DVD REVIEW: The Pursuit Of Vikings: 25 Years In The Eye Of The Storm – Amon Amarth
AMON AMARTH are an anomaly. Though their brand of IRON MAIDEN influenced melodic death metal is certainly not as extreme as it used to be with their early albums, they are still a death metal band. Their music is crushing, the lyrics paint a gore-drenched picture of Viking life and Norse mythology – they should not be a commercially viable and successful band. And yet, over the last two and a half decades, AMON AMARTH have grown to become one of the top-tier bands not just in their death metal sub-genre, but in heavy metal as a whole, headlining festivals in front of tens of thousands annually and reaching number one in charts across the world with their last record, 2016’s Jomsviking. To celebrate the band’s 25 birthday, AMON AMARTH are set to unleash The Pursuit Of Vikings: 25 Years In The Eye Of The Storm – a 100-minute DVD documentary detailing the history and growth of the band, and incredible footage of the two sets the band performed at Summer Breeze Festival in 2017.
The Pursuit Of Vikings documentary is simply a must-watch for any fan of AMON AMARTH. The documentary runs through almost the entire history of the band, from how the core members of Johan Hegg, Olavi Mikkonen and Ted Lundström first began their journey into heavy metal to the formation of SCUM, and then AMON AMARTH, right up to the summer of 2018. The documentary begins with insights from Hegg and Mikkonen into their first metal loves. With musicians, especially those of the stature of AMON AMARTH, it’s easy to forget they are just normal people that started at the same place we all do – often, we put our favourite artists on a pedestal, deifying them almost as demigods amongst us mere mortals. This opening segment offers a quick reality check to that idea, with Hegg detailing how affected he was by his parents’ divorce as a teenager, and Mikkonen flicking through a scrapbook of gig tickets and signed posters from his teenage years. It’s only a small segment, but in a way it is heartwarming, and helps the audience relate to the band all the more as the documentary progresses.
As the documentary progresses, the audience is shown how SCUM came to be, and it’s metamorphosis into AMON AMARTH. Their story drives through their early shows and recordings into the addition of Johan Söderberg to the band and their deal with Metal Blade Records. The documentary follows the band’s career right up to present day, offering a really insightful view into the inner workings and thought process of the band, with interviews from a variety of people close to the band including Brian Slagel of Metal Blade Records, who discusses AMON AMARTH with a sense of mentoring pride. A solid portion of The Pursuit Of Vikings is dedicated to remembering the contributions of the late Michael Trengert, the former Label Manager of Metal Blade‘s European office. The guidance he offered to AMON AMARTH throughout their career proved to be invaluable, and his passion for the band was a contributing factor in their success with Metal Blade. This proves to be a touching tribute to their fallen brother.
The documentary is not all inclusive, however, with a couple of key moments of AMON AMARTH‘s history largely missing. They had enjoyed large degrees of success in the underground during the band’s formative years, and though Versus The World, Fate Of The Norns and With Odin On Our Side took the band to a new level, it was with Twilight Of The Thunder God that AMON AMARTH truly blew up. However, the background and reaction to Twilight Of The Thunder God, and the subsequent Surtr Rising and Deceiver Of The Gods, is unfortunately glossed over. Similarly, there is no mention at all of Bloodshed Over Bochum shows, in which the band played each of their first four albums in full over four successive nights. It would have been fascinating to see the band discuss those shows retrospectively. However, with a band as active as AMON AMARTH, with 25 years of writing, recording and excessive tours, it stands to reason that there will be events, even vital events, that are missing from the already feature-length documentary.
The first of the two live DVDs in The Pursuit Of Vikings shows AMON AMARTH‘s not-so-secret set on the Wednesday of 2017’s Summer Breeze Festival. Playing the T Stage, which is dedicated to the late Trengert, Hegg delivers a heart felt speech dedicating the show to Trangert‘s memory early on as AMON AMARTH blister through a very special set of deep cuts and rarely played songs. With the exception of set opener Twilight Of The Thunder God, there is no overlap between the two setlists, making both shows a worthwhile watch. This show also sees the return of the Viking longship stage that was debuted at Summer Breeze in 2009 return to it’s spiritual home one last time. AMON AMARTH thunder through this rare setlist with an unnatural comfort they should have no right to feel, given how long many of these tracks have been absent from the live show.
In terms of song choice, there’s very little to gripe about. Scattered throughout the set are a few cuts from Twilight Of The Thunder God which are often overlooked in favour of the title track and Guardians Of Asgard, such as Live For The Kill, Free Will Sacrifice and Varyags Of Miklagaard, and it only gets older and deeper from there. The triple threat of The Last With Pagan Blood, For The Stabwounds In Our Backs and Thousand Years Of Oppression is truly special to behold, bringing AMON AMARTH back to a period when their focus on melody was a bit more understated, and their general sound rawer. Similarly, the colossal force of Asator leading into the melancholy drenched Under The Northern Star was just incredible to see. The set comes to a close with an impressive, Viking rowing pit induced by Varyags Of Miklagaard, the high octane Live For The Kill and the blazing set closer, Victorious March. Though many of these deep cuts are harsher than the melody-drenched, more recent offerings that make up the bulk of AMON AMARTH‘s standard setlist these days, hopefully the band take note of how huge they sounded at this special show and pepper a few more in their setlist in the future.
The second live DVD was filmed from AMON AMARTH‘s main set at Summer Breeze the next day. This show will ring with a lot more familiarity for anyone that has seen AMON AMARTH live on the Jomsviking cycle. Taking the stage and driving straight into The Pursuit Of Vikings, AMON AMARTH burn through a hit-studded setlist delivering straight-up banger after banger, showcasing a collection of their biggest anthems from their quarter-century long career, and a few favourites from Jomsviking. The epic At Dawn’s First Light and A Dream That Cannot Be, during which the band were joined by metal royalty in Doro Pesch, are easily the highlights of Jomsviking‘s contributions to the set, while mainstays Cry Of The Blackbird, Runes To My Memory and Father Of The Wolf are always welcome in an AMON AMARTH show. The cuts from Surtr Rising, War Of The Gods and Destroyer Of The Universe, offer something a bit more visceral to proceedings, while new-found drinking anthem Raise Your Horns keeps the party moving. The set comes to an epic close with arguably the two biggest hits in AMON AMARTH‘s discography – the stomping Guardians Of Asgard, and the eternally classic Twilight Of The Thunder God.
Though IRON MAIDEN and AMON AMARTH come from very different ends of heavy metal’s sub-genre spectrum, there are undeniable parallels between the two titans that reach further than the infectious melodies, soaring lead work and historical lyrics. First and foremost is the shared ethos of making sure their live performance is a true show – AMON AMARTH may not have the same budget as IRON MAIDEN, but their stage set up is far more elaborate than your standard album-cover-back-drop and stack of Marshall amps – the drum riser has been transformed into a huge, horned Viking helmet, and massive runes (which are later set alight giving a more sinister snapshot) flank the stage. At various points throughout the show, warriors from the Jomsviking Blodhuitnir group take the stage and do battle, creating a very real visual experience to accompany the lyrics. During Father Of The Wolf we see a figure take the stage dressed in the costume used in the song’s music video, while Twilight Of The Thunder God summons a huge depiction of Jörmungandr. All of this is wrapped up in enough pyro to singe your beard and a musically flawless performance from AMON AMARTH, with everything as tight as it gets and a strong sense of brotherly chemistry on stage. Though they may never achieve the kind of budget required to put on a show on IRON MAIDEN‘s scale, perhaps due to the current financial state of the music industry or the more extreme nature of their music, AMON AMARTH are easily one of the most exciting and captivating metal bands in the game, and with their trajectory of success things can only get bigger, more glorious and more entertaining from here.
Between the two live DVDs and the documentary, The Pursuit Of Vikings: 25 Years In The Eye Of The Storm is simply an essential buy for any fan of AMON AMARTH. The documentary provides an insightful and fascinating look into the history of the band, detailing the obstacles they’ve overcome, the successes they’ve enjoyed and providing a plethora of interesting, anecdotal facts. The live shows are beautifully shot and well constructed, offering the viewer two wholly different experiences – the first showcasing the heavier, rawer, more aggressive style and the chance to see some rarities, while the second offers an incredible view of the spectacle that is a full AMON AMARTH show. With the cold weather setting in, a night of partying in pubs and clubs sounds less and less appealing. Do yourself a favour: get comfortable, plug in your best sound system, pour a glass of beer and raise your horns to one of the best music DVDs to be released in 2018.
Rating: 9/10
The Pursuit Of Vikings: 25 Years In The Eye Of The Storm is out now via Music For Nations.
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