Formation (1988–1991) The band emerged from the previous
grindcore (or death metal)
Early recordings (1992–1997) After a 1991 demo, Scum broke up and Amon Amarth formed in 1992. Hegg replaced Mäkitalo on vocals, Anders Hansson replaced Meriläinen on rhythm guitar and Ted Lundström replaced Tarvainen on bass, before recording its first demo
Thor Arise in 1993. Raw and uneven in sound and execution, it was never officially released due to low quality standards, but the band caught the attention of extreme metal fans with its own "infectious brand of epic-sounding brutality and unadorned conviction".
Signed with Metal Blade (1998–2007) They then signed with
Metal Blade Records, releasing the debut album
Once Sent from the Golden Hall. Described as "a compelling fusion of buzzsaw riff work, melodic harmonies and soul-crushing rhythms punctuated by Hegg's callous black/death roar and accounts of Norse battles and treachery" it made sure Amon Amarth's popularity rose internationally. and Fredrik Andersson (ex-A Canorous Quintet) came in. With him in 1999 the band recorded and released their second full-length album,
The Avenger. The release was supported by the X-Mas Massacre Festivals Tour with
Morbid Angel headlining.
The Crusher, released in 2001, was considered to be the group's most aggressive album. In support of it the band went on tour with
Marduk and
Vader, taking part in No Mercy Festival. Their first American tour, scheduled for Autumn 2001, was cancelled due to the
attacks of September 11th and was held later in January 2002. In April 2002 the band toured Europe with
Vomitory and in August performed at Wacken Open Air before a crowd of 12,000.
Versus The World was released, alongside The Viking Edition, which contained a bonus CD with demos
Thor Arise and
Arrival Of The Fimbul Winter. Touring continued until Spring 2004 when the band started working on
Fate of Norns, which was released on 6 September 2004. and rose to #26 in the US Top Independent album charts. In early January 2008, the band's first tour of Australia and New Zealand took place, supporting
Dimmu Borgir, after finishing a US and Canadian tour with
Sonic Syndicate and
Himsa.
Renewed contract with Metal Blade (2008–2014) Amon Amarth extended its record deal with Metal Blade Records for three more albums. After extending its record deal, the band released
Twilight of the Thunder God, which featured guest appearances by
Lars-Göran Petrov of
Entombed,
Roope Latvala of
Children of Bodom, and the
cello metal band
Apocalyptica. Accompanying the release of the album was an eight-page comic strip based on
Norse mythology which was released by magazines in Europe. The album reached #50 in the U.S., In 2009, the band returned to the U.S. for another successful series of dates with
Goatwhore,
Skeletonwitch and
Lazarus A.D. and later in 2010 with
Holy Grail and
Eluveitie. In between, Amon Amarth were named "Best Breakthrough Act" at
Metal Hammers prestigious
Golden Gods Awards. On 30 November 2010, Amon Amarth confirmed its next album entitled
Surtur Rising would be released in Spring 2011. The drums were recorded at Park Studios, while bass and guitars were recorded at Fascination Street Studios. On 27 January 2011,
Metal Blade Records released the new album's first single, titled "War of the Gods", on
YouTube. On 29 March 2011,
Surtur Rising was released in North America. To support the album, the band embarked on a 4-month world tour with
Children Of Bodom and
Ensiferum, among others. Amon Amarth performed at
Wacken Open Air in 2012, Hellfest 2013, Download Festival 2013,
Sweden Rock Festival, and
Mayhem Festival 2013. On 25 June 2013, Amon Amarth released its ninth studio album,
Deceiver of the Gods. The album cover, according to the band, depicted
Ragnarök, the last battle between the
Æsir gods and
Loki, accompanied by the army of the dead. In 2014, Hegg co-founded Grimfrost, a company that produces and sells reproductions of
Viking Age artefacts, as well as products inspired by Viking Age culture.
Departure of Fredrik Andersson and Jomsviking (2015–2017) On 19 March 2015, Amon Amarth posted on its Facebook page that it had parted ways with drummer Fredrik Andersson after 17 years of collaboration. The band released its 10th album,
Jomsviking, on 25 March 2016. A session drummer, Tobias Gustafsson (formerly of
Vomitory), was recruited for completion of the album. From 22 to 25 March, the band performed four intimate album release shows in London, Paris, Tilburg, and Berlin to mark the release of
Jomsviking. They also supported
Megadeth,
Suicidal Tendencies and
Metal Church on the
Dystopia tour in the United States in September and October 2016, and headlined a tour in the UK and Ireland with
Testament as special guests. On 30 September 2016, Amon Amarth announced Jocke Wallgren as their full-time drummer. The band toured North America in May 2017 with support from
Goatwhore. In an August 2017 interview at
Bloodstock Open Air festival, guitarist Johan Söderberg stated that Amon Amarth would begin working on their eleventh studio album after the end of the
Jomsviking tour. He is quoted as saying, "After this summer, we're done touring with this album. That's when we're gonna start to write stuff for the next one." The band also performed at
Wacken Open Air that summer. In October 2017, Johan Hegg joined the DJ roster for
Gimme Radio, promoting his involvement with Amon Amarth as well as his favorite music and playlists on the show, "Hammer of the North." In November 2017, Ride & Crash Games partnered with Amon Amarth to release a self-titled video game centered around the band's songs and lyrics. It is currently available on iOS and Android.
Berserker (2018–2022) On 7 January 2019, the band announced that they had finished recording their 11th studio album with producer Jay Ruston, tentatively due in the Spring. Vocalist Johan Hegg stated that he waited for the music to be completed entirely before writing any lyrics, a different approach compared to previous albums. While saying that it is not a concept album, Hegg also revealed that one of the new tracks is titled
"Berserker At Stamford Bridge" and
"The Shield Wall". He stated, "It's also about sticking together in the face of adversity. Then there's more introverted stuff, as well – songs that relate to my private life, and I got the ideas for those songs from my wife." In May 2019, Amon Amarth embarked on a North American tour as part of
Slayer's
final world tour, also featuring
Lamb of God and
Cannibal Corpse. On 19 March 2019, the band released a new song, titled "Raven's Flight" and revealed the name of their next album was
Berserker, and will be released on 3 May 2019. On 15 April 2019, Amon Amarth announced a headlining tour of North America to begin in September in support of
Berserker alongside fellow Swedish bands
Arch Enemy,
At the Gates and
Grand Magus. On 17 April 2019, the band released the music video for
Berserker's second single "Crack the Sky". On 3 May 2019, the band released the album
Berserker. In Late 2019, it was announced the band would play South America with support from
Powerwolf. The tour was scheduled between 28 February, beginning in Brasilia, and ending on 21 March in Bogota. However, the tour abruptly came to an end on 14 March after the Hell and Heaven Metal Fest in Mexico due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. On 28 May 2021, the band released a re-recorded version of the song "Masters of War" for the 20th anniversary of their third album
The Crusher. On 16 February 2022, the band released the stand-alone single
Put Your Back Into the Oar.
The Great Heathen Army (2022–present) Amon Amarth announced in June 2022 that their 12th full-length album was titled
The Great Heathen Army. It is their first album that features the band themselves on the album cover since their debut album. Paired with the announcement of the album was a release of a music video for "Get in the Ring" featuring
Erick Redbeard, a wrestler for
AEW. The album was released on 5 August 2022. Amon Amarth toured with
Machine Head as a part of the Vikings and Lionhearts Tour 2022, a concert tour of Europe taking place in September and October 2022. Amon Amarth headlined 2022 the Great Heathen Tour of North America in November and December 2022, with support from
Carcass,
Obituary, and
Cattle Decapitation. Amon Amarth headlined the 2024 Metal Crushes All tour in April and May 2024, with support from
Cannibal Corpse,
Obituary, and
Frozen Soul. On 17 July 2025, Amon Amarth released their first single since
The Great Heathen Army titled
We Rule the Waves. Amon Amarth is scheduled to tour with
Dethklok with support from
Castle Rat in April and May 2026. The band are also confirmed to be making an appearance at
Welcome to Rockville, which will take place in
Daytona Beach, Florida in May 2026. ==Musical style and lyrics==