AMON AMARTH 'Tried To Go For A More Dark, More Brutal Sound' On 'The Great Heathen Army' Album

AMON AMARTH guitarist Johan Söderberg spoke to El Cuartel Del Metal about the band's recently released twelfth studio album, "The Great Heathen Army". The LP was recorded with acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap, who previously worked with the band on 2013's "Deceiver Of The Gods" and 2016's "Jomsviking" albums.

Regarding AMON AMARTH's production approach on "The Great Heathen Army", Johan said: "We tried to go for a more dark, more brutal sound on this album. 'Cause the last album [2019's 'Berserker'] we tried to make it more heavy metal kind of style, but now we wanted to go more towards a death metal style — mostly in the sound, more raw and dark.

"We always liked to mix some heavy metal influences into our music, but on this album we wanted to go more back to death metal," he explained. "But, of course, the song 'Saxons And Vikings', it's very heavy metal because Biff [Byford] of SAXON is part of the song. But it's still maybe more heavy than a heavy metal song, I would say."

This past February, AMON AMARTH released a standalone single, "Put Your Back Into The Oar", an ode to the epic Viking row. The track was recorded and mixed in January 2021 at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden with producer Jens Bogren and was made available via the band's own label Victorious Music.

The "Put Your Back Into The Oar" video was shot in England over three days in October 2021. The atmospheric, cinematic clip was produced by Twin V and directed by Ryan MackFall at Crashburn Media.

AMON AMARTH will team up with MACHINE HEAD for the "Vikings And Lionhearts" co-headlining European arena tour in September and October. A North American tour with CARCASS, OBITUARY and CATTLE DECAPITATION will follow in November and December.

AMON AMARTH stands tall and unassailable: 30 years into a career that has seen them evolve from humble origins in the dark, dank rehearsal rooms of their native Tumba to their current status as explosive festival headliners and one of the metal world's most widely adored bands.

Formed in 1992, AMON AMARTH became modern metal greats the hard way. Ruthlessly dedicated to creating new music and taking it out on the road, the Swedes steadily built a formidable reputation as a ferocious live band and, as the years passed, were increasingly recognized for their recorded achievements too. Since the dawn of the millennium, AMON AMARTH has been unstoppable.

Breakthrough releases like 2006's "With Oden On Our Side" and its now-legendary follow-up, 2008's "Twilight Of The Thunder God" further cemented their popularity throughout the metal world, while the band's stage show evolved with each successive tour, transforming into one of modern metal's truly great spectacles. "Berserker" brought with it an epic, history-making trek across North America with fellow Swedes ARCH ENEMY, AT THE GATES and GRAND MAGUS and saw multiple sell-outs.