amon_amarth_2009_10

» Amon Amarth 2009 10 16

Reviewed by Martin
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Special guest: Entombed
City: Malmö, Sweden
Venue: KulturBolaget
Date: 16 october 2009
Entombed set length: 60 minutes
Amon Amarth set length: 90 minutes

Entombed

When it comes to being legendary in the Swedish Death Metal-scene Entombed is as close to being just that as any band can be. Since the spawning of debut album "Left Hand Path" Entombed have held their ground in a truly stunning way. Although some of their albums have just barely reached par compared to the vast majority of their catalogue, the stockholmers have remained a fantastic live-act. The gig at Malmö's KulturBolaget was no exception.

Led on stage by L-G Petrov they immediately set the tone with the pile driver Chief Rebel Angel from "Morning Star" and went straight into Demon from critically acclaimed "Wolverine Blues". I as well as the audience couldn't have wished for a better start of the evening's festivities. I just stood thinking - my god what a good band this is! As the concert progressed this just became more and more evident. Petrov's fantastic abilities as a front man kept the audience in a firm grip, Alex Hellid's guitar work as well as his backing vocals was just stunning, and the solid bottom end delivered by Olle Dahlstedt on the drums and Nico Elgstrand on bass formed an entity of high quality Death Metal.

Although some of the songs were executed at top speed, Eyemaster and classic Left Hand Path for example, Entombed's music also has a solid groove that few other bands can match. One of my favourite tracks from "Clandestine", Stranger Aeons was played with such a heavy groove that I went completely bezerk out of joy. This concert was a statement from a band that has nothing to prove, and it was great to see that they still have the hunger to deliver.

8 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)

Amon Amarth

My first encounter with the new darlings of the Swedish melodic Death Metal-scene, Amon Amarth was at the Sweden Rock Festival in 2007. I was totally blown away by the band's performance that day. Since then it has become evident that the band's on a good roll in becoming the top band coming out of Sweden. The temperature had risen noticeably when the band took to the stage, and although Entombed got a good reaction out of the audience they never got a moshpit as Amon Amarth got from the very first song.

The band is greeted as true heroes - and the unquestionable chief is singer Johan Hegg whose commanding presence elicited a mighty chanting from the crowd. Amon Amarth's spent a good part of the last year on the road and this was evident. The band sounded tight and all the songs were well executed. But I still couldn't shake the feeling of slight boredom. Many of the songs sounded very much alike, and whilst Entombed kept the momentum of their concert going, Amon Amarth just seemed a bit too comfortable to give theirs that edge that makes the difference between a good concert and a great one.

Amon Amarth delivered a good gig, but for me that know what superpowers this band has in them, the gig was a bit of a disappointment.

6 chalices of 10

Setlist: (might be slightly incorrect)

Twilight Of The Thunder God
Tattered Banners And Bloody Flags
Valkyries Ride
Asator
Varyags Of Miklagaard
Hermod's Ride To Hell
Guardians Of Asgaard
Where Silent Gods Stand Guard
Live For The Kill
Fate Of Norns
Death In Fire
Runes To My Memory
Victorious March
Cry Of The Black Birds
Pursuit Of Vikings