BLOODSTOCK DRINKS TO AMON AMARTH GLORY
12th August 2017
Pictures: John Inglis



amon amarth

Amon Amarth played their final gig in England of the 'Jomsviking' tour and signed off in style with a breathtaking performance on Bloodstock's main stage, their first ever UK festival headline performance.

Thunderclouds had threatened to put a dampener on proceedings as the night drew gradually colder but the Thunder Gods were not to be thwarted in their quest and brought enough pyro with them to see off the best that British summer could muster.

As headliners, the Vikings played an extended setlist from last weekend when they conquered Wacken's main stage and included a shortened version of 'At Dawn's First Light', a blistering 'Runes To My Memory' which included Johan Hegg's tremendous Brian Blessed-esque introducion and a stirring 'Destroyer Of The Universe'.

"That must be a new world record," stated Hegg after the vast majority of the packed out crowd got down and dirty and started rowing later in the set. It was some sight to see and significant as this is the very place where the phenomenon started.

amon amarth

This immense band are no strangers to Bloodstock, but this set stepped up many levels as they brought the full production with them, with warring Vikings and battling sea creatures happening right in front of us with no reliance on CGI.

The exhortation to 'Raise Your Horns' was met with gusto - never before have so many Viking drinking horns been seen in one place outside of Asgaard.

amon amarth

MetalTalk spoke with Amon Amarth guiarist Olavi Mikkonen before this epic show and we asked specifically about the video that the band posted on their Facebook page on Friday which stated:

"This Friday... we make (film) history."



Oli did not elaborate on that but did promise fans that there is "something special" in store.

The 'Jomsviking' touring cycle is coming to an end now and Oli spoke about what the future holds in store for the world's premier Viking Metal band. You can hear the conversation in full on Steve Göldby Talks Metal this coming Wednesday on TotalRock.

Click this link and bookmark it for Bloodstock 2018 tickets.

Remaining Amon Amarth 2017 tour dates:
Saturday 12th August: Into The Grave, Leeuwarden, Netherlands
Sunday 13th August: Alcatraz Hard Rock & Metal Festival, Kortrijk, Belgium
Wednesday 16th August: Summer Breeze Open Air, Dinkelsbuhl, Germany
Friday 18th August: More Than Fest Slovakia, Zvolen, Slovakia
Saturday 19th August: Rock Heart, Znojmo, Czech Republic
Monday 21st August: Earshakerday, Zürich, Switzerland
Wednesday 23rd August: Barba Negra Track, Budapest, Hungary
Friday 25th August: Kloster Schiffenberg, Giessen, Germany
Satudray 25th Aughsut: Reload-Festival, Sulingen, Germany
Monday 28th August: SentrumKyiv Kiev, Ukraine
Tuesday 29th August: Re:publicMinsk, Belarus
Wednesday 30th August: A2St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
Thursday 31st August: Krasnodar Arena HallKrasnodar, Russian Federation
Saturday 2nd September: Tele-clubYekaterinburg, Russian Federation
Monday 4th September: ZvezdaSamara, Russian Federation
Tuesday 5th September: Yotaspace Moscow, Russian Federation