Amon Amarth’s Great Heathen Tour Is An Ultra-Heavy Mythical Adventure

The band’s god-like production perfectly punctuates their pummeling sound

Last night, an army of heavy metal heathens packed into the Fillmore in Philadelphia to bear witness to Amon Amarth’s Great Heathen Tour. The band are trekking across North America on the headlining run. Their god-like production perfectly punctuates their pummeling sound, making the show a must see for any heavy music fan.

The band stormed the stage and kicked things off with “Guardians of Asgaard.” The opening riff made the crowd roar, however they were quickly drowned out by frontman Johan Hegg’s guttural growl. They launched into the sweeping “Raven’s Flight” next. Then, the back-to-back pummeling thrash of “Deceiver of the Gods” followed directly by “Oden Owns You All” nearly made the walls of the venue crumble.

Other hits included “Destroyer of the Universe,” “Cry of the Black Birds,” and “The Way of the Vikings,” among others. A new highlight Amon Amarth shows is the performance of “Put Your Back Into the Oar.” During the song, the mosh pit travels back to the time of the Vikings, as fans sit on the ground and row the imaginary giant ship being championed by the band. It’s as fun as it is unique, and a wild sight to witness in person.

After finishing the set, the band returned for an encore of “Twilight of the Thunder God” from their seventh studio album.

Amon Amarth released their latest studio album The Great Heathen Army on August 5 via Metal Blade.

“Overall The Great Heathen Army is one of the heavier albums we’ve made,” said vocalist John Hegg. “There are some dark and heavy songs that are really powerful and in-your-face, but we obviously have some trademark melodic Amon Amarth songs on there as well, and a few surprises too. It’s a really well-balanced album. It sounds great. [Producer] Andy Sneap is awesome. It was great to be able to work with him again.”

The band will on the road through December 17. The Great Heathen Tour wraps up at The Forum in Los Angeles. A limited amount of tickets for all dates are still available now via AmonAmarth.com/Tour.