The war party came ashore under the veil of darkness. The small Irish fishing village had not noticed as sixty heavily armed men poured from the decks of the long boats, quietly moving towards the sleepy huts. Vikings. At last, a night watchman took notice and sounded the alarm. Suddenly, the air was filled with screams as the horde destroyed and looted anything that stood in their way. Those who could flee, did so without looking back at the sight of flames and bloodshed at the hands of the coarse warriors. Although this scene could be out of the history books, there is still a gang of Swedes who keep the Viking tradition alive- alive in heavy metal music. Amon Amarth was formed in 1992 in Goethenburg’s budding melodic death metal scene. With crushing guitars and a LOTR-inspired name, it didn’t take long for the band to set themselves above most of their contemporaries. A good part of their appeal is the lyrical content (war and Norse mythology) and the band’s unbelievably frightening frontman, Johan Hegg. Hegg’s imposing long beard, leather gauntlets and bare chest are eclipsed only by his brutal, monstrous voice; a bellow that could make a WWE wrestler cower in the corner. Amon Amarth has just embarked on their first solo US tour to promote their new album, Surtur Rising, released March 29. The album, another in a series of concept albums, tells the story of Surtur, a giant who battles the god Frey at Ragnarok and whose burning sword engulfs the earth. Yeah. The band will perform two sets a night- first, the new album from start to finish and then, after the break, older material aka “fan favorites”. Buzzbin recently talked with founding member, guitarist Olavi Mikkonen, about the band and their current tour. I started by telling Olavi that I visited Sweden once for a couple days and what I remember is the tall, beautiful women. I sense him warming to me immediately- we’re now on common ground. AA is commonly described as Viking death metal although I’ve seen the band shy away from that label in the media. I propose that Olavi and the guys instead start calling the music “Hero Metal”. He likes that. “[With the new release] we’re not really death metal any more. Not the real death metal. Sure the vocals are but we’re using more traditional heavy metal riffing. We’re technically not like Cannibal Corpse or anything.” I asked Olavi about why the band is touring without an opening band; why do two sets? More importantly, why should people come to your concert? “We like to do some stuff that other bands don’t do. It demands a lot from us as musicians and we want to see if we can do it. This is a statement that we can tour by ourselves.” “As a band, Amon Amarth is the real thing. We’re a very strong live band with a strong front man. Even if you like our songs on CD, you’ll like us more live.” I’ve seen many bands that can’t keep a solid line up for a couple months let alone 19 years. The current lineup hasn’t changed since 1998. What is the secret to staying together as a band? “Well, we all share equally the money and everything. We like to work together, we like to play together. We are friends; we enjoy each others’ company.” How about on tour? Any problems living in tight quarters with each other for weeks and months at a time? “Maybe other bands have egos or that bullshit but we have quite a lot of respect for each other. We give each other space. It’s fortunate that we like each other.” I’ve heard from an acquaintance of yours (VH1′s That Metal Show co-host and Metal Blade label mate Don Jamieson) that AA are not what you’d might expect from a group of road hardened rock dogs. Instead of ripping into a fresh mammoth steak the band is more likely show off a new iPad or excuse themselves to call the wife. Has the band ever fallen into the typical rock star excesses? “We did that when we are teenagers. Of course, we enjoy drinking beer together sometimes. We get high playing.” How do you feel about Amon Amarth’s professional progression? It seems that after almost two decades you’re in the best place you’ve ever been. “The whole band, we are really happy and grateful that we are where we are today. We are gonna continue to work harder.” When you were a teenager, did you ever think that just a few years later you would be traveling the world, playing rock music as a career? “I’m living my dream. This is what I dreamed about as a kid, pretending I was Ace Frehley with a tennis racket in front of the mirror.”