Photos: Dhruv Kumar
Thursday nights are for melting Viking Metal and Surgical Brutal Death Metal on this evening in the big apple. Amon Amarth the Swedish Viking Metal legends bring their Heathen Army to the Hammerstein Ballroom and smash to pieces and conquer the city with their unique blend of Epic Metal and molten Metal grooves. Not only are the Swedes kicking all kinds of arse with their very well-received new record “The Great Heathen Army’, but they toured Europe recently with Machine Head, with glorious momentum from the European crowds.
The unique thing tonight is that this is only 1 of 3 full-production shows, the others we’re in LA and Montreal only. So NYC gets top-notch production on all levels tonight.
We kick the night off with Cattle Decapitation, San Diego’s Death Metal veterans. Talk about a bone-crushing opening huh? The guys get things going quickly as they smash through “The Geocide” and “Vulturous” with full approval from the packed house. CD always delivers back-breaking sonic grooves and they are the perfect opener for this monumental tour.
Next, we have Florida Death Metal legends Obituary. Pioneers in the genre and beloved by every Death metal head around. One of those bands that can get fans moving, and on this night the crowd was crowd-surfing galore. They shred the setlist with such epics as “Redneck Stomp” and “Sentence Day”. Improving stage lighting gives way to a more vibrant atmosphere overall. Needless to say at this point the crowd is primed and ready for Carcass to tear things up.
The UK Death Metal icons waste no time in hitting the ground running with suck killer tunes the likes of “This Mortal Coil”, and later when the classic “Heartwork” takes over. The crowd is screaming their lungs off and the energy is electric at this point. Bill Steer’s surgical masterclass is on point as every night, these guys know how to bring it to live, they have for decades and show no signs of slowing down. Jeff Walker was his enigmatic self posing for all the photographer’s int he pit. Smashing we go into Amon Amarth.
The Viking Swedes bring their grandiose stage production and we gear for the crazy degree of Epic metal. John Hegg comes on and right away the crowd goes berserk. “Guardians of Asgaard” and “Raven’s Flight” make things interesting, as Hegg takes a quick break to Skol from his Viking cup.
Nothing is more brotherly than watching a crowd of grown-ass man row boats to Valhalla. If you have been to any Amon shows, you know this is a staple of their performance for years now.
Not only does Amon put on a great show, but you topple that with the superb production and the infectious energy they bring on stage, you have a bombastic performance on this evening. We keep things rolling as Thor’s Hammers smashes with impunity on “Twilight of the Thunder God” and all hell breaks loose. The crowd doesn’t want things to end, but what a way to wrap up the night. Pure Heavy Freaking Metal of Epic proportions. Horns Up and Skol!!!
Amon Amarth
THE GREAT HEATHEN TOUR
US HEADLINE RUN W/ CARCASS, OBITUARY AND CATTLE DECAPITATION
Friday, November 11 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl *
Saturday, November 12 – Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theater
Monday, November 14 – San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theater
Tuesday, November 15 – Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center
Wednesday, November 16 – Dallas, TX @ Southside Ballroom
Friday, November 18 – Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle
Saturday, November 19 – Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
Sunday, November 20 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore
Tuesday, November 22 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
Wednesday, November 23 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
Friday, November 25 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
Saturday, November 26 – Chicago, IL @ The Aragon Ballroom
Sunday, November 27 – Cincinnati, OH @ The Andrew J Brady Music Center
Wednesday, November 30 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE**
Thursday, Dec 01 – New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
Friday, Dec 02 – Toronto, ON @ History
Saturday, Dec 03 – Laval, QC @ Place Bell
Monday, Dec 05 – Madison, WI @ The Sylvee
Tuesday, Dec 06 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore
Wednesday, Dec 07- Kansas City, MO @ Uptown
Friday, Dec 09 – Denver, CO @ The Fillmore
Saturday, Dec 10 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
Monday, Dec 12 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SODO
Tuesday, Dec 13 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
Thursday, Dec 15 – Wheatland, CA @ Hard Rock Live
Friday, Dec 16 – San Diego, CA @ SOMA
Saturday, Dec 17 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
*No Carcass
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