From across the Atlantic, metal rings sound and true.
In front of an eager crowd, several melodic death metal bands entertained Knoxville concert-goers with a mix of Viking and precision perfect rock music Wednesday night at the Bijou Theatre.
Skeletonwitch, a band native to Athens, Ohio, kicked off the festivities by delivering song after perfect song of orchestrated, electric beauty. With vocalist Chance Garnette’s absence due to “serious personal matters,” the band played its entire set without the presence of a vocalist, entertaining a massive crowd, nevertheless, with solid, Slayer-esque power chords.
Next in line, Swedish natives Sabaton entered to a stage immersed in smoke, sporting camo pants and delivering a well-rounded performance filled with energy and enough sound to deafen even the newest of metal fans. Between a crowd-inspiring Metallica cover and several songs dealing with World War II conflicts, lead singer Joakim Brodén excited viewers with mid-air kicks and set the mood for the main band that would eventually take the stage.
The term “Viking metal” excites peculiar emotions in the hearts of metal fans. While many consider it to be a goofy, less serious form of heavy metal, Amon Amarth successfully mixes medieval lyrical content with a brutal, melodic musical approach that leaves all fans of heavier music craving for more.
Beginning with the first song off their new album, Amon Amarth grabbed Knoxville’s attention with an unrelenting, melodic musical style performed with absolute perfection. With lead singer Olavi Mikkonen singing through a shroud of beard and scalp hair, a fierce death growl permeated the air as the audience threw up approving rock signs in recognition of the band’s undeniable ability to rock.
Throughout the night, green strobe lights perfectly meshed with the bands all encompassing musical voyage, adding disturbing weight to Mikkonen’s sinister grimace as he pounded verse after heavy verse of Swedish, powerful metal to a crowd of unsuspecting Knoxvillians.
After leaving the stage, the band reemerged at the request of an excited and eager crowd, delivering their famous song “Fate of Norns,” as well as several brutal songs off their latest album “Deceiver of the Gods” amidst much fanfare.
While most modern music fans shutter at even the thought of metal music, let alone heavy tunes paired with a rough, gritty death growl, Amon Amarth’s lyrical and musical composition style is oddly accessible in ways one would not expect of a band named after a mountain from the Lord of the Rings series. While the Swedish metal band’s intensity certainly isn’t for everyone, Amon Amarth is nevertheless a band that offers an almost never-ending supply of heart-pounding, adrenaline inducing musical pleasure to anyone brave enough to take a listen.
