Amon Amarth 12/13/2022

Amon Amarth’s ‘The Great Heathen Army Tour’ pillaged PDX with Carcass, Obituary and Cattle Decapitation in tow.

December 13th, 2022, The Roseland Theater.

Ruben Mosqueda

The Roseland Theater is a hop, skip and a jump from the Burnside Bridge. On the way to Old Town, I witnessed an overdose on the street and the commotion that goes along with that, on the other side someone, presumably mentally ill having a meltdown. Maneuvering the gauntlet of a decaying city has become the norm, on this night Amon Amarth are in town and it’s a sold-out show.

The Viking Metal act Amon Amarth have been around for thirty years. I personally didn’t discover the band until 2002 when they released their ‘Versus The World’ album. They have earned a reputation as a band that decimates everything in their path. If you’ve caught one of their shows you know it’s true. On this crisp December night, things are business as usual for the modern day Vikings. Amon Amarth is currently supporting their critically acclaimed ‘The Great Heathen Army’ on the mighty Metal Blade Records. Amon Amarth brought Cattle Decapitation, Obituary, and Carcass along for the ride. Cattle Decapitation was already on stage as I walked through security and grabbed my ticket at will call. I made it upstairs in time to catch “Time’s Cruel Curtain” and “Bring Back The Plague” which closed their 30 minute set.

Obituary

When Pat Travers’ “Snortin’ Whiskey” started blasting through the back line it was about time for Obituary to hit the stage. The Florida death metal veterans launched into their intense performance, vocalist John Tardy led the charge along with his younger brother Donald Tardy who bashed away on the drum kit. Obituary’s set was short but potent the highlights were “Redneck Stomp,” “Don’t Care,” their Celtic Frost cover of “Circle of The Tyrants & new tune “I’m In Pain,” from their upcoming album ‘Dying of Everything’ due in the first quarter of 2023. John Tardy was having a blast, he smiled from ear to ear throughout their set and was very appreciative of the reception Obituary received by the Portland crowd.

Carcass

After a rapid fire set change England’s melodic death metal pioneers Carcass appeared on stage and much like Obituary, not preamble between songs, just the songs and they began to level the Portland crowd. Carcass released their latest opus ‘Torn Arteries’ released in 2021. The last time Carcass was in this venue they were performing to a captivity crowd supporting Slayer. At that time bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker was wearing a cast on his leg and performed sitting on a stool. This night he was moving around the stage, smiling, interacting with the audience and making some of the most amusing facial expressions. The Portland crowd embraced the Carcass’ ‘Death ‘n’ Roll.’ The highlights of the night were “Incarnated Solvent Abuse,” “This Mortal Coil,” “Genital Grinder,” and their signature song “Heartwork.” I’d love to see Carcass do a co-headlining tour because 45-50 minutes of Carcass simply isn’t enough.

Amon Amarth

Amon Amarth have established themselves as powerhouse headlining worldwide. They are packing ‘em in on the theater level in North America. They’re also bringing with them some of the most elaborate stage productions that I have seen. While W.A.S.P. ‘s Blackie Lawless is telling you he’s bringing an arena show to theaters and you’re actually getting a club show in a theater, he should take note of what Amon Amarth is doing. It’s spectacular. Amon Amarth released their latest effort earlier this year, it’s titled ‘The Great Heathen Army.’ Amon Amarth injected the title track into the set along with the tune “Put Your Back Into The Oar” which inspired some of the floor level to sit on the dirty, disgusting floor and well, ‘row.’ Goofy, absolutely, original? No. Valient Thorr has been prompting fans to do that for years. Anyone who’s a metal fan should catch frontman Johan Hegg and Co, because it’s an entertaining experience and worth every penny of admission. The highlights of the set are “The Great Heathen Army,” “Destroyer of The Universe,” “Shield Wall,” and “Thunder of The Twilight God.”