Written by:	Baz Anderson
Published:	April 15, 2007
Event:	Amon Amarth + Finntroll: UK Tour (Website)
Location:	Rock City, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Galleries:	Amon Amarth, Finntroll - Nottingham, England, 14th April 2007 by Baz Anderson (28)

It was only a few months ago in November when Amon Amarth were in this country last although this was the first time for them in the city of Nottingham, there is a much bigger absence for the Finns as they were here last back in 2005 for a one off appearance. Amon Amarth, especially with the release of the latest album have risen and risen in popularity to a level the band have never seen before. Finntroll also always gaining fans wherever their music goes.
Before the show I had the pleasure of interviewing Olavi from Amon Amarth and also a few of the Finntroll guys as well as getting a peek backstage and seeing what goes on before a show. The Amon Amarth interview can be found here and the Finntroll one can be found here.
The venue was Rock City but the show was not being put on in the main hall, it was in the "basement" which is a small room with bar and stage. It baffled me as to why these two great bands had to play on a stage they could all barely stand on but anyhow the show sold out and people crammed inside the room.

First to take the stage before everyone had gotten into the building were female Norwegian gothic metallers Octavia Sperati with their second album due for release very soon. Their set comprised of three songs as we were informed of a "curfew" - this sounds familiar doesn't it. Octavia Sperati aren't strangers to England though and even though they only got the chance to play three songs and it all seemed very rushed, credit is due as they connected quite well with the people that were paying attention to them and there was clearly effort put into their songs as well as being a very different sight to behold on stage from hairy guys.



Taking the stage next were some hairy guys going by the name Finntroll. With the release of their new album received with split opinions the band kick off with "Sång" leading into "Korpens Saga". With faces painted in different ways and hair flying everywhere the (relative) new edition to the band "Vreth" leads the band and crowd through a set of favorites from all four full length albums. Both title tracks "Jaktens Tid" and "Nattfödd" go down well as well as the brilliant "Slaget Vid Blodsälv" and "Kitteldags" but of course the almost inevitable highlight of the set is the seemingly universally known "Trollhammaren" which is successful in drawing everyone's attention in. Although they put on a great set of folkish metal even through some keyboard problems, the band did not use and move around the stage as well as perhaps they would have if they were to have more space on a bigger stage and also although there was clearly a number of fans so full of joy that they are finally seeing this wondrous band live, a portion of the audience seemed like they were waiting for the main event of the night.



Amon Amarth finally took the stage with smiles on their face, after a few more minor technical problems getting everything set up, as they were about to kick off their first show of the tour that will pretty much take them through to November. The set opens with the pairing of "Valhall Awaits Me" and "Runes To My Memory" that also open the new album. Before starting the latter song, Johan started reciting lyrics from the song; "When I am dead, lay me in a mound..." and audience members joined in knowing each word. It was clear from here that Amon Amarth are becoming a huge band with dedicated followers, especially as the guy next to me seemingly knew every word of every song. The set inevitably included a handful of fantastic songs from the latest album, my personal favorite "Asator" and "Cry Of The Black Birds" mixed with favorites from past albums, also surprisingly and possibly in some ways refreshingly the setlist was missing usual favorite "Versus The World".
The guitars and the whole sound of the band on stage sounded really great and the live performance brought a new dimension to the music, it sounded a whole lot more 'epic' and the band seemed much more confident on stage then on CD as well. To complete the experience of witnessing some real vikings on stage, the band also drank from their horns for us.
If you haven't seen Amon Amarth live in person then you won't have had the experience of seeing Johan Hegg live in person, and he is a big guy! As well as Mr Hegg though, the stage was also shared with four other people and a drum kit and it seemed rather cramped on stage due to its unfortunate small surface area. The band did move around from time to time and because of the small setup it was a very intimate show but also I got the feeling the band might have felt a little less claustrophobic if they were playing on a bigger stage, the one upstairs in the same building for example.



I would also like to make a comment about the venue Rock City and their strategies. This was my second time at the venue and the second time that things have been rushed because of a curfew that is in place to get people to spend money in their club that opens straight after the show has finished. Doing this is not letting every band perform the full sets they may be able to perform in different venues and rushes everything which is not giving the fans the full value for money that the venue should be providing as one of the main venues for metal bands in the country.
Overall though it was a very enjoyable show and finished on a very high note, the first of many on their tour together and I recommend anyone that can get to one of their shows to go and experience this for yourself.



Setlist:

Valhall Awaits Me
Runes To My Memory
Death In Fire
With Oden On Our Side
Asator
Sound Of Eight Hooves
Bleed For Ancient Gods
Fate Of Norns
Where Silent Gods Stand Guard
An Ancient Sign Of Coming
Cry Of The Black Birds
Victorious March
Persuit Of Vikings

Thanks go to Andy at Metal Blade UK/Ferret Music Europe for the press accreditation.
Written, and photos by Barry Anderson