Amon Amarth -- Chicago, IL -- April 14th, 2011

[jd091]

Set 1: 8:00 - 8:55

War of the Gods
Töck's Taunt - Loke's Treachery Part II
Destroyer of the Universe
Slaves of Fear
Live Without Regrets
The Last Stand of Frej
For Victory or Death
Wrath of the Norsemen
A Beast I Am
Doom Over Dead Man

Set 2: 9:15-10:30

Twilight of the Thunder God
Masters of War
Live for the Kill
With Oden on Our Side
Guardians of Asgaard
Asator
Varyags of Miklagaard
Thousand Years of Oppression
Without Fear ->
Victorious March ->
Gods of War Arise ->
Death in Fire!

Encore:
Cry of the Blackbirds
Runes To My Memory
The Pursuit of Vikings

Tired as fuck, I think I broke my foot, and HOLY SHIT THE BEST CONCERT I'VE EVER BEEN TO. Review will follow.

[BlackmoreOfBowling]

Originally Posted by jd091

I think I broke my foot

For serious? D=

[Northern_Shaman]

Oh my Gods. That set... Wow.

I really hope they bring this tour to Canada. They seemed to be hinting at doing a separate run just for us in some of the interviews I've read. They always chart higher here anyways, so I'm sure we'll get something nice .

[MPF]

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

WHY DO I HAVE TO MISS THIS TOMORROW?!?!?!?!?!

[broncoz]

Holy poop.

So much from With Oden on Our Side yesssss.

Without Fear + Victorious March + probably 4 of the best from Twilight.

I would have loved to see Across the Rainbow Bridge but thats just wishful thinking, I have 0 complaints and cannot see how anyone can complain.

Cannot wait for Philly.

[Natrlhi]

Killer sets both. Looks like I will probably be making the ridiculous road trip from Pittsburgh to Cleveland and back on May 3, just to see this awesomeness.

[mankvill]

Saturday

[maidenpriest]

Originally Posted by jd091

Set 1: 8:00 - 8:55

Masters of War
Live for the Kill
With Oden on Our Side
Thousand Years of Oppression
Without Fear ->
Victorious March ->
Gods of War Arise ->
Death in Fire!

HOLY FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IM SO EXCITED!!!!!

Edit: really hoping the song that you didnt know is something off of the Avenger

[jd091]

Full Review:
Venue: The Bottom Lounge, SOLD OUT SHOW!

First of all, if you like metal in any way, shape, or form, you need to see this tour.

You just need to. There's no if, and, or buts about it. Its very rare to get "An Evening With [...]", and it was unlike anything I've witnessed or experienced before. I don't I'll ever see Amon Amarth perform better than they did tonight, with such a diverse set and amazing crowd reaction. You just.... NEED to see it.

I arrived at the venue around 7:30 (doors were at 7 and show at 8), and spent a whole half hour waiting in the merch line to get my shirt! It was packed. For anyone planning on getting merch, they had 4 t-shirts, with one being tour dates on back and Surtur Rising cover on front ($25), 1 sweatshirt ($40), giant Surtur Rising flags (!) ($15)... and thats it. No CD's or anything for sale, or beanies or stickers or anything. Kind of a shame.

It felt SOOO good to walk in and be surrounded by pure metalheads wearing Amon Amarth, Ensiferum, and Deicide shirts. The last 4 shows I've been to have been -core related, and I forgot how much I love not dealing with fucktarded kids at shows. Show was 17+, and I think I might have been the youngest person there at 20. Crowd was awesome. There was this fat lady drinking beer out of a giant horn, which was metal, and a guy WHO LOOKED JUST LIKE SCOTT IAN of Anthrax. I was seriously considering for a good 5 minutes if it actually was Scott, and if I should have asked him.

Then Amon Amarth took the stage, blasting straight into War of the Gods. I've been liking Surtur Rising on record, but not loving it to the extent of their previous records, especially WOOoS. But live, it sounded amazing. The Last Stand of Frej is just so goddamn epic, and I loved it even more live. My highlight of the set was when Johan Hegg introduced "A Beast I Am", saying, "I want the biggest fucking mosh pit you guys have ever done! This song is about the FENRIS WOLF!", and we consequently went insane.

During the first couple songs, I got my toe jacked hardcore, and could barely put pressure on it. It really sucked, and I had to try and take breaks from the pit out of sheer pain. Eventually, the adrenaline kicked in and I couldn't really feel it, but afterwards it has been killing me. Its swelling up huge, and I'm icing it, but I can move it a bit, so I don't think its broken. Sucks, but it was totally worth it. If anything, it was my fault since I wore shitty flimsy shoes. Should wear hiking boots or something next time.

They took about a 25 minute break, then came back on, with an epic intro into Twilight of the Thunder God. And now is when the actual concert started. There was no doubt. Surtur Rising was basically just Amon Amarth opening up for Amon Amarth- there was no comparison in the intensity and participation of the crowd between the sets. Everyone was screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs, Johann didn't even need to sing the refrain. From then on, we got a crushing set filled with songs from everywhere. It could not have been more perfect for me. During "Varyags", eveyone in the pit formed a huge circle huddle, and headbanged in unison. It was so amazing.

It was hilarious when Johann introduced Asator. (In heavy swedish accent) "So I don't know if you people go to the movies... but theres this one movie coming out. Its called Thor. But you know what? That movie sucks. It isn't really Thor. Oh no. You know, really, his name isn't even Thor. We know him as... ASATOOOOOOR!" And eveyone proceeded to kill each other. I love that song so much. With Oden on Our Side is by far my favorite album by them, and all the tracks they played from it made me so goddamn happy inside.

Johan said that they haven't played Without Fear in years and years live, which proceeded to them playing an epic, almost 1 song without stopping, of Without Fear->Victorious March->Gods of War Arise->Death in Fire. I love Victorious March so much, and actually getting to hear it live was amazing.

Of course, the encore was brutal, and had the most intense pits of the night. Everyone were screaming out all the lyrics to all 3 songs, Johan barely needed to scream himself. The crowd went insane for Pursuit of Vikings, and everyone started to crowdsurf! I personally crowdsurfed, like, 3 times. It was awesome. For Pursuit, they extended the song near the end, with just the drums playing, and Johan conducting everyone in the crowd screaming out over and over, "ODEN! GUIDE OUR SHIPS! OUR AXES SPEARS AND SWORDS! GUIDE US THROUGH THE STORMS THAT WHIP, AND IN BRUTAL WAAAAR!"

Overall, I have never been at a metal show where the crowd has been that passionate about the band they're seeing. It was unlike anything I've seen before. It was definitely the hardest and longest I've ever headbanged at a show. There's something about their music which is just the perfect tempo for headbanging. Johan even told everyone that this is the greatest show he's done in Chicago, and one of the best shows he's ever done in the United States as a whole. There was just a point where he was standing there, trying to talk, but couldn't, because everyone was just screaming, and throwing up horns. Incredible. I'm going to have a hard time topping this show for a long time to come. Everyone on this forum NEEDS to see this concert. Any words I say just can't do it justice. This IS the definite Amon Amarth tour. I can't imagine them ever doing something this epic again, at least not for many more years. You. Need. To. See. This. Tour.

[jd091]

Here's the first video up from from the show, of Victorious March

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNaNCZAIy7I

These videos for Pursuit of Vikings are gonna be insane. I'll post the links when I find them.