{"id":4809,"date":"2014-09-26T13:50:21","date_gmt":"2014-09-26T20:50:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/?p=4809"},"modified":"2014-09-26T14:22:37","modified_gmt":"2014-09-26T21:22:37","slug":"amon-amarth-sabaton-skeletonwitch-begin-north-american-tour-in-riverside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/2014\/09\/26\/amon-amarth-sabaton-skeletonwitch-begin-north-american-tour-in-riverside\/","title":{"rendered":"Amon Amarth, Sabaton & Skeletonwitch Begin North American Tour in Riverside"},"content":{"rendered":"

Review & photos by Andrew Bansal<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>September 25th 2014, Riverside Municipal Auditorium, Riverside CA: <\/strong>Following two successful North American tours since the 2013 Metal Blade Records release of their ninth studio album ‘Deceiver Of The Gods’, Swedish viking warriors Amon Amarth have returned to the continent for another extensive run, with fellow Swedish metal group Sabaton as main support act and Ohio blackened thrashers Skeletonwitch as openers once again. The tour began in grand style to a packed house at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium last night, with the gig drawing fans from nearby areas as well as all other parts of Southern California, this being the first visit to this venue for most in attendance.<\/p>\n

Located in a very upscale neighborhood in the city of Riverside, the RMA’s outer and inner architecture emanated a pleasant, welcoming vibe, and the same can be said about the security staff and everyone working this show. The main concert hall comprised a vast, spacious standing area with a few rows of seats in the back and a seated balcony. The sound quality throughout the night was beyond excellent, the vastness of the stage and the floor with the exit doors open at all times almost made it an outdoor festival-type setting, and the overall experience of this event certainly warrants a greater regularity of metal shows at this venue.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Doors opened as early as 6 PM and the show started at 7:30 as Skeletonwitch<\/strong> delivered a 9-song, 30-minute set of breakneck black thrash in a manner only they can. The biggest difference from their show at the Wiltern in downtown LA with Amon Amarth earlier this year was the sound, as this Riverside venue allowed them to cut through the room and hit the audience with much greater force as compared to the Wiltern. It’s nearly impossible for a large-sized venue to capture the intensity and sonic firepower of a band like Skeletonwitch, but this was definitely an exception. The other very pleasantly notable difference was the front few rows of people chanting ‘Skeleton! Skeleton!’ before the band arrived on stage, sheer testament to Skeletonwitch’s ever-growing fan base and vindication of the creative progress they’ve made with each album.<\/p>\n

Check out a gallery of 21 Skeletonwitch photos from the show below (click here<\/a> for downloadable versions or if you’re on a non-Flash device):<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Set List:<\/strong>
\n01. More Cruel Than Weak
\n02. I Am of Death (Hell Has Arrived)
\n03. From A Cloudless Sky
\n04. Burned From Bone
\n05. Beyond The Permafrost
\n06. Unending, Everliving
\n07. Stand Fight And Die
\nChoke Upon Betrayal
\n07. The Infernal Resurrection
\n08. Serpents Unleashed
\n09.\u00a0Within My Blood<\/p>\n

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Next up were Sabaton<\/strong>, hailing from the same nation as Amon Amarth but not similar in any aspect whatsoever, not only portraying a different musical style but also carrying an entirely distinct lyrical and visual theme through their live show. They put on an entertaining show as they always do, drawing their own section of fans to this show and compelling them to jump, mosh, dance and sing with fists, horns and flags held high. Personally, this was actually the least I’ve ever enjoyed Sabaton because Skeletonwitch were far more intense and Sabaton sounded like pop music in comparison, but that’s taking nothing away from Sabaton’s performance which was top-notch as usual.<\/p>\n

Check out a gallery of 24 Sabaton photos from the show below (click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0for downloadable versions or if you’re on a non-Flash device):<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Set List:<\/strong>
\n01. Ghost Division
\n02. To Hell And Back
\n03. Carolus Rex
\n04. 40:1
\n05. Swedish Pagans
\n06. Resist And Bite
\n07. Art Of War
\n08. Primo Victoria
\n09. Metal Cr\u00fce<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Promptly at 9:30, the five members of Amon Amarth<\/strong>\u00a0appeared on stage and with two tunes off of the latest album, they triggered a 90-plus minute set that took this audience through a journey to death metal bliss, presenting the best of their 9-album catalog including new material, crowd favorites and a few deeper cuts, making some changes from the last North American tour set list as well. Every show Amon Amarth has played since the ‘evening with’ tour in early 2011 has been nothing short of stellar, but every time I see them, the more strongly I come to the conclusion that ‘Surtur Rising’ is my favorite Amon Amarth album, and even though they played only two songs off of it this time, ‘Destroyer Of The Universe’ and ‘War Of The Gods’, they stood out as the highlights of the set from my perspective. Frontman Johan Hegg and his band mates delivered the goods yet again, bathed in sea of blue lighting that blended perfectly with the ‘Deceiver Of The Gods’ artwork in the backdrop. The crowd’s reaction was fantastic, the Riverside\/Inland Empire locals showing their excitement at finally getting to witness a legit metal show at a proper venue, and those from afar also enjoying the show more perhaps because of the effort and drive they made to attend it.<\/p>\n

Regardless of whether extreme metal is your thing, Amon Amarth is a band you must see live, and with support acts like Sabaton and Skeletonwitch, this is a show not to be missed.<\/p>\n

Check out a gallery of 38 Amon Amarth photos from the show below (click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0for downloadable versions or if you’re on a non-Flash device):<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Set List:<\/strong>
\n01. Father Of The Wolf
\n02. Deceiver Of The Gods
\n03. Death In Fire
\n04. Live For The Kill
\n05. As Loke Falls
\n06. We Shall Destroy
\n07. Fate Of Norns
\n08. Varyags of Milkagaard
\n09. Under The Northern Star
\n10. Guardians Of Asgaard
\n11. Shape Shifter
\n12. Warriors Of The North
\n13. Destroyer Of The Universe
\n14. Cry Of The Blackbirds
\n15. War Of The Gods
\nEncore:<\/em>
\n16. Twilight Of The Thunder God
\n17. The Pursuit Of Vikings<\/p>\n

Remaining tour dates:<\/strong>
\n09\/26 \u00a0Santa Cruz, CA \u2013 The Catalyst
\n09\/27 \u00a0Sacramento, CA \u2013 Ace of Spades
\n09\/29 \u00a0Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom
\n09\/30 \u00a0Seattle, WA \u2013 El Corazon
\n10\/01 \u00a0Vancouver, BC \u2013 Commodore Ballroom
\n10\/03 \u00a0Edmonton, AB \u2013 Union Hall
\n10\/04 \u00a0Calgary, AB \u2013 Flames Central
\n10\/05 \u00a0Saskatoon, SK \u2013 Louis\u2019 Pub
\n10\/06 \u00a0Winnipeg, MB \u2013 The Garrick
\n10\/07 \u00a0Thunder Bay, ON \u2013 Crocks
\n10\/10 \u00a0Toronto, ON \u2013 The Sound Academy
\n10\/11 \u00a0Montreal, QC \u2013 Metropolis
\n10\/12 \u00a0Quebec City, QC \u2013 Imperial
\n10\/14 \u00a0Burlington, VT \u2013 Higher Ground
\n10\/15 \u00a0Hartford, CT \u2013 Webster Theatre
\n10\/17 \u00a0Albany, NY \u2013 Upstate Concert Hall
\n10\/18 \u00a0Brooklyn, NY \u2013 Saint Vitus (Decibel anniversary party)
\n10\/19 \u00a0Columbus, OH \u2013 Newport Music Hall
\n10\/21 \u00a0Chattanooga, TN \u2013 Track 29
\n10\/22 \u00a0Knoxville, TN \u2013 Bijou Theater
\n10\/24 \u00a0Charlotte, NC \u2013 The Fillmore
\n10\/25 \u00a0Jacksonville, FL \u2013 Freebird
\n10\/26 \u00a0Birmingham, AL \u2013 Iron City
\n10\/27 \u00a0New Orleans, LA \u2013 The Civic
\n10\/29 \u00a0St. Louis, MO \u2013 The Pageant
\n10\/30 \u00a0Joliet, IL \u2013 Mojoes
\n10\/31 \u00a0Detroit, MI \u2013 Royal Oak
\n11\/01 \u00a0Milwaukee, WI \u2013 The Rave
\n11\/02 \u00a0Des Moines, IA \u2013 Wooly\u2019s
\n11\/04 \u00a0Lincoln, NE \u2013 Bourbon Theatre
\n11\/05 \u00a0Oklahoma City, OK \u2013 Diamond Ballroom
\n11\/08 \u00a0El Paso, TX \u2013 Tricky Falls
\n11\/09 \u00a0Tucson, AZ \u2013 Club XS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Review & photos by Andrew Bansal September 25th 2014, Riverside Municipal Auditorium, Riverside CA: Following two successful North American tours since the 2013 Metal Blade Records release of their ninth studio album ‘Deceiver Of The Gods’, Swedish viking warriors Amon Amarth have returned to the continent for another extensive run, with fellow Swedish metal group … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Amon Amarth, Sabaton & Skeletonwitch Begin North American Tour in Riverside”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4809"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4809"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4818,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4809\/revisions\/4818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}