The lords of Viking metal complete the year of the Heathen with a showing at The Forum that will go down in the books. See the photos here.
Swedish viking metal legends Amon Amarth tallied another important victory in their ongoing conquest of the modern extreme music landscape this weekend. Closing out their North American blitz on the Great Heathen Army Tour, the band brought in their full European stage production for what proved to be a monumental night not only for the band, but for the culture overall.
In a year that has already proven to be pivotal for the pioneers of Norse extremity, Amon Amarth have notched strategic triumphs in support of their twelfth full length studio onslaught in, The Great Heathen Army. From towering over a field of thousands, several stories in the sky for a surprise performance at Wacken, to colossal co-headlining trek throughout the EU/UK with Machine Head to their top-billed North American run, the band have led an MVP-type campaign on the year – one that was capped off by a history-making set at the hallowed grounds of The Kia Forum in Southern California.
Becoming the first-ever death metal band to headline one of rock music’s most iconic venues, the band transformed the arena into a battleground en route to Valhalla. Complete with an epic stage production that touted synchronized pyro, a viking ship, onstage sword battles and frontman Johann Hegg wielding a massive Viking hammer, Amon Amarth left no doubt as their rank among extreme music’s most powerful, poignant showmen.
Bolstered by a durable, dominant supporting line-up of metal veterans, The Great Heathen Army Tour included performances from the likes of Carcass, Obituary and Cattle Decapitation – enduring their was no break in the brutality on the night.
Rock photographer Steve Rose managed to capture the enormity of the evening with a collection of images. From the heavy havoc being wreaked onstage, to the pandemonium pulsing through the Forum floor from the thousands of fans there to bear witness, the year of the Heathen closed out with final battle for the books.
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