Amon Amarth
Amon Amarth on Metalmania Festival 2005 in Poland (l-r) Johan Söderberg, Ted Lundström, Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Hegg
Background information
Also known as	Scum
Origin	Tumba, Sweden
Genres	Melodic death metal
Years active	1988–present
Labels	Metal Blade
Associated acts	Eternal Oath, Opeth, This Ending
Website	www.amonamarth.com
Members
Johan Hegg Johan Söderberg Olavi Mikkonen Ted Lundström Fredrik Andersson
Former members
Anders Hansson Nico Mehra Martin Lopez

Amon Amarth is a Viking-themed, melodic death metal band from Tumba, Sweden, founded in 1988 (current name since 1992)^[1], and named after an alternative name for Mount Doom, a location in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. As of 2009, the band is signed with Metal Blade Records and has released seven studio albums, one EP, one DVD, and seven music videos.

Contents 1 History 2 Musical style and lyrical themes 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 Thor Arise 3.2.1 Track listing 3.2.2 Credits 3.3 The Arrival of the Fimbul Winter 3.3.1 Track listing 3.3.2 Credits 3.4 Videography 4 Members 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

Formed under the name Scum in 1988, the band was originally a grindcore group formed by Paul "Themgoroth" Mäkitalo (Dark Funeral) on vocals, Olavi Mikkonen on guitar, and Ted Lundström on bass. When Johan Hegg joined the band, their music changed towards melodic death metal. After a 1991 demo, they changed the band's name to Amon Amarth in 1992, then recorded their first demo Thor Arise under the name in 1993 followed by another demo in 1994 entitled The Arrival of the Fimbul Winter. In 1996, they signed with Pulverised Records, on which they released their first MCD, Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds, which sold 6000 copies.^[2] They then signed with Metal Blade Records, and with the release of the album Once Sent from the Golden Hall in 1998, their popularity rose internationally. Since then they have done multiple Canada and US tours, festival appearances, seven music videos, and appearances in over 100 metal magazines.^[2] In early January 2008, their first tour of Australia and New Zealand took place, along with supporting Dimmu Borgir, after finishing a US and Canadian tour with Sonic Syndicate and Himsa.

Amon Amarth extended their record deal with Metal Blade Records for three more albums.^[3] After extending their record deal, the band released Twilight of the Thunder God, which featured guest appearances by Lars Göran Petrov of Entombed, Roope Latvala of Children of Bodom, and the cello metal band Apocalyptica. Accompanying the release of the album was an eight-page comic strip based on Norse mythology which was released by magazines from all over Europe.

Amon Amarth has embarked on a North American headlining tour in October 2008, with support from Ensiferum, Belphegor, and a melodic death metal band from Tampa named The Absence.^[4] The band are also touring as support for the thrash metal band Slayer throughout Europe on the Unholy Alliance Chapter III.

[edit] Musical style and lyrical themes

The band bases most of their songs on Norse mythology, the Viking Age, and the pre-Christian world. This mythology is an element that originally emerged as an ideological off-shoot of black metal in a genre known as Viking metal in the early 1990s, made popular by such bands as Bathory and Enslaved. Lead singer Johan Hegg's sister has once contributed lyrics for the band for the song “A Thousand Years of Oppression” on Versus the World^[5].

When asked to comment on the band's genre, vocalist Johan Hegg remarked:

“	We play death metal. We write about vikings so, therefore, 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.	„
—The Metal Web's interview with Johan Hegg

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Released	Title	Label
1991	Demo 1	Self-released as Scum
1993	Thor Arise	Never released, see below
1994	The Arrival of the Fimbul Winter	Self-released, see below
1996	Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds	Pulverised
1998	Once Sent from the Golden Hall	Metal Blade
1999	The Avenger	Metal Blade
2001	The Crusher	Metal Blade
2002	Versus the World	Metal Blade
2004	Fate of Norns	Metal Blade
2006	With Oden on Our Side	Metal Blade
2008	Twilight of the Thunder God	Metal Blade

[edit] Thor Arise

Thor Arise is a demo recorded in 1993. The album was never initially released due to its low production standards. The album features "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", a cover of the Black Sabbath song. The song "Thor Arise" was re-recorded as a bonus track on the Digipak version of The Avenger. "Risen from the Sea" was re-recorded on The Crusher. The entire album was re-released with the "Viking Edition" of Versus the World.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Risen from the Sea" − 5:43
2. "Atrocious Humanity" − 5:54
3. "Army of Darkness" − 5:26
4. "Thor Arise" − 6:30
5. "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" − 4:22 (Black Sabbath cover)

[edit] Credits

• Nico Kaukinen − drums
• Olavi Mikkonen − guitar
• Johan Hegg − vocals
• Anders Hansson − guitar
• Ted Lundström − bass

[edit] The Arrival of the Fimbul Winter

The Arrival of the Fimbul Winter is a demo self-released in 1994. Its original release was limited and consisted of 1000 copies.^[6] The demo was released on three different colour tapes with different styles. The "labels" for the demo are not professionally-made, and were created by the band for the release of the demo.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Burning Creation" − 4:48
2. "The Arrival of the Fimbul Winter" − 4:38
3. "Without Fear" − 4:42

[edit] Credits

• Nico Kaukinen − drums
• Olavi Mikkonen − guitar
• Johan Hegg − vocals
• Anders Hansson − guitar
• Ted Lundström − bass

[edit] Videography

Video albums

Year	Video details	Peak chart positions		Certifications (sales thresholds)
		SWE[7]	GER[8]
2006	Wrath of the Norsemen Released: 26 May 2006 Label: Metal Blade (# 3984-34045-9) Format: DVD	2	91	US & CAN: Gold[9]

Music videos

Year	Title	Director
2003	"Death in Fire"
2004	"The Pursuit of Vikings"	Heiko Tippelt, Phillip Hirsch[10]
2006	"Runes to My Memory"	Bill Schacht[11][12]
2007	"Cry of the Black Birds"
2008	"Twilight of the Thunder God"	Dariusz Szermanowicz[13][14]
2009	"Guardians of Asgaard"

[edit] Members

Current

• Johan Hegg − vocals (1992 - Present)
• Johan Söderberg − guitar (1998 - Present)
• Olavi Mikkonen − guitar (1988 - Present)
• Ted Lundström − bass (1988 - Present)
• Fredrik Andersson − drums (1998 - Present)

Former

As Amon Amarth:

• Anders Hansson − guitar (1989 - 1998)
• Nico Kaukinen − drums (1989 - 1996)
• Martin Lopez − drums (1996 - 1998)

As Scum:

• Paul "Themgoroth" Mäkitalo − vocals (1988 - 1991)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amon Amarth

• Official website
• Amon Amarth at MySpace
• Amon Amarth at Last.fm
• Amon Amarth discography at MusicBrainz

v • d • e Amon Amarth Fredrik Andersson · Johan Hegg · Johan Söderberg · Olavi Mikkonen · Ted Lundström Martin Lopez · Anders Hansson · Nico Mehra Studio albums Once Sent from the Golden Hall · The Avenger · The Crusher · Versus the World · Fate of Norns · With Oden on Our Side · Twilight of the Thunder God EPs Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds Demos Thor Arise · The Arrival of the Fimbul Winter Videos Wrath of the Norsemen