Amon Amarth & Friends @ Showbox Sodo

A straight-up legendary metal concert đŸ€Ź

The band Amon Amarth poses with arms crossed against a black background
DEC 12

📾: Courtesy Amon Amarth

Monday, December 12 ‱ 6:30 pm

Lineup:

Amon Amarth / Carcass / Obituary / Cattle Decapitation

This is straight-up one of the most bonkers metal tours of the last ten years. Any one of these four bands could sell out a huge venue on their own, so it’s a real treat that we get to see their forces combined for one stacked night of supreme heaviness. I predict that in 15 years or so we will all be bragging about the time we got to see these bands share the stage the same way metal heads do about the 1989 Grindcrusher tour. To many, all of these bands may sound like cookie monster barking over the sound of a chainsaw, so let’s break it down. 

Amon Amarth has been proudly waving their Viking flag of battle through the metal underground for the past 30 years, but in the past decade or so have elevated to a new level of success. Their recent albums Berserker and The Great Heathen Army have cemented them as a true force in the upper tier of heavy metal worldwide. They write fist-pumping death metal anthems about historic Viking battles with a theatrical backdrop that often includes a full-on battleship. Seriously. 

Meanwhile, Carcass are one of the most legendary bands of the entire death metal genre. In the 90s, they morphed from a gore-soaked filthy grindcore crew into a game-changing group unashamed to embrace a good catchy hook. Their 1993 album Heartwork basically wrote the book on melodic death metal, and their comeback within the past decade is a blueprint of how it should be done. Their two “reunion” albums are as powerful as ever, proving they’re so much more than just a nostalgia act. 

You can’t overlook Floridian swamp-dwellers from Obituary, as their stomp-inducing riffage easily earns them a first ballot spot in the death metal hall of fame. (If there was such a thing). Make sure you show up in time to catch the gnarliness blasting from the speakers as Cattle Decapitation sets the tone for the evening with their potent brand of chaotic noise.

Author

Kevin Diers

Kevin Diers is a freelance writer and radio host who lives in Seattle. You can listen to him on both Metal Shop and Loud and Local on 99.9 KISW or catch him interviewing wrestlers at the next DEFY show.