On March 25, Swedish metal kings AMON AMARTH will unleash their tenth studio album, “Jomsviking”, via Metal Blade in North America and Sony Music internationally.
“Jomsviking” — the first concept record in AMON AMARTH’s storied career — tells a tragic tale of love and revenge, backed by the Swedes’ trademark melodic, anthemic metal, which was produced and mixed once again by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, ACCEPT) and also features special guest session drummer Tobias Gustafsson (VOMITORY). The epic original story is set in the world of the Jomsvikings, the legendary order of mercenary Vikings.
AMON AMARTH frontman Johan Hegg explains: “The Jomsvikings were a shadowy and legendary sect of Viking mercenaries, as shrouded in myth now as they were when they fought across Europe and the Middle East. Ruthless and deadly warriors who fought for the highest bidder, their code was simple: Show no fear. Never retreat. Defend your brothers, and when called upon, avenge their deaths.”
He continues: “I felt we were finally ready to use their story as the jumping off point for an AMON AMARTH album. The Jomsvikings and their world is the background for the story of a young man that is in love with a girl but unfortunately she’s being married off. He accidentally kills a man when this happens and he has to flee — but he swears to have revenge and win her back. He can’t let go of the past. He feels that he’s been wronged and his life has been destroyed. The way the story evolves is not a happy story.”
By far AMON AMARTH’s most ambitious project to date, “Jomsviking” is available for pre-order in various formats now at AmonAmarth.com, where fans can also view the video for the album’s first single, “First Kill”. Produced by Grupa 13 and directed by Darek Szermanowicz (BEHEMOTH), “First Kill” was filmed in Gohrweide (Germany) and Warsaw (Poland) and features a cinematic depiction of the violent, brutal lyrics, along with powerful live footage of the band performing with their full dragon head and pyro stage set.
“Jomsviking” track listing:
01. First Kill
02. Wanderer
03. On A Sea Of Blood
04. One Against All
05. Raise Your Horns
06. The Way Of Vikings
07. At Dawn’s First Light
08. One Thousand Burning Arrows
09. Vengeance Is My Name (bonus track – for digibook, digital, LP, and viking ship editions)
10. A Dream That Cannot Be (feat. Doro Pesch)
11. Back On Northern Shores
Adds Hegg: “‘Deceiver Of The Gods’ was very successful for us and we had a good run with that and did some really great tours. Even before we changed drummers for this record we had the idea to make a concept album. It was something we’d never done before and it gave us a challenge. I started writing the story, went into it wholeheartedly and once you start going down that path there’s really no turning back.”
Johan Hegg will be spinning “First Kill” and his own playlist at two public appearances in New York City and Los Angeles: the New York City event will be held at St. Vitus Bar on February 2 at 9 p.m., while the Los Angeles event will be held at Grill ‘Em All on February 9.
Following “Jomsviking”’s release, AMON AMARTH will tour North America with fellow Swedes ENTOMBED A.D. and young USA metal upstarts EXMORTUS. For the first time, AMON AMARTH will be offering special VIP packages for the trek, which can be found here.
AMON AMARTH tour dates with ENTOMBED A.D., EXMORTUS:
Apr. 07 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
Apr. 08 – Phoenix, AZ – The Pressroom
Apr. 09 – El Paso, TX – Tricky Falls
Apr. 10 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
Apr. 12 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
Apr. 13 – San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theater
Apr. 15 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
Apr. 16 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues
Apr. 17 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
Apr. 18 – Tampa, FL – The Ritz
Apr. 20 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
Apr. 21 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
Apr. 22 – New York, NY – Best Buy Theatre
Apr. 23 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
Apr. 25 – Rochester, NY – Water Street Music Hall
Apr. 26 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
Apr. 28 – Quebec City, QC – Imperial
Apr. 29 – Montreal, QC – Metropolis
Apr. 30 – Toronto, ON – The Danforth
May 01 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
May 02 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrews
May 04 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
May 05 – Chicago, IL – The Riviera Theatre
May 06 – Lawrence, KS – The Granada Theater
May 07 – Denver, CO – The Ogden Theater
May 09 – Omaha, NE – Sokol Auditorium
May 10 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
May 12 – Winnipeg, MB – The Garrick
May 13 – Saskatoon, SK – O’Brian’s Event Centre
May 14 – Calgary, AB – MacEwan Ballroom
May 16 – Vancouver, BC – The Commodore
May 17 – Seattle, WA – Showbox Market
May 18 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
May 20 – San Francisco, CA – The Warfield
May 21 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern Theater
A special BLABBERMOUTH.NET presale will take place on Wednesday, January 27 from 10:00 p.m. until Thursday, January 28 at 10:00 p.m. local time. When prompted, type in the presale code “BLABBERMOUTH” to access tickets before the general public.
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, January 29 at AmonAmarth.com.
The BLABBERMOUTH.NET presale is available **FOR THESE DATES ONLY**:
Apr. 07 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
Apr. 12 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
Apr. 13 – San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theater
Apr. 15 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
Apr. 16 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues
Apr. 17 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
Apr. 18 – Tampa, FL – The Ritz
Apr. 20 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
Apr. 21 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
Apr. 23 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
May 01 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
May 02 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrews
May 04 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
May 10 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
May 16 – Vancouver, BC – The Commodore
May 21 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern Theater
Source: Blabbermouth
