HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Once Sent From The Golden Hall – Amon Amarth
February 1998 didn’t see much in terms of major, global news other than the commencing of the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan and the publishing of the now highly controversial medical study that alleged a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. However, in Sweden – specifically Tumba – five gentleman were about to embark (pun intended) on a journey that would see them not only become one of the world’s premier melodic death metal bands, but also bring the world of Vikings and Norse mythology to great exposure. Nowadays, AMON AMARTH are known the world over for their bombastic, fist-pumping anthems and larger-than-life, elaborate stage shows, yet their beginnings are much more sedate.
They were formed in 1992 following guitarist Olavi Mikkonen’s grindcore band SCUM – a group that also featured original DARK FUNERAL vocalist Themgoroth – going their separate ways after recording a single demo the year prior. Joining Mikkonen on his new venture were vocalist Johan Hegg, second guitarist Anders Hannson, bassist Ted Lundström and drummer Niko Kaukinen. A year later, they recorded their first demo, entitled Thor Arise; although never officially released because of the low standard in quality, it began to make the rounds in the underground metal scene, where the trading and bootlegging of tapes was commonplace. Those searching for a ‘new kind of extreme’ – this was, after all, at the time Norway was unleashing the Second Wave of Black Metal onto the world through the likes of MAYHEM and EMPEROR – were captivated by, according to the band’s bio on a prior version of their website, their ‘infectious brand of epic-sounding brutality and unadorned conviction’. Encouraged, the band officially released 1,000 copies of follow-up demo The Arrival Of The Fimbul Winter a year later, before 1996 saw the release of debut EP Sorrow Throughout The Nine Worlds via Pulverised Records. In 2002, all three would be reissued on one disc as part of the deluxe version of the band’s fourth album Versus The World, but that’s a story for another time…
For now, it’s back to the mid-nineties, where Niko Kaukinen would leave AMON AMARTH shortly after the release of Sorrow… and be replaced behind the kit by Martin Lopez. Despite a lineup change already, business would pick up when the band’s growing stature caught the attention of Metal Blade Records, who promptly snapped them up and, to this day, continue to have them on roster. In 1997, the band returned to The Abyss, a recording studio in Pärlby situated just outside of Ludvika where they recorded their previous EP. The studio, owned by HYPOCRISY and PAIN mastermind Peter Tägtgren, would this time see the band work directly with the man himself in crafting Once Sent From The Golden Hall, the band’s full-length debut that was released to the world on February 10, 1998.
Although still rough around the edges, the album had all the trademarks of what would become AMON AMARTH’s defining sound; the guitars were quicker than the more traditional, crushing death metal riffs of CARCASS and OBITUARY, bolstered by the MAIDEN-esque solos courtesy of Mikkonen and Hannson. At the back, Lopez kept everything tight with an assured, confident performance behind the kit whilst out front, Hegg’s growls and screams were adding a layer to the music on their own, helping to usher in the epic feel that the band would nurture from hereon in. Although the band have continuously distanced themselves from the notion that they are ‘Viking metal’, their penchant for songs about that period in history were already on show with the likes of The Dragons’ Flight Across The Waves and the eulogy feel of No Fear, which sees the protagonist coming to terms with his imminent passing and welcoming to Valhalla by Odin.
However, the eight-minute eponymous track that bears the band’s name remains a highlight, combining both Viking and fictional elements (AMON AMARTH is, as many known, an alternative name for Mount Doom in Tolkein’s The Lord Of The Rings); AllMusic even said it was the strongest track, containing ‘the chaotic noises of battle, the screams of the dying, and much sword-clashing to boot’. Only 1000 copies on CD and LP were made available at the time, although the band’s popularity led to a picture-disc reissue in 2005 and a full remastering four years later.
For the band, more lineup changes would shortly follow the album’s release, with Anders Hannson departing in June 1998 and replaced by Johan Soderberg shortly before a tour with DEICIDE, SIX FEET UNDER and BRUTAL TRUTH; immediately following this, Martin Lopez departed to join fellow countrymen OPETH. In the drummer’s place would come Fredrik Andersson, cementing a lineup that would remain constant for the next seventeen years. The band would continue to grow steadily with each album cycle until 2008, when the stupendous Twilight Of The Thunder God saw them break out the underground in grand fashion and catapult AMON AMARTH up festival cards and into bigger venues than previous.
In 2023, AMON AMARTH are over thirty years into their career and bigger than ever; rightfully so too, as a number of sectors across the metal world would agree. You must never forget your roots though; one can only imagine how much of your hand would have been bitten off by the young quintet on the eve of their debut album release had you told them what was to come over the next quarter of a century.
Once Sent From The Golden Halls was originally released on February 10th, 1998 via Metal Blade Records.
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