The last time I saw Amon Amarth they rolled into Portland and performed a double set at The Wonder Ballroom. This time around Amon Amorth brought their ‘Metal Crushes All Tour,’ and performed at the MODA Center which was configured into the smaller ‘Theater of the Clouds.’ While smaller, it’s still on a much larger stage than I had seen Amon Amarth in the past, plus they bring along all these ridiculously large stage props that dwarf an already small stage! Couldn’t pass this up! This time around they brought a couple greats from the death metal genre, that being Obituary and the Cannibal Corpse.
They did have another band which got things started. Frozen Soul from Dallas, Texas were the designated openers of the night. They were a little bit ‘run of the mill’ for me. Though there was a pretty decent turn out to see them at 6:30 PM. Vocalist Chad Green screamed at the audience in the pit, eliciting their participation in getting the ‘swamp ass’ whirlpool going. There was some degree of success but it settled down relatively quickly like after being toilet flushed. One of the most ridiculous things that I have seen wax Green an obese dude, who could barely do a decent push up himself, screamed at the audience to “Drop and give him 10!” Nah, dude. Hard pass for me. If you’re so inclined Frozen Soul has a new album titled ‘Glacial Domination.’
You know when Obituary is set to take the stage, you hear Pat Travers’ “Snortin’ Whisky and Drinking Cocaine.” As soon as the song stops they rush the stage. For this arena gig the ‘Obituary’ logo was illuminated across the top of the arena like the bat signal. What a great touch. If you’re not aware Obituary is based out of Tampa, FL and was founded by vocalist John Tardy and his brother drummer Donald Tardy. Obituary’s latest album is ‘Dying of Everything’ and it was prominently featured in the set which consisted of 5 cuts from it! “Dying of Everything” and “War” being my favorites, other highlights included “Redneck Stomp” and “Slow Death” from ‘Frozen in Time.’
Next up was Cannibal Corpse, another Florida death metal band and one of the most influential. I haven’t seen them as many times as I would like but vocalist George Fisher also answers to ‘Corpsegrinder’ is an absolute powerhouse of a growler and has a dominating presence on stage. How he does what he does and still does it at this high level, I have no idea. How about that signature ‘hair windmill’ thing that he does? Fisher used his excellent sense of humor to introduce “I Cum Blood” with “This song is about shooting blood from your cock!” Or “This is a fun little song.” Referring to “Stripped, Raped and Strangled.” Prior to launching into the tune however he asked the crowd “Are you having fun? Well, let me ruin it for you, this is the last song of the night.” No sooner did they finish “Stripped, Raped and Strangled” he addressed the crowd by saying, “Remmeber when I said that was a last song of the night? I lied!” Cannibal Corpse wrapped up the brutal, pummeling set with “Hammer Smashed Face.” Cannibal Corpse have a new album ‘Chaos Horrific’ they snuck in two tunes from the new album in the set “Blood Blind” and “Summoned for Sacrifice.” Both being great choices I must say.
That brings us to the headliner Amon Amarth. In the event you’re unaware Amon Amarth uses a lot of viking themes/imagery, not only in their tunes but in their stage shows. Remember the ‘props’ I referenced to earlier, well they have statues, a helmet that is part of the drummer riser. No way they could bring this show to a club! This is an arena or a festival stage. Amon Amarth frontman Johan Hegg looks like a viking. Hell the whole band looks like vikings. They put on a magnificent performance of epic Nordic death metal with a stage show that rivals any household name rock or metal act that tours America right now. Amon Amarth’s last album 2022’s ‘The Great Heathen Army’ was represented by “Find A Way or Make One” and “Hedruin.” After this epic night of brutality there’s no way you weren’t wrecked the next day. I know I was.
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