On Monday me and my friends drove down to Chicago, Illinois to check out Amon Amarth's, 'Twilight of the Thunder God tour.' Now honestly I'm a bit out of date with Amon Amarth's music and really need to get my hands on some of their recent releases, but fortunately AA hasn't exactly evolved much throughout their career. So, having heard only the older stuff I was still fully able to enjoy myself on this night.
This was also my first time at this venue, which frankly looked more like a wedding/party hall then a concert venue, but nevertheless I liked it. A good crowd turned out for the gig too, and I have to admit I didn't think Amon Amarth was this popular.
Holy Grail: From California was Holy Grail who played a fairly straight forward NWOBHM style (Iron Maiden, Saxon, etc.) with some slight thrash influences. The band had good energy, great stage presence, good musicianship and honestly I found myself really enjoying their set. It seems this band is fairly new, but three of the members have experience in a band named White Wizzard whom seem to be getting some attention these days. Thus far Holy Grail has only released an EP, but I'm actually curious for a full-length album. Hopefully they'll deliver soon.
Eluveitie: I saw Eluveitie (pronounced el-vey-ti) just a little under two years ago in Chicago as well when they were part of the Pagan Metal fest with Ensiferum and Tyr. Back then I was completely unknown to their music, but I was really impressed and since then I've at least familiarized myself with their album, 'Slania.' They play a type of Celtic/folk metal, but I like the way their singer said it, "Are you ready for some pure fucking folk metal!" For this set it seems like they mostly played songs from Slania as well as the new album, which I really should have bought, but I was really enjoying my drunken mood and wanted to prolong it. So, note to self, 'bring more money to awesome folk metal concerts!' At any rate, Eluveitie had amazing energy onstage and they really managed to get all of us rockin' hard. In the end this was another quality performance for these guys and I've decided that I really need to get my hands on the rest of their albums in the future.
Amon Amarth: These Swedish vikings hit the stage with relentless fury and delivered an absolutely amazing performance. Like I said earlier, I really haven't heard much from these guys in recent years, but it didn't matter since they had such energy and their dominating stage presence impressed all of us. In fact there were times when most everyone in the auditorium was singing along with Johan. They ripped through a number of newer songs as well as material all the way from their debut EP, 'Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds.' Collectively they must have played for well over and hour, but since the show started early at 6PM is was still early in the evening. All in all I was highly moved by their performance and hope that they'll come around again soon. If you have any love for these bands or just want to see a great display of heathen metal at it's finest then definitely check it out.
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