AN EVENING WITH
AMON AMARTH 

APRIL 20th, 2011
SHOWBOX MARKET- SEATTLE WA
Review/Photos By: Char Tupper
Link to Photos Below: 
http://www.metaltitans.com/concertpics/an-evening-with-amon-amarth/
 

Take out your shields, and take out your mighty swords, then bring them to the Showbox Market, it is time for a victorious evening of Vikings, of none other than Sweden’s own, Amon Amarth. This legendary band has embarked on a tour all on their own, no opening acts, and they aren’t co-headlining, they are the “Pursuit of Vikings”, and they have come with a force that isn’t to be reckoned with.

This show was something special for the band, with no opening acts or anyone else to share the stage with, these Norsemen had a lot of free stage time on their hands. The idea behind this particular tour was to play the entire “Surtur Rising” album for the first hour of their show, then, the second hour would be as if they were playing a regular show, combined with songs from all their discography. They did, however, get a 40minute break between sets because lets admit, yes, they are brutal Vikings, but even the toughest warrior, needs a break from performing here and there. The venue was packed at almost near capacity, over 1,000 people attended this spectacular event and none the less, there was definitely a lot of fans who really loved the idea of one band performing this evening. Talking to the fans, a lot had to say that it is great to see their favourite band, and only their favourite band, plus, being on a Wednesday night, a lot of fans appreciated an early show so they wouldn’t be hung over at work the next morning. Enough about the surroundings and what the show is “supposed” to be, lets get into the juicy details of the show itself.

For the first hour, Amon Amarth played the “Surtur Rising” CD in order, from start to finish. They started however, with an intro to slowly build up suspense, until they all walked on stage, and jumped right into “War of the Gods”. This was a very upbeat and vicious song to begin their evening with. Their sound was crystal clear and having crowd surfers poor over the barrier like a waterfall. This song definitely had horns raised high while the fans singing almost word for word and cheering them on. However, throughout the first set, it seemed either the bass had some issues, or something, because the bass became a prominent sound beating through my chest and into the next guy behind me. This issue was quickly fixed, and from that point on, the show was once again crystal clear. The audience did seem a little on the tame side for the first hour of Amon Amarth’s set, however, their lack of energy definitely made a come back for the second half of their show after the intermission.

After the intermission, the lights dropped, you could hear raindrops and thunder, then, the band rushed onstage and began to play “Twilight of the Thunder God”. As soon as Johan and Olavi (guitarists) hit the first note on their guitars, the audience went ballistic and absolutely insane. The mosh pit was about half the size of the floor and horns were to be seen all around the room. The second half of the show most certainly captured the wide spread energy of the fans. There wasn’t a single person, who wasn’t somehow showing support for this band, whether they were singing, head banging, holding their horns, no matter what, love for this band was shown in all forms. After the song finished, Johan (vocals) says to the crowd “ Well…are you happy to see us?” and the crowd let out a huge scream of joy. The vocalist laughed, enjoyed the beer in his hand, and thanked us all for the support. Amon Amarth played a variation of songs from all their albums, like “Without Fear” and “With Oden on Our Side”, while playing some of the expected like “Guardians of Asgaard” and “Live for the Kill”. The set comes to a stand still, the band thanks us all for coming down to the show tonight and the lights begin to dim. The band comes rushing out, and Johan says “You didn’t expect us to leave without giving you one more song, did you?”, so, with that being said, the band closed out with the classic, “Pursuit of Vikings”. Crowd surfers were everywhere, Johan had the crowd singing the main chorus along with him. The show sadly came to an end, but left a lasting impression of the mighty Vikings on everyone in the room that evening. Amon Amarth left us all “Runes to our Memory”.

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SET ONE: SURTUR RISING CD

War of the Gods
Töck's Taunt - Loke's Treachery Part II
Destroyer of the Universe
Slaves of Fear
Live Without Regrets
The Last Stand of Frej
For Victory or Death
Wrath of the Norsemen
A Beast Am I
Doom Over Dead Man

SET TWO: REGULAR SET

Twilight of the Thunder God
Masters of War
Live for the Kill
With Oden on Our Side
Guardians of Asgaard
Asator
Varyags of Miklagaard
Thousand Years of Oppression
Without Fear
Gods of War Arise
Death in Fire

ENCORE

Cry of the Black Birds
Runes to My Memory
The Pursuit of Vikings