Amon Amarth
Amon Amarth |
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Amon Amarth is a viking-themed melodic death metal band from Sweden founded in 1992[1] in Tumba, named after a location in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. The name means "Mount Doom" in Sindarin, one of Tolkien's Elvish languages.
The five Swedish musicians are known for their songs based on Norse Mythology. This is an element that originally emerged as a sub-genre of black metal known as viking metal in the early 1990s, made popular by such bands as Bathory and Enslaved, although the band's sound is more in the vein of mid period Bolt Thrower.
Formed under the name Scum, they switched to the name Amon Amarth in 1992 and released a demo recording, The Arrival of the Fimbul Winter, in 1994, selling all 1000 demo discs in less than 12 hours. This demo brought them to sign at Pulverised Records on which they released in 1996 their first MCD "Sorrow Throughout The Nine Worlds" from which they sold 6000 copies (6000 copies in 4 different versions, this info is directly provided from Pulverised). This release brought them to Metal Blade Records. With the release of the album Once Sent from the Golden Hall in 1998 their popularity rose on an international level and since has brought forth multiple U.S. tours, four music videos, and appearances in over 100 metal magazines.
When commenting on the name of the band, vocalist Johan Hegg said:-
- "...it was Ted who found the name. Don't ask me how cause none of us was ever really Lord of the Ring fans but it sounded cool and the meaning of it is killer! It's the name of "Mount Doom" in Sindarin, whatever that is, ask a Tolkien fan. But I think it's cool and really symbolizes what Amon Amarth stands for." [1]
Their latest album, With Oden on our Side, was released in 2006 on September 22nd (Germany/Austria/Switzerland) / September 25th (Europe) / October 5th (Canada).
Aestheticom, a music video production company, was chosen to produce videos for Runes to My Memory and Cry of the Black Birds, both directed by Bill Schacht.
When asked to comment on the bands genre, Johan Hegg said:-
- "We play Death Metal. We write about Vikings so therefor some refer us to Viking metal, but I have no idea what that is. I can't imagine the Viking’s veer into metal at all except on the swords and stuff. And musically, I guess they only played these strange lip instruments and some bongos or whatever." [2]
Discography
Albums
| Album Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label |
| 1993 | Thor Arise | Never released | |
| 1994 | The Arrival of the Fimbul Winter | Self-released | |
 |
April, 1996 | Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds | Pulverised |
| February 12th, 1998 | Once Sent from the Golden Hall | Metal Blade | |
| September 2nd, 1999 | The Avenger | Metal Blade | |
| May 8th, 2001 | The Crusher | Metal Blade | |
 |
November 8th, 2002 | Versus the World | Metal Blade |
 |
September 6th, 2004 | Fate of Norns | Metal Blade |
 |
September 22nd, 2006 | With Oden on Our Side | Metal Blade |
Videography
- Death in Fire (2003)
- The Pursuit of Vikings (2004)
- Wrath of the Norsemen (2006) (3-disc live concert DVD set)
- Runes to My Memory (2006)
- Cry of the Black Birds (2007)
Members
- Fredrik Andersson - drums
- Johan Hegg - vocals
- Johan Söderberg - guitar
- Olavi Mikkonen - guitar
- Ted Lundström - bass
Past members
- Anders Hansson - guitar
- Nico Mehra - drums
- Martin Lopez - drums
References
- ^ "Biography at amonamarth.com". Retrieved 2007-02-27.