Amon Amarth

Stemming from the demise of the grindcore band Scum, Amon Amarth formed in 1992, adopting their name from a reference to J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional setting, Middle-earth. Amon Amarth abandoned the hardcore punk sound of Scum, dropping their previous spastic tendencies and experimenting with dark dream like soundscapes driven by the traditional brooding structure of contemporaries like In Flames,Six Feet Under, and At the Gates.

Amon Amarth put out their first demo “Thor Arise” in 1993 following shortly after the release of Scum’s 1991 demo and their subsequent reformulation. “Thor Arise” was very rough and disjointed; nevertheless, it showed great potential and stimulated a strong cult following in certain metal subsects.

Just a year later the band put out their second demo “Arrival of the Fimbul Winter”. This recording saw a limited run of 1000 copies. The band signed on to Pulverised Records and released their first EP “Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds” in 1996. Their studio debut LP “Once Sent from the Golden Hall” followed 2 years later and was released through the label Metal Blade. This album was herald among critics and was essential in exposing the band to an international audience. After this release they were making stops in Canada, the US, and various festivals in addition to their standard rounds at local venues.

The band experienced several lineup changes in 1998, with Johan Soderberg replacing Anders Hansson and Martin Lopez going on to join Opeth. Once the band settled into their new formation they recorded and released their sophomore effort “The Avenger”. The group returned to the studios to create their most aggressive album to date, aptly titled “The Crusher”, which saw a release in mid 2001.The band scheduled an extensive tour in tandem with this release, but had to push back their US wing of the tour until 2002. By this time they issued their 4th album “Versus the World”. This album was considered to be the group’s most somber and emotionally dark album. It also won widespread critical praise, ranking number 413 in Rock Hard magazine’s book of “The 500 Greatest Rock Metal Albums of All Time”.

The band started a trend of releasing an album every 2 years. They succeeded their 2004 Spring tour with the release of “Fate of Norns” and in 2006 came out with their critical and commercially viable album “With Oden on Our Side”. The group returned to the studios to record “Twilight of the Thunder Gods” after the completion of their first ever Australian and New Zealand tour.

“Twilight of the Thunder Gods” featured members of Entombed, Children of Bodom, and Apocalyptica as well as an 8 page accompanying comic strip. Much of the group’ status within the metal community as well as in popular music can be attributed to this album. It rose to No. 50 on the US charts, No. 6 in Germany, No. 10 in Finland, and No.11 in their homeland.

Their next album “Surtur Rising” came out 3 years later and acted as a platform for a 4 month world tour alongside Ensiferum and Children of Bodom. The group’s 9th studio album “Deceiver of the Gods” came out in 2013 and did reasonably well on the charts in Canada and drew comparisons to the works of Thin Lizzy and Judas Priest.

With billions of fanatical metal fans who risk their lives to witness the sheer brilliance of Dethklok, the band is made up of visionary frontman Nathan Explosion, lead guitarist Skwisgaar Skwigelf, rhythm guitarist Toki Wartooth, drummer Pickles and bassist William Murderface. To offset the daily incompetence of the bands’ members, manager and lawyer Charles Foster Offdense assists the band in nearly all tasks from going shopping to maintaining social relationships.

Being a virtual band and having a membership limited to fictitious characters it would be easy to write Dethklok off as a huge joke, but they’re not. Admittedly a generous pinch of salt is advised but for the most part they do all the things a real band does.

In 2007 Dethklok announced a promotional tour with real band …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. The tour consisted of playing twelve U.S. college campuses and featured lead singer Brendon Small who voices Explosion, Skwigelf and Pickles, guitarist Mike Keneally, bassist Bryan Beller and drummer Gene Hogan. Describing the experience Brendon Small used the words “a Disney ride but with murder” and referenced the band Gorillaz who too have an animated representation of band members.

In 2008 Dethklok toured with Chimaera and Soilent Green and during a show at The Fillmore in San Francisco, CA, U.S. a fire broke out and fans in the audience were reluctant to leave thinking it was part of the dramatic, disaster-driven style of the band in their fictional universe. It was not. Dethklok had a similarly busy 2009 with another tour alongside the likes of Mastadon, High on Fire and Converge and a free show at San Diego Comic Con on July 13, 2012.

Dethklok have released a handful of albums since their inception. These include their 2007 album “The Dethalbum”, 2009’’s “Dethalbum II”, 2012’s “Dethalbum III” and 2013’s “The Doomstar Requiem”. The band has also received the award for Best International Band at the 2009 Revolver Golden God Awards and in 2013 the album “Dethalbum III won an Independent Music Award for Best Metal/Hardcore Album, which is more than most real bands can claim.