Vikings, Row Pits, and Drinking Horns! Amon Amarth Takes Over Charlotte

The Great Heathen Tour Brings a Night of Metal Madness to the Fillmore

Ask any average citizen what Sweden is famous for and their answers may range from Swedish meatballs to winter sports or even IKEA. But should you ask a metalhead this question, you’re likely to get a very different response. Sweden is a true metal music mecca and the melodic death metal scene wouldn’t be the same without the bands hailing from the great Scandinavian country.  No band represents this better than the Swedish melodeath stalwarts Amon Amarth. 

The band is currently out on the road in support of their latest release, The Great Heathen Army, and rolled into the Fillmore Charlotte with Obituary and Cattle Decapitation for a night of metal madness and heathen excess. 

Fans were lined up around the block for the sold-out show sporting all their favorite Amon Amarth and Viking gear. It just wouldn’t be an Amon Amarth show without spotting at least a few Viking helmets after all. 

Intensity was the name of the game when Cattle Decapitation took the stage. From the blistering guitar attack of Josh Elmore and Belisario Dimuzio to the thundering rhythms of drummer Dave McGraw and bassist Olivier Pinard and you have all the makings for a raucous ride. Add in the growls and fierce stage presence of lead vocalist Travis Ryan and the scene is complete. Although their set was short, it definitely packed a punch. If you’re heading out to see the tour, be sure and get there early to see what they have to offer. 

After a quick break, we were soon grooving and growling again with Obituary. One of the most successful death metal bands ever, they came to slay, and slay they did. Taking the stage to the sounds of Pat Travers’ “Snortin’ Whiskey,” vocalist John Tardy took command of the audience from the very first notes and showed why Obituary is at the top of the death metal ladder. Guitarists Ken Andrews and Trevor Peres exchanged blistering leads and riffs while drummer Donald Tardy made his thunderous presence known behind the kit. 

“Redneck Stomp” was pure fire and they even included a cover of Celtic Frost’s “Circle of the Tyrants,” as bassist Terry Butler pumped his horns high in the air saluting the crowd.  The pits were moving as the band closed it out with “Don’t Care” and guess what? Nobody did because we were all caught up in the moment and that was the only thing that mattered. What a set!

The crew was busy reading the stage and we were all in awe of the huge Viking helmet that towered high at the rear of the stage complete with glowing eyes that would change colors and patterns throughout the set.  Perched atop this massive structure was the drumkit of Jocke Wallgren. Once he came out and gave his metal salute to the fans, he would be barely visible for the rest of the evening. Two sets of stairs were coming down on each side of the helmet to the main stage. The heathens were getting rowdy and impatient just as Amon Amarth ran out one at a time in a sea of fog and flashing lights. Soon we became “Guardians of Asgaard” as vocalist Johan Hegg made his presence known and the venue erupted. One of the reasons I love this band is their use of Viking mythology and how they incorporate its elements into their show. 

Musically, the band was firing on all cylinders with brutal guitars courtesy of Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Soderberg. The punishing beats of Wallgren permeated your inner core along with the blitzkrieg bass lines of Ted Lundstrom. Leading the Viking charge was Hegg as he ran all over the stage, pumping his fist in the air. He is a sight to behold when on the stage, vocally barbaric and merciless yet somehow majestic in his grandeur. 

The band pulled out all the stops for this tour with a warrior coming out to battle with Hegg and the other band members at one point as well as a full-on row pit during “Put Your Back Into The Oar.” What is a row pit, you may ask? Well, you really should experience one to get the gist of it, but in a nutshell, instead of moshing in a pit, everyone gets down on the floor and does a rowing motion, just like the Vikings of yesteryear. But the band saved the best for the next to last of the evening. This is the part of the show where Johan pulls out his enormous drinking horn as the rest of the band pours a drink into their own horns and thanks the fans for coming out and supporting the band. Yes, this is “Raise Your Horns” and the floor of the Fillmore was full of people holding their drinking horns or metal horns in the air for this glorious romp. 

Just when you thought there couldn’t possibly be any more, Amon Amarth gave us one more song, closing out this epic evening with “Twilight of the Thunder God.” Now, this was a metal show! The tour runs through December 17th here in the US before the band heads back to Europe next year. Don’t miss your chance to catch it! Until next time heathens, Raise Your Horns!

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