Amon Amarth Pillage San Diego's SOMA!

Amon Amarth at SOMA, San Diego — Amon Amarth performing at SOMA, San Diego on 12/16

It’s been a long awaited 4 years since Nordic Vikings, Amon Amarth, have set sail to North America so when they docked ship at San Diego’s SOMA, the local Vikings were ready to pillage!

With a sold out show and a line streaming down the building, San Diego’s vikings and maidens excitedly waited to see a epic lineup of heavy hitters for The Great Heathen Tour which included: Cattle Decapitation, Obituary, Carcass and of course, the real life vikings themselves.

San Diego natives Cattle Decapitation came out swinging, immediately choke slamming the crowd into submission with Travis’ infamous pig squeals, snot and spit…a trifecta very well known & loved by fans. As a photographer, they’re a personal favorite to watch live and as a first time shooting them, they did not disappoint with the theatrics and intense energy. With the pandemic having ended, they brought back the angst when they ended their set with “Bring Back the Plague” off their latest album Death Atlas, a true face melter

Next up was Obituary with a setlist honoring the beloved classics such as Redneck Stomp and ending with Don’t Care. The long-haired head banging Florida natives brought the old school-classic American death metal vibe to the venue: heavy, clean and brothers John (singer) & Donald (drummer) dont f$*k around when it comes to delivering a perfect performance. With crashing snares and commanding vocals, the band are influential and a true staple for a reason.

Carcass hasn’t set foot in the states since 2019, 3 years overdue. Though I was told I couldn’t photograph the band prior to the show, I became acquainted with the Tour Manager hours before doors opened and was given permission to shoot…needless to say, they’re some of my favorite shots of a lead singer I’ve captured this year. Jeff Walker, singer, holds his bass like a staff commanding the crowd to mosh, throwing their first in the air and trust me when I say: they obey.

Finally came Amon Amarth! Though SOMA’s stage isn’t big, production was still able to setup an epic Viking horn helmet to help permeate the venue with enough viking energy to please a sea of garbed up lads and ladies. With Johan Hegg towering at a whopping 6’1, fans looked like small peasants amongst the towering instrument-wielding musicians. Loki made a guest appearance during their first song, “Guardians of Asgaard” and a few coreographed viking battles broke out on stage throughout the set, creating a perfect backdrop for the moshing that was underway. One things for sure: Amon Amarth truly has a fan following thats dedicated and fully embracive of the viking culture. When the stage lights switched to an ocean blue and the fog kicked up a notch, instinct took over and the crowd acted like a school of minnows, following each other one-by-one, beginning to sit and act like they were rowing a giant Viking ship to the flow of Johan’s voice….”Put Your Back Into The Oar” begins to play.

**Crowd Rowing during “Put Your Back Into The Oar”**

With a classic setlist of songs like “Raise Your Horns” and “Pursuit of the Vikings,” the crowd of inflatable axe wielding bearded men and infatuated ladies thoroughly enjoyed being up-close and personal with the band. Amon Amarth typically performs on bigger stages & festivals which allows them to utilize all of their infamous pyro, (fake) weaponry, canons, huge stage pieces etc so to be in an intimate setting such as SOMA left the band to fend for themselves, which was no problem for these pros. The band was in your face (literally) and for my first time seeing them I doubt it will get more personal and raw than that, a perfect show in my eyes. Amon Amarth have worked their way up and have earned themselves the title of one of THEE most infamous Viking/Power/Melodic Death metal bands the world has ever seen and this tour truly secured that title. Whether they’re performing on a bigor small stage with antics or no antics, they truly deliver on all levels, leaving San Diego slayed and very content.