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BACK
AMON
AMARTH – Viking Metal Avengers!
By Keith Carman
Warriors. Protectors of all things sacred to their homeland, warriors
come in a wide array of shapes, sizes and IQ levels. From the grotesque
to the ungodly, tiny to terrorizing, they have long been a part
of every culture's history. Take Amon Amarth for example. Five of
Sweden's fastest rising Metal warriors, singer Johan Hegg, guitarists
Olivi Mikkonen and Johan Soderberg, bassist Ted Lundstrom, and drummer
Fredrik Andersson have been attacking and plundering the world of
death metal for a decade, but it is only recently that they have
truly seen the fruits of their labours. Since day one, Amon Amarth
have been shaping their unique sound and style around what many
have called "Viking Death Metal." With their latest effort,
The Avenger, the band reach once again into their Swedish ancestry,
dredging up some of the richest, craziest and most entertaining
myths, legends and folklore imaginable.
Speaking with singer Johan Hegg, it's quickly apparent that Amon
Amarth pride themselves on being three steps away from current metal
trends. As opposed to re-hashing overwrought Satanic drama and corpse-paint,
they establish a bond between themselves and their heritage through
Viking legend and folklore.
"It's something that is very close to my heart. I read about
it as a kid. That's my ancestral heritage. I write about my ancestors
-- their beliefs, and in some sense my own beliefs. But it's sort
of...something deeply rooted in my soul. I've been interested in
Viking mythology and history since I was young. When we got together
as Amon Amarth, we figured that we needed something to set us apart
from other bands. Writing about Vikings was a way to do that, and
it still is.
"Not only in mythology, but as in old legends that are really
cool. A lot of people say that it's so shallow and plain old dirt,
death and blood," states Hegg, laughing, "but it's fucking
death metal, ain't it? Seriously though, I try to go a bit deeper
than what most people see, to offer respect to my history."
<br><br> What about the people who refer to Amon Amarth
as a black metal band glorifying those tales of Viking death and
debauchery? Are they feasting on the marrow of Satan, or are they
just sweet little ol' death metallers at heart? Hegg is pointed.
"We prefer to call ourselves just regular death metal. There
have been some black metal influences... Well, there are some similarities
between black metal and death metal, but we started out as a death
metal band, and we are still a death metal band."
With a quick run-through of the Amon Amarth back catalogue, one
can see exactly why the band opt to stick close to their death metal
ties. As Hegg relates, the band have retained many of their original
outlines and goals since the early days -- not that they haven't
progressed, just that they haven't forgotten the main goal.
"I wouldn't say that Amon Amarth have gone through a major
change since the Thor Arise demo. It has been a significant one,
but not a major one." Hegg elaborates, "The first demo
we made was very much traditional death metal. A lot of grind stuff,
which we don't have anymore, and other things, like the harmonies
and melodies were there, but not as much as they are today. We're
moving along the lines that a band should, so that they remain true
but not stagnant. The foundation of everything is still back there,
and you can still hear it today."
As a monument to their past, Amon Amarth have released a digipak
version of The Avenger, complete with a newly recorded version of
'Thor Arise,' which came about quite simply because the band couldn't
find the original, as Hegg jests.
"It is gone forever. We had to go back in and re-record it,
because the master tape is gone. We have the demo on tape, but the
quality is so fucking bad that we just never released it. It was
in a small studio where we rehearsed, which was actually a music
club for students."
Students? Of death metal? Hegg elaborates, delving further into
the history of the band.
"There is a reason why there are so many death metal bands
from Sweden. There are these clubs where a kid can pay about $40
a month, and they have access to all of this equipment. It's like
a way of keeping kids off the streets, so they have basketball,
pool and practice rooms. The rooms are quite nice for what they
are, with guitars, drums and speakers. That is why there are so
many death metal bands out of this country. We all grew up listening
to each other get better and better. When you're influenced by your
peers, a sub-culture grows pretty fucking fast."
However,
while Amon Amarth will always be thankful for their humble beginnings,
they are more than happy at the unusual outcome success is bringing.
The desire to move up to a professional rehearsal space yielded
a most unusual opportunity.
"We have a rehearsal space in our old school. You know, it's
very weird to be writing death metal songs in one of your old classrooms.
While the room has all been soundproofed now, you still know that
this is where you spent most of your time as a kid learning that
all of what we're doing should be bad right now," jokes Hegg,
who is keen to point out that the space has given the band ample
motivation. At a time when the band's latest album is just now being
released, the band are looking into next year, preparing for the
next venture. States Hegg, "We're doing a lot of stuff there
now. We have about three new songs we're working on, and hopefully
everything will be ready for the four weeks of studio time we have
booked in September." Knowing that the time of Amon Amarth
grows nigh, they strike while the iron is hot.
"We have to work faster now. People are just beginning to hear
about us, so we have to record and tour now, while it is most necessary.
Perhaps after we record the next album we can take some time. With
The Avenger, we only had three weeks to record the songs it took
us a year and a half to write. That's not a lot of time relatively
speaking, but we know that you have to move while the wheels are
turning. Where those wheels take you though...well, that's another
story."
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