Amon Amarth very rudely skipped venues north of the border when they undertook their most recent tour, the Vikings and Lionhearts package with Machine Head. Robb Flynn and his merry band made it up with a handful of small-scale shows across Scotland, and now Amon Amarth return to lay waste to Glasgow. As a bonus, we got hometown boys Bleed From Within who I last saw putting on a brilliant main stage performance at Bloodstock 2021.
With a nice 40-or-so minute set, and no other bands on the bill, Bleed From Within erupted onto the stage at a nice, sensible 8pm. As a result, the venue was packed though surprisingly slightly cooler than the still sun-baked Eglinton Street outside. This was not to last… It took only a cursory glance to see that the entire dancefloor were there to see the local lads tear shit up on the Academy stage.
And indeed, shit was torn up. Circle pits were formed and a wall of death orchestrated during opening number “Stand Down”. Scott Kennedy pretty much ran the show, but the rest of the band made the full use of the stage. This was very much a clean, rehearsed, professional and brutal performance. Best of all, we got one of those rare evenings at the Academy where the sound didn’t suck, so when Steven Jones joined in with his clean vocals, the mix of the two voices wasn’t lost.
A definite bonus, and likely due to a sound tech who didn’t want to be ripped limb from limb by the band’s next door neighbours as they ploughed through “Levitate”, “Pathfinder” and “Flesh And Stone”. Bleed From Within most recently toured the US and I wonder if there was a case of role reversal while they were there. So often we have American bands on our stages who try their best to engage with the fans in Glasgow, but routinely suffer defeat at the hands of the local accent (“I love you, man, but I have no idea what you just said!”). Did Kennedy manage to ensure that the American audience knew who they were and where they were from, or was he as well trying to get a lift / elevator to take him to floor “olovun”?
Regardless, it’s always good to see a local band come good – wherever you class as “local” – and the BFW guys are truly lovely. I just get the feeling that they put those little extra few percents and calories into tonight’s show than elsewhere (or like to think they did) as it obviously meant so much to them. Certainly the audience appreciated every moment. Kennedy jumped into the audience to be held aloft as the band rang out the final chords of “The End Of All We Know”, a great way to end a high-energy set.
This is the second time I’ve seen this group on the same stage, and the second time it’s been as a support act (Megadeth brought them on the Super Collider tour, almost a decade to the day ago!). Something has to kick in soon so that they’re headlining next time around!
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The stage behind Bleed From Within had been curtained off for the duration of their set, as Amon Amarth always like to keep their stage decor hidden until they come on. The Academy isn’t as large a stage as, say, the Hydro or even the Barrowlands so we weren’t going to get the full fire-breathing longship/dragon treatment. No complaints with the oversized Viking helmet with glowing eyes that appeared when the curtain dropped and Jocke Wallgren waved his drumsticks at the crowd before taking a seat.
Opening with a definite favourite, “Guardians of Asgard”, set the tone for an evening of melodic death metal – Viking style! The audience were straight into it, fists and voices both raised. Bands like Amon Amarth seem to conjure up a lot of feelgood in their audiences, to the outsider a strange combination given the inherent violence in a metal show. It’s not like they’re a “humorous” act, such as Steel Panther, Psychostick or that pirate metal band we can’t name any more, but look around an Amon Amarth show and you’ll see so many people smiling it’s almost unnerving. Except you’re one of them.
With occasional extras on stage, clashing shields and waving swords (and trying not to collapse in the heat), they do set the scene well for their brand of music and Amon Amarth have nailed the heavy/catchy balance. Hegg is a great frontman, engaging really well with the audience. He’s a big character, and its his (and the band’s) fun attitude that spills over the photo pit into the horded below. Again, the circle pits opened up and the tentative crowdsurfing that kicked off at the end of Bleed From Within’s set became a tide.
There was one piece of A4 tacked to a wall on the way in warning that crowd surfing wasn’t allowed at tonight’s show, with a threat of expulsion, but thankfully the band and usual super ShowSec staff dealt with the fact that people ignored it. I have no idea what prompted the attempt at stopping surfing, and how many people will have seen the tiny notice, but I sincerely hope this isn’t a sign of things to come at the venue. If you want to start driving fans away, this is how you do it.
Back to the music, though. Along with set staples such as “The Great Heathen Army” and “Deceiver of the Gods”, we got a couple of pleasant surprises. The epic “Death in Fire” made a rare appearance, so rare that Heggs had to remind the audience of the song’s name! I’d definitely say it deserves a more regular place in the setlist. Also, five years since Berserker was released, the debut performance of “The Berserker at Stamford Bridge” rang out over Glasgow. It’s rare to be at a show where a band play a song live for the first time, unless you’re on the first night of a post-album tour, so that’s one to make a note of!
There was the obvious “sit on the sticky venue floor and row like a loon” session throughout “Put Your Back Into the Oar”, “First Kill” and “The Shield Wall” showed that there was no lack of material in the catalogue as we pushed the ninety minute mark, and we couldn’t finish without the drinking vessels making an appearance for “Raise Your Horns”, a phrase with a nice double-meaning at a metal gig.
Rounding off the night with “Twilight of the Thunder God”, a song I’m actually most familiar with because Sabaton did a great cover of it, left us with the same smiles and buzz as the opening number had kicked off. Everyone in the building was sweaty, the floor was awash with spilled beer, and opening the doors to the outside world only lowered the temperatures by a couple of degrees. But what a night of Swedish entertainment. ABBA would have been proud.
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Photos by Shaun Hulme
