Amon Amarth au fost luati la intrebari! (interviu)
23 Noiembrie 2016 de Andreea Gherfi
First of all hello and thank you for taking a little bit of your time to answer a few questions for our metalzine metalhead.ro!
Metalhead: How is the spirit right now in Amon Amarth? How is everybody doing?
Ted Lundstrom: The shows are great, the crowd reaction is great, the production for our tour is great! We think its going really well. Plus we are selling out some shows here and there, so what more could you ask for?
Metalhead: Is there any secret for that endless energy you show on stage after all the touring you have done lately?
Ted Lundstrom: Underberg and beer.
Metalhead: What is the recipe for Amon Amarth's success? What kept you in the metal scene for almost 25 years?
Ted Lundstrom: We are so successful because Big J is looking good, and now we have this young drummer bringing all the ladies to our shows. Our fans are so loyal, and they keep coming to the shows, its because of them we are so successful!
Metalhead: Does Amon Amarth still have musical influences after all these years?
Johan Hegg: Of course we do, and everything around us influences us. My biggest metal vocalist influences are everyone from Bruce Dickinson to Ozzy Osbourne to Lemmy. The absolute top for me is James Hetfield.
Metalhead: Jomsviking is a conceptual album that seems a little bit more divers that your previous ones. In your opinion, how did Amon Amarth fans recieved it?
Johan Hegg: We think the fans received it well. We worked really hard on making it like a musical score for a movie. We used to be very controlling, we need to sound like ourselves, and now we are more open to melodies. The fans are still coming to the shows, so we hope they like it!
Metalhead: Who was the mastermind behind Jomsviking, conceptuly and compositionally? In Amon Amarth the songs are written individually or is a more "everything-in-the-rehearsal-room" kind of work?
Johan Hegg: We (the band) were talking on tour, what would be next, what we should do next for the band (for the album). We were looking at different options, and I had started writing this story as a private project and I said “we could do this as a concept album”. They felt it was interesting, and decided to go for it.
Ted Lundstrom: Usually our guitar players will work with the riffs they come up with at home and then we either send song ideas between each other over the net or we meet up and try it in the rehearsal room. Sometimes we start with music and then come up with lyrics but for Jomsviking, for example, we started with a finished story and built the music around it.
Metalhead: Why did you choose Doro to be a guest on your new album and how did Doro react when you asked her to sing with you "A dream that cannot be"?
Johan Hegg: Well, there is a very important female character in the story of the album 'Jomsviking.' So we needed a way to do that, and we decided to do a duet. And we wanted someone with a voice that would fit the music, and someone with a persona that could fit the character. The first person we could think of was Doro Pesch. I think we all thought of her, and we asked – and she said yes.
Metalhead: Nowadays some bands seem to be totally against online streaming while others embrace the new technology and use it in their own favour. What is your position on this topic? Do you think that online streaming can generate a bigger crowd at your concerts?
Johan Hegg: For us personally, It's become a necessary evil. It's a great way to reach fans on radio stations that would normally never hear us, other than when it goes by on a Pandora station or Spotify station. People can look at their station and say, "what band is this?" Hopefully that turns them on to our music, and they can visit other songs we wrote. Then they see we are coming to their town, and they show up to see our Viking raid!
Metalhead: You will be performing in Bucharest on 4th of December. We know the setlist includes songs from "Jomsviking" but are you going to play some of your classics like Twilight of the Thunder God, Guardians of Asgaard or The Pursuit Of Vikings?
Ted Lundstrom: You will just have to come to the show and find out!
Metalhead: Is there any message you would like your romanian fans to know before they attend the concert?
Ted Lundstrom: Be prepared for bloodshed, we are bringing the vikings, you better prepare to be slaughtered!
Pe 4 decembrie vikingii de la Amon Amarth revin la Bucuresti pentru a sustine un show de neuitat pe scena de la Arenele Romane! Concertul de la Bucuresti face parte din masivul turneu european de promovare a noului album Amon Amarth, "Jomsviking". Invitatii speciali ai serii sunt suedezii de la Grand Magus!
