out their set with two classic songs, “I’m in Pain” and “Don’t Care,” the latter featuring some killer leads. It’s a great set that has these fans tonight well-warmed up for the bands to come.
The legendary Carcass from Liverpool, England hit the stage next and lead with “Buried Dreams” from the masterpiece 1993 album Heartwork. An originator of goregrind and a leader in the melodic death metal genres, their song lyrics often reference medical terminology and cover topics like the environment, but it is the music that speaks for itself. It is fast and intense but has a groove that is driven by the riff master Bill Steer on guitar and bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker. Bill makes it look easy, while Jeff looks angry as he belts out the lyrics with his raspy voice.Several songs are featured tonight from their 2022 album Torn Arteries, including the next song “Kelly’s Meat Emporium.” Like most of their songs, it has a wickedly fast beat driven by drummer Daniel Wilding. “Incarnated Solvent Abuse” showcases the riffing and shredding of both Bill Steer and James Blackford. This classic song from the 1991 album Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious has the crowd amped up as a mosh pit opens on the floor. They follow this up with “Under the Scalpel Blade” and “This Mortal Coil,” yet another classic from the Heartwork album. Jeff leads the crowd in some overhead clapping during the latter song.
One of their newer songs, “Dance of Ixtab,” is up next and is a bit slower than most of their songs. It is still heavy and features plenty of killer guitar-riffing and Jeff’s angry vocal delivery. Following “Genital Grinder” and “The Scythe’s Remorseless Swing,” the familiar pulsing drum beat of the popular “Corporal Jigsore Quandary” kicks in, and the fans go wild with headbanging and moshing. Jeff gets the fans further engaged and tells them to “raise your fists” and lead a chant of “hey, hey.” Behind the band on small monitors, video images play throughout their set that augments the songs including some gruesome imagery that looks like an autopsy or dissection of some kind. They close out their set with the classic title track from Heartwork which has the fans showing their appreciation with loud cheers. This upbeat song gets a big circle pit going on the floor. Carcass sure knows how to still put on a great show after over 30 years in the business.
Now it is time for the headliner Amon Amarth to take the stage. This Swedish melodic death metal band has been cranking out great albums and entertaining fans for 30 years. Sometimes their music is also referred to as Viking metal since their songs touch frequently on Norse mythology around Vikings, gods, beasts, battles, and beer. Beer? More on that in a bit.After some introduction music and voice over, the curtain rises to reveal an awesome stage with a tall drum riser that looks like a Viking mask, with stairs and platforms on either side. They kick off the set with “Guardians of Asgaard” which has singer Johan Hegg leading the audience with fist-pumps in the air from platforms near the front. They follow this with “Raven’s Flight” and “Deceiver of the Gods.” The latter features Loki, a horned beast that is supposed to be the god of mischief or trickery. Next, they play “Oden Owns You All” and “The Pursuit of Vikings.” The crowd is already in a full-blown frenzy with plenty of moshing, headbanging, and crowd-surfing. Johan leads them further with a battle cry of “hey, hey.”
After “The Great Heathen Army” and “Find a Way or Make One,” they play “Destroyer of the Universe” which features a rapid beat, searing leads and some cool flame imagery in the eyes of the mask on the drum riser. Throughout the set, various imagery appears in those eyes that align with the subject of the current song being played. Along with smoke and great use of deep hues of red, purple, green, and blue, their set looks breathtaking. All the band members are masters of their craft as they deliver a sonic assault. High atop the drum riser, Jocke Wallgren crushes the drums with rhythmic precision, while bassist Ted Lundstrom provides the thunderous bottom end. Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Soderberg provide the killer leads and riffs. Johan Hegg knows how to work the crowd and does so again during “Put Your Back Into the Oar.” It seems many of the fans here tonight are diehards and know what to do. About halfway through the song, a good portion of the floor crowd sits down and begins to row in unison, along with many in the seated sections joining in. Johan leads them as he sings the repeating “row” lyrics. It is quite a sight to see.
After “Cry of the Black Birds,” they play the song “The Way of Vikings” which features two Vikings battling it out on stage. The crowd is loving it. They keep the energy high with “First Kill” which has a wild circle pit going on the floor and then play “Shield Wall.”
Now back to the beer. Before the song “Raise Your Horns,” all the band members stand and take a drink from their horns, with Johan exclaiming “cheers!” before leading the crowd in a chant of “Skål.” They close out their set with “Twilight of the Thunder God” which features a giant serpent on the stage. It also has Johan wielding the Mjölnir, the hammer of the thunder god Thor.
What a killer show by these metal masters. The fans tonight really got their money’s worth with great sets by all the bands.
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