On March 25th, Swedish metal kings Amon Amarth will unleash their 10th studio album, Jomsviking, via Metal Blade Records (North America)/Sony Music (International)! Jomsviking – the band’s first concept record in their storied career – tells a tragic tale of love and revenge, backed by the Swedes’ trademark melodic, anthemic metal, which was produced and mixed once again by Andy Sneap (Megadeth, Testament, Accept) and also features special guest session drummer Tobias Gustafsson (Vomitory). The epic original story is set in the world of the Jomsvikings, the legendary order of mercenary Vikings. As front-man Johan Hegg explains: “The Jomsvikings were a shadowy and legendary sect of Viking mercenaries, as shrouded in myth now as they were when they fought across Europe and the Middle East. Ruthless and deadly warriors who fought for the highest bidder, their code was simple: Show no fear. Never retreat. Defend your brothers, and when called upon, avenge their deaths. I felt we were finally ready to use their story as the jumping off point for an Amon Amarth album. The Jomsvikings and their world is the background for the story of a young man that is in love with a girl but unfortunately she’s being married off. He accidentally kills a man when this happens and he has to flee – but he swears to have revenge and win her back. He can’t let go of the past. He feels that he’s been wronged and his life has been destroyed. The way the story evolves is not a happy story.”
By far their most ambitious project to date, Jomsviking is available for pre-order in various formats now at amonamarth.com (see below for the official track-listing) – where fans can also view the video for the album’s first single, “First Kill”. Produced by Grupa 13 (http://www.grupa13.com) and directed by Darek Szermanowicz (Behemoth), “First Kill” was filmed in Gohrweide (Germany) and Warsaw (Poland) and features a cinematic depiction of the violent, brutal lyrics, along with powerful live footage of the band performing with their full dragon head and pyro stage-set.
Jomsviking track-listing:
1. First Kill
2. Wanderer
3. On A Sea Of Blood
4. One Against All
5. Raise Your Horns
6. The Way Of Vikings
7. At Dawn’s First Light
8. One Thousand Burning Arrows
9. Vengeance Is My Name (bonus track – for digibook, digital, LP, and viking ship editions)
10. A Dream That Cannot Be (Featuring Doro Pesch)
11. Back On Northern Shores
Johan Hegg will be spinning “First Kill” and his own playlist at two public appearances in New York City and Los Angeles: the NYC event will be held at St. Vitus Bar on Feb. 2nd at 9PM, while the LA event will be held at Grill ‘Em All on Feb. 9th at 5PM.
Following Jomsviking’s release, Amon Amarth will tour North America with fellow Swedes Entombed A.D. and young USA metal upstarts Exmortus! Pre-sale tickets are available now at amonamarth.com. Tickets go on-sale on Friday, January 29th at 10AM local time at amonamarth.com. See below for all upcoming dates!
Amon Amarth tour dates
w/ Entombed A.D., Exmortus
Apr. 7 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
Apr. 8 – Phoenix, AZ – The Pressroom
Apr. 9 – El Paso, TX – Tricky Falls
Apr. 10 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
Apr. 12 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
Apr. 13 – San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theater
Apr. 15 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
Apr. 16 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues
Apr. 17 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
Apr. 18 – Tampa, FL – The Ritz
Apr. 20 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
Apr. 21 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
Apr. 22 – New York, NY – Best Buy Theatre
Apr. 23 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
Apr. 25 – Rochester, NY – Water Street Music Hall
Apr. 26 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
Apr. 28 – Quebec City, QC – Imperial
Apr. 29 – Montreal, QC – Metropolis
Apr. 30 – Toronto, ON – The Danforth
May 1 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
May 2 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrews
May 4 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
May 5 – Chicago, IL – The Riviera Theatre
May 6 – Lawrence, KS – The Granada Theater
May 7 – Denver, CO – The Ogden Theater
May 9 – Omaha, NE – Sokol Auditorium
May 10 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
May 12 – Winnipeg, MB – The Garrick
May 13 – Saskatoon, SK – O’Brian’s Event Centre
May 14 – Calgary, AB – MacEwan Ballroom
May 16 – Vancouver, BC – The Commodore
May 17 – Seattle, WA – Showbox Market
May 18 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
May 20 – San Francisco, CA – The Warfield
May 21 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern Theater
Amon Amarth online:
http://www.amonamarth.com
http://www.facebook.com/OfficialAmonAmarth
http://twitter.com/amonamarthband
https://www.instagram.com/amonamarth
https://youtube.com/AmonAmarthOfficial
http://giphy.com/amonamarth
(via METAL BLADE)