By Lisa Burke
May 21st 2016, The Wiltern, Los Angeles CA: In case you weren’t aware, Saturday nights are made for heavy metal concerts and if you aren’t at one, you are doing it all wrong. Seriously though, I’m actually serious about this and what better way to spend an evening than with viking metal from overseas as I did on Saturday May 21st 2016 at the Wiltern? Headlining the nocturnal hour was, of course, Amon Amarth, with tour support from Entombed A.D. and Exmortus. This was also a sold-out show and rightly so, with three high quality bands that are actually quite different yet fit together well like the Brady Bunch boys at a soccer game.
On a great start to the evening with the superb sound quality and appropriate lighting, the thrashy Exmortus boys tore up the stage, shredder style as always, yet it was even better than ever. They should be super proud of themselves for their accomplishments in such a short time span, since most bands who get signed don’t rise to the top so quickly, and it seems to me that Prosthetic Records is doing a damn good job with these guys under their wing. This is a huge tour for them to be on, and I’m sure there will be more where that came from based on the reaction of everyone who arrived at the show early enough just to see them. I actually was in line outside for a bit while they were playing so I did miss part of their set, but what I did see was off the chain and the singer’s vocals sounded exceptionally great on this large stage, much in the way of King Diamond with the crazy range, yet with such a thrashy pace it creates extra excitement as well. This is the biggest stage I’ve seen them play on and they commanded it with ease and professionalism.
Exmortus Set List:
01. Rising
02. For the Horde
03. Foe Hammer
04. Death to Tyrants
05. Moonlight Sonata (Act 3)
06. Metal is King
Next up was Entombed A.D., (formerly known simply as Entombed), the band I was most excited to see since it was my first live viewing of them. Since this is their reincarnated group since the break-up, they added the ‘A.D.’. How cool sounding is death ‘n roll as a genre and what could be better than more guys from Sweden on the bill? So, they’ve got two albums out with this reformed group since 2014 and they are full of fun death metal and hard rock mixed together with some tough biker style vocals to kick it all into gear. I find the flying V guitars to be more on the death metal side while the singing has death lyrics with more of a hard rock tone, and the drumming seems to be mostly on the creative rock ‘n roll side. On this particular night, the singer was making sure the audience was as drunk as he was by handing out his drink to one person and then telling a joke about how he was going to buy everyone a beer so they had a better time. He was very charismatic and a joy to watch throughout, so, drunk or not, it was still a happy time. They played a variety of old and new songs and I really don’t discriminate between any of it because I’m a fan of it all. These guys are a fully fledged ‘long hair, don’t care’ kind of band and when the bass player has Peter Steele locks you can’t go wrong if you tried. Of course I’m always most excited by the fastest and mos brutal moments these guys can put on, yet some of the slower riffs were just as rocking. There was a picture perfect moment when one lone crowd surfer dude almost bit it over the railing into the space between the stage and audience, but luckily a portly bouncer got his exercise and safety first award for the night by racing across the room to catch him and then give him a scolding. The singer happened to be watching this during a guitar solo, and I believe he interjected to make sure the crowd surfer was not in too much trouble for getting carried away and having as much fun as he could muster up at a metal show. Long story short, Entombed A.D. find themselves holding a firm position among the most badass bands.
Entombed A.D. Set List:
01. Eyemaster
02. Stranger Aeons
03. Second to None
04. Dead Dawn
05. Living Dead
06. The Winner Has Lost
07. Wolverine Blues
08. Revel in Flesh
09. Left Hand Path
This is when you knew it was only going to get better from here on out, and it definitely did with the most amazing performance and set antics I’ve ever witnessed from Amon Amarth. You thought a viking boat on stage was badass? What about a giant viking helmet with glowing red eye holes with a perch on top that the drummer gets to play on? The platform surrounding was similar to what Iron Maiden has going on from their latest tour and it wouldn’t surprise me if it were designed by the same person. From the giant viking backdrops, to the giant three-dimensional viking helmet, to the fantastic stormy lighting effects, you really felt like these Swedish men were taking you through the most epic viking battle on the most stormy night and that they weren’t going to leave any stray survivors. There were also many moments where the entire floor of the balcony at the Wiltern was shaking earthquake style due to the serious rocking out of the crowd. On a side note, I was once at a GWAR show where there was actually an earthquake during their performance and of course no one noticed, because GWAR. Anyway, as I was saying, this was beyond the most beautifully choreographed Amon Amarth show I’ve ever witnessed and with the perfectly in-tuned unison hair-whipping by all members standing in a straight line as all great European metal bands of this nature do, you couldn’t help but let a little drool drip down the corner of your mouth in awe.
Another signature of these guys is that they always come out in plain black clothes with only the singer’s brown leather gauntlets and viking drinking horn as counterpoints. I find this very fitting and it really takes them to a level very far from a joke band who comes out in full viking garb. Of course, I cringe a little as I say this because they do bring out actors dressed as knights etcetera that put on little skits such as a sword fight where one guy dies and the other guy drags away the body. They do make it sparse and it’s cute, which I know is rarely a term one uses in metal, and it’s definitely not a word for such a serious band with riffs that can sound as amazing and exciting as a viking caught in a storm at sea in a mere sailboat and still coming out kicking ass all the way home.
Still, despite the giant F flags they bring out symbolizing fjord recognition time, these guys are tough and serious musicians who are all masters of their craft. The singer is hauntingly deep with his vocals like an echo from a mountain, and his storytelling interludes between songs don’t fall far from adorable either. The newest member of the band is the drummer and he was as good as he needed to be, if not better, and even if he wasn’t, who cares because he’s sitting on a giant viking helmet with horns and glowing evil eyes. The newest album ‘Jomsviking’ gets a rave review from me, as in my opinion they just get faster and more melodically brutal which is certainly the way to push forward.
Favorites from nocturnal hour included ‘First Kill’, ‘Deceiver Of The Gods’, ‘Death In Fire’, ‘Raise Your Horns’, and of course ‘Guardians Of Asgaard’, and the monumental finale which included ‘Twilight Of the Thunder God’ where the giant Thor hammer was brought out by the singer for the win. They played for what seemed ages yet I could have watched more, and at the end we were told by the singer to “raise our horns and party on”. He also brought out the singer from Entombed A.D. to join him on an encore song and they actually sang very well as a duo together.
It’s always great when you can tell how much fun the bands are having being on tour with each other. The last point I’d like to make about this show is what is stereotyped as an Amon Amarth mosh pit is pretty much what it looks like, which is a very gentle battle scene where everyone is trying to go in opposite directions and a big cluster fuck happens. There were a couple of red haired girls appropriately kicking ass in the mosh pit as well and I had a proud gender moment, and if you don’t know how therapeutic it is as a woman to push a bunch of men around in a mosh pit, well let’s just say it feels almost better than some other things I could think of doing with a man. If you can still see Amon Amarth it is highly recommended if even just for the theatrics alone, but remember it’s always about the music first, although whatever you can do to heighten all of the senses while playing great music, no one can or should ever refuse. Sweden rules for a home to some great metal bands and Europeans always find a way to do everything right. Thank you. Goodnight.
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Amon Amarth Set List:
01. The Pursuit of Vikings
02. As Loke Falls
03. First Kill
03. The Way of Vikings
05. At Dawn’s First Light
06. Deceiver of the Gods
07. Cry of the Black Birds
08. One Against All
09. Thousand Years of Oppression
10. Destroyer of the Universe
11. Death in Fire
12. Runes to My Memory
13. One Thousand Burning Arrows
14. Father of the Wolf
15. War of the Gods
16. Victorious March
17. Raise Your Horns
18. Guardians of Asgaard
19. Twilight of the Thunder God