Amon Amarth’s Most Insane Stage Shows

Amon Amarth vocalist Johan Hegg and guitarist Olavi Mikkonen recently dropped by our studio to chat about their upcoming 11th studio album, Berserker. Before playing some Viking Trivia, the Valhalla-bound metallers took us through a history of their most insane stage setups.

It’s almost impossible to imagine Amon Amarth without an elaborate stage these days, but it took them nearly 20 years to get to that level. Mikkonen remembers Amon Amarth’s first theatrical stage being put together during the With Oden on Our Side tour. Along with giant wooden shields, Amon constructed a drum riser with glowing runes lighting up the base of their stage.

From there, the Swedish band began experimenting with Viking ships. The first ship was unveiled in the late 2000s at Germany’s Summer Breeze Open Air Festival. According to Olavi, Amon Amarth negotiated to put the construction of the ship into their festival contract, allowing the band to keep the piece. The wooden ship was too large to tour with, however, so Amon created a new version of the drum riser that could be easily packed down and transported.

Which prop is the most expensive in Amon Amarth history? The guys point to their giant serpent they unleash during “Twilight of the Thunder God.” The three-piece blow-up is so gigantic it’s only been used a couple of times, when festival stages could actually fit the entire behemoth. However, the band’s largest Viking ship is still the most costly prop on the death metal band’s stage.

Watch Amon Amarth go through their incredible Viking contraptions in the video above and click here to pre-order Berserker.

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