Dec 20

Dec 20 Show Review/Photos: Amon Amarth Display God-Like Power in Sacramento

Amon Amarth
w/ Carcass, Obituary, Cattle Decapitation
Hard Rock Live Sacramento
Wheatland, CA
December 15th, 2022

Photos and review by Jared Stossel

Last Thursday in Sacramento, melodic death metal reigned supreme as the “viking metal” legends in Amon Amarth brought their highly anticipated tour to the Hard Rock Live in support of their twelfth studio album, The Great Heathen Army. An Amon Amarth show is something that must be witnessed at least once in your lifetime, and Thursday’s show was evidence of that. The five-piece band powered their way through an expansive setlist filled with songs fit for Norse Gods.

Before we could get to the theatrical and heavy-hitting set from the headliners, fans witnessed sets from some of the most legendary names in the metal underground. San Diego-based deathgrind act Cattle Decapitation kicked off the night with a bone crushingly heavy set that set the intensity for the night. The next set came from death metal legends Obituary. This was my third time seeing Obituary over the last three years, and they keep getting better with each performance. Their style treads the line between traditional death metal, with the intensity of thrash metal. Just the mere mention of their name will guarantee that the crowd will begin headbanging and moshing.

Main support for this show came from Carcass, the iconic English extreme metal quartet. If the name wasn’t an indication for you as to how striking their performance would be, you’d know within mere seconds of the band hitting the stage from the drone of guitar, bass, and extreme metal vocal stylings from frontman Jeff Walker. The British act put on one of the best sets of the evening, and paved the way for Amon Amarth to take the stage.

Around 9:30, a large curtain obstructing the stage view dropped to reveal the massive set piece that turned the Sacramento casino-venue hybrid into a hall fit for the Gods themselves. Large statues towered over the audience next to a life-sized Viking helmet (which held the sprawling kit for drummer Jocke Wallgren), and the five-piece act commanded the crowd to their every whim. After the second song, vocalist Johan Hegg looks out at the audience, the cheers emanating from behind growing into a loud roar as he smiles, looking on at the legion of fans gathered to bear witness to the mythological act playing out in front of them. As the show went on, those statues would disappear (i.e., deflate) and be replaced with a Viking ship, and even a sea serpent (during the epic closing number “Twilight of the Thunder God”.

There was no more memorable moment during this show, however, than “Put Your Back Into The Oar”. In addition to being an incredible band, the performance of this song is one of the sole reasons that Amon Amarth must be experienced in a live setting. The sounds of waves crashing fill the auditorium as the Viking ship adorns the stage. As the ship becomes visible, legions of fans sit down, and begin to “row”. Nearly the entire GA floor is sitting on the crowd, putting their back into the oar as they push their ship onward, vocalist Hegg leading the charge. It was one of the best moments I’ve had at any show this year, and there was a giant smile on my face (and the band’s) as chants of “ROW! ROW! ROW!” filled the theater.

One day, we will all shuffle off this mortal coil, onto our next spot in the universe, wherever that may be. But for an hour and a half, while Amon Amarth played away, we were in Valhalla, enjoying our spoils with the Gods.

Amon Amarth Set List
Guardians of Asgaard
Raven’s Flight
Deceiver of the Gods
Oden Owns You All
The Pursuit of Vikings
The Great Heathen Army
Find a Way or Make One
Destroyer of the Universe
Put Your Back Into The Oar
Cry of the Black Birds
The Way of Vikings
First Kill
Shield Wall
Raise Your Horns

Encore:
Twilight of the Thunder God