AMON AMARTH, Grand Magus, In Solitude

We know In Solitude are young, but surely they don’t need to go to bed so early that their set starts at 7.15? It is not an early curfew show and is something that venue as a whole (not just this one) need to look at. As a result RTM only manages to catch the last four songs of their set. A tremendous shame because their “The World, The Flesh The Devil” album has much to commend it (and was one of RTM’s top 20 of last year.)

A thrilling mix of the occult of Ghost and the twin guitar attack of Maiden, it is to be hoped we see the Swedes back on these shores soon.

Fellow Swedes Grand Magus follow, formerly on the mark of quality that is Lee Dorian’s Rise Above Label (home to the aforementioned Ghost and Gentleman’s Pistols amongst many, many others) before moving to Roadrunner to put out the phenomenal “Hammer of the North” in 2010, they have long been a name to drop.

Despite being a fan for years, this is RTM’s first time seeing the three-piece live. And they are a revelation. Simply put, if you have any metal in your veins then Grand Magus are a band you need in your life. “The Oar Strikes The Water” tips its hat to Priest and the Irons, while “Hammer of the North” has echoes of Saxon. Front man Janne "JB" Christoffersson shreds and and sings and is more than ably backed up by drummer Fox and bassist Seb Sippola. Their 45 minutes flies by and is right up there with any set we have seen this year.

The question is therefore, how can Amon Amarth follow that? The answer, of course, is by being Amon Amarth. The band have been taking their melodic death metal songs about Vikings and Odin around the world for years, and they know what they are doing and how to do it for perfection.

The first time we clapped eyes on them was three and a half years ago when they opened for Slayer at the Civic Hall next door and they are just the same tonight as they were then. Songs built around a combination of thunderous riffs and singer Johan Hegg’s frankly gargantuan stage presence.

This tour is on the back of the “Sutur Rising” album which was released last year and “destroyer of the Universe” – an oddly catchy track with a fabulous chorus – is perhaps the best song they play, but this is a band you just know is doing exactly what it wants to. There was an interview with Hegg last year where he said he would rather go back to his former job of a carpenter than play songs he didn’t believe in. It is perhaps this attitude that allows him extol the crowd for a sing-song with the words “it doesn’t matter if you know the words, its metal – no one will know the difference!”

After 80 punishing, brutal, yet strangely tuneful minutes, they are back for an encore of the exemplary “Twighlight of the Thunder God” and “Guardian of Asgaard” before, with horns and fists raised its over.

A fine night, showcasing all that’s best in Scandinavian metal. However they keep churning out such fine bands over there, you can only hope that it continues for years.