AMON AMARTH Frontman: 'We Keep Struggling, Keep Going Forward'

Jeffrey Easton of The Metal Exiles recently conducted an interview with AMON AMARTH frontman Johan Hegg. An excerpt from the chat follows:

The Metal Exiles: The new record, "With Odin on Our Side", is a tremendous effort. Where did the title come from first off?

Johan: I wrote the lyrics song before we chose it as a title but the song is a metaphor about us. We keep struggling, keep going forward, get better and more professional. It is trying to work harder and get past any setback. When we first started writing the album it felt like something was pushing us and being there for us. It felt as though the gods were with us. Since Odin is not only the chief god, he is the god of poetry so we felt that it was a fitting title.

The Metal Exiles: You said the gods were pushing you. Do you believe in God or do you have a religion?

Johan: Personally I have a philosophical approach to gods. The gods are inside you and when you are in balance with yourself you will feel them in you. My philosophy in life is Scandinavian philosophy. I just feel support from that. That does not mean that the gods exist in the sky; it is just I am not a religious person, but as a band we felt it was a fitting title.

The Metal Exiles: You are big into the Viking lore, how much is there left to tell?

Johan: You always find new angles and new ideas. I always find things in my life, the world in general and the bands life to use.

The Metal Exiles: As a metaphor?

Johan: Yes, as a metaphor, just to express some feelings I have and I feel if you write a metaphor about something then someone can get something out of it to help them. There was a guy that told me that he would not have gotten through his studies if it was not for our music.

The Metal Exiles: What personal feelings and ideas went into this album?

Johan: I think we all felt that the writing process went so well for this CD, nothing was going to stop us. The lyrics are very positive, it is not laid back like "Fate of Norns". With the "Fate of Norns" album, we were coming from a pretty tough spot. We were tired of touring, we were tired of being together and we were being pressured to put something out and we did not have time to focus on the music like we wanted to. The album is more laid back, a bit more introverted.

The Metal Exiles: If that drove you guys apart, what brought you together for this record?

Johan: I think the positive vibe for this one is two key factors. The first one is that we did not have day jobs anymore. We were able to do the music like it was a 9-to-5 job and we worked as a unit which was just amazing. We went to the rehearsal room every day, worked on the material Monday through Friday.

The Metal Exiles: So it was not like getting off of work and coming to rehearsal pissed off from work?

Johan: Exactly, we could really focus and we could come to rehearsal and say that the previous day was a good day. We wrote all of the material and recorded the album in three months and we have never done that that fast before.

The Metal Exiles: How were you able to quit your day jobs?

Johan: We were finally making enough money from touring Europe and we are finally making some money from touring here in the States that we could quit our jobs and make a living. Personally I do have a job but that is just because I find it hard to sit still and need something to do when I am not on tour. I got a trucker's license and I drive a delivery truck.

The Metal Exiles: What do you deliver?

Johan: I work for a company that hires out drivers to different companies. Lately I have been delivering bread.

Read the entire interview at www.metal-exiles.com.