Amon Amarth Concert Review and Experience!

Hello! I am excited to bring to you another concert post, where I talk about a concert that I went to, review the concert, and share my opinions on the bands that were there. I really like making these posts since it allows me to share my experience and I also get to research these bands that I am already interested in at the same time.

I will be separating this post into sections, and those sections will be: band history and opinions, concert opinion, and if I would go again or not/overall experience.

Band History and Opinions

Cattle Decapitation

According to Wikipedia, Cattle Decapitation is an American band that formed in 1996. They are considered to be in the deathgrind genre, which I have honestly not heard of before. I can guess what it means though haha. I think I will have to look more into deathgrind, since I did really end up liking this band and I might like other bands who are in the same genre.

I did listen to this band a little bit before we went, and they turned out to be my favorite band out of all four. I really like the music, and I could definitely see myself listening to them more often in the future and seeing them live.

I did end up buying a shirt from them that I really like and also a beanie that I’ve worn several times so far. I don’t usually buy merch at shows, since it’s usually a lot more expensive, but this band isn’t as popular as the other ones so I felt justified in my purchase. Plus, I know I will wear these things a lot so that makes me feel a bit better about it as well.

Obituary

According to Wikipedia, Obituary is a death metal band from Florida that formed in 1984. They have changed their name twice, from Executioner to Xecutioner and then finally Obituary. They changed their name the first time because there was another band that went by the same name and they didn’t want to be confused with them.

Honestly, I don’t really see myself listening to this music a lot, since it just really isn’t my kind of metal. However, I would go to another show that had them in the lineup since I do enjoy live shows typically more than listening to the music.

Carcass

According to Wikipedia, Carcass is an extreme metal band formed in Liverpool in 1985. I have also never heard of “extreme metal” but I can guess that it is relatively similar to death metal, since Wikipedia listed the genres as death metal and grindcore, which sounds a lot like the deathgrind genre that Cattle Decapitation is.

I found that I thought that Obituary and Carcass sounded pretty similar, and the band members looked a bit similar too. I thought that part was funny. Since I thought these two bands sounded similar, my thoughts on them are pretty much exactly the same.

Amon Amarth

According to Wikipedia, Amon Amarth is a Swedish death metal band that formed in 1992. A lot of people say that their genre is viking metal, but they say that they are melodic death metal instead. I’ve also heard that there is a bit of controversy surrounding this band, since some Neo Nazis/white supremacists really like Odin, a Norse God, so those people sometimes show up to Amon Amarth’s shows. However, the band does not condone this.

I had already listened to some of their songs before I went to this concert, months before, so I didn’t really feel the need to listen to them right before the show. I don’t really think their music is for me, but I do like that you can understand the lyrics which is usually rare in most of the metal music I listen to.

I do like their songs, and I think the subject matter is interesting, but I don’t think the music or the message are really my thing. I will probably listen to their music some more in the future to get more familiar with their music just for fun, but besides that I don’t really see myself listening to them. Except if I plan on going to another one of their concerts of course.

Concert Experience

Since Cattle Decapitation was my favorite band out of all 4, I really wanted to get to see them, but we got there a little late and they ended up playing first. So, unfortunately, we did not get to see them perform, but I do plan on it in the future whenever they have a show that is near or in Las Vegas again. We also had to stand outside in line for a while, but I’m not sure why since doors had opened an hour before we got there.

Anyways, once we did get inside, we found a good spot near the back of the normal floor where we could pretty much see from. We stood about one person away from a little wall that was in front of the raised sections, which we eventualyl ended up finding a spot on before Amon Amarth.

Even seeing them live, Carcass and Obituary do sound pretty similar to me, but the concert was a lot of fun. Their music was a little more thrash-y than I like, I like more grindy, crunchy metal, but it was still a lot of fun. I would have liked to have joined the mosh pit during these bands, but most of the attendants were big dudes, and I wasn’t too confident that my safety would be a priority here.

I definitely could have moshed, and I really did want to, but it just didn’t seem like the best idea at the time. I do enjoy moshing and I want to do it more often, but I also think that my anxiety and just general fear has been holding me back. I have been working on that though haha.

In the line before the show started, there was a guy my mom and I were talking to that mentioned that Amon Amarth has a different kind of pit called a rowing pit, so I looked it up and it was where a bunch of people sit down on the floor and they all start rowing in unison like they are on a rowing team. I was really hoping this would happen, because I love things like this that bring everyone together.

The first time the rowing pit happened, my mom and I were pushed right up against the wall we were standing near, because people sitting take up a lot more room than standing. It was a relatively small rowing pit, and this happened twice. It was so exciting and that was, by far, my favorite part of the entire concert.

Then, for one of their last songs, the lead singer tells everyone to sit down and row, and then the pit got twice as big as it was the first time it happened. We were shoved up against the wall so tight, but I still managed to get a video. It was honestly one of the best experiences I have ever had at any concert, maybe besides the GWAR concerts, and I did end up tearing up a little bit.

A whole bunch of people around us also knew most, if not all, of the words to every Amon Amarth song. This did make me feel like I should listen to them a lot more before we go to our next concert of them, but I still had an amazing time. They were probably my second favorite band behind Cattle Decapitation. I like to be able to headbang to songs, and this band definitely provided that. They also have a lot of crowd participation besides the rowing pit, including chanting and putting hands in the air, which I am definitely a sucker for.

Overall Thoughts/Would I Go Again?

I would 100% go to this concert again, and I think I would see Cattle Decapitation and Amon Amarth most likely. If just for the rowing pit, I would most definitely be going again. Next time I see them live, I want to participate in the pit and the rowing pit. I love those kinds of things and the only thing that would be better than seeing them in person would be participating in them.

Well, that is all I have to say about this concert for now, I hope you guys enjoyed it! I will be going to another concert on the night that this posts, so stay tuned for that post as well! Thank you all so much for reading my blog post and supporting my journey! I appreciate every single one of you, and I’ll see you guys in the next one 🙂