Preaching to the choir with Amon Amarth

Whether you want to classify them as Vikings, hobbits or death metal pioneers, Stockholm’s Amon Amarth want to challenge your ideas. The ever-evolving band of warriors returns to Louisville’s metal-loving South End on Tuesday, infecting their fans with increasingly melodic yet still-heavy tuneage from their ninth album, Surtur Rising, in addition to well-loved classic hits from their 20 years together.

LEO spoke with leader Johan Hegg, who — to this reporter’s ears — speaks like a “Die Hard” villain.



LEO: Are audiences any different in Scandinavia than in the U.S.?
Johan Hegg: (laughs) Metalheads are metalheads.

LEO: For those of our readers who don’t know much about metal, what sets Amon Amarth apart from others?
JH: From the category of music we grew out of, which is death metal, we are a very melodic band. I think that’s something that’s very different. There’s also a melancholy to our music, which is actually very unique.

LEO: The new album was inspired by the Surtur legend, is that right?
JH: It’s not a concept album, no. There’s only two songs like that on the album. It’s a pretty fascinating story behind that, really — it deals with the end of the world and all that follows. It’s a very violent part of the story, but also very sad, because even the hero dies.

LEO: Do you do a lot of reading that influences your writing?
JH: Yeah, I read a lot on different topics. But a lot of stuff that influences my lyrics is everyday stuff — stuff that happens in the world or in my life in general. It doesn’t necessarily have to be Norse mythology — although, I’m a huge fan of that history and use it as a metaphor for the topics I want to discuss. I don’t really want to preach to anybody, but the things I bring up in my lyrics are usually not that interesting to anybody but myself (laughs).

LEO: Do the other guys in the band know what you’re singing about?
JH: Some get it, some don’t … I don’t care (laughs).

LEO: You said you don’t want to preach, but you write a lot about religion. How do you feel about the role of religion in Scandinavia versus in the U.S.?
JH: Having been over to the U.S. many times, I can tell that religion is a bigger part of people’s lives, in general, than it is here. This country is much more secularized than the U.S. is. It also depends on where in the U.S. you go; you go to the major cities, it’s less so. That’s also kind of the same over here.

LEO: How do you feel about the role of religion here, as opposed to in your country?
JH: Personally, I don’t like the form religion has taken. The institution of the church as something to allow people to have spiritual enhancement is just bullshit. I don’t mind if you believe in God, go ahead, but you shouldn’t have to go to church to be interested in that — it’s just bullshit. I think what religion is today is mainly a power tool for people to keep other people in control.

LEO: Do you ever have problems with people telling the band, “You can’t do this” or “You should try to do something more commercial”?
JH: No. Never happens with us, actually. We’ve been with Metal Blade Records now since 1997, and we’ve always had a good connection with those guys. They love metal, and we are, by far, not the most brutal band they’ve signed. So we’ve never had any discussions on that stuff, no.

LEO: What can we look forward to with your live show?
JH: We’re doing a very aggressive and gritty show. We’re performing the new album in its entirety, and then we come back after a short break and play other stuff. It’s two-and-a-half hours of music, and it’s a very energetic and great show. We’re looking forward to getting back to Kentucky, it’s been a while.

Amon Amarth
Tuesday, Aug. 23
Expo Five
2900 Seventh St. Road • 645-1820
www.amonamarth.com
$20; 8 p.m.

Def Leppard’s amazing race to maturity

Phil Collen, 53, joined Def Leppard as a guitarist in 1982, after a successful run with the glam metal band Girl. LEO caught up with him at a Starbucks.



LEO: You’re known for performing shirtless. Are you wearing a shirt now?
PC: Right! Yeah, actually, I’m wearing a shirt right now, so I guess it’s a disguise.

LEO: The last time you were in Louisville, a friend of mine was surprised to see you guys in a Starbucks, ordering decaf lattes. How do you balance being a rock star vs. being a regular guy in real life?
Phil Collen: Easy, actually. I’ve always led a very normal life. I go to the beach all the time, and me and my wife are just hanging here, right now, at Starbucks, yeah. Sometimes people go, “Dude, I love your album, I’ve got your stuff,” it’s great. The only time anything’s ever really happened was years ago, in the ’80s at a Bon Jovi concert in Japan; I got mobbed by a gang of girls and someone tried to tear a hair out.

LEO: You’re know as a studio band. Why a live album now?
PC: Well, we took our first break in 30 years. We took a year off, after being wrapped up in that cycle of album/tour/album/tour. I enjoyed having time to reflect. We got to look back at some of the live stuff – we took it from two tours, in 2008 and 2009. Our producer, who’s our out-front sound guy, literally marked off good versions of songs. It wasn’t a real daunting task, where we’re having to listen to 100 versions of “Pour Some Sugar On Me.” It’d be, like, maybe two.

LEO: 5 songs with “rock” in the title (“Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop),” “Rocket,” “Rock On,” “Rock of Ages,” “Let’s Get Rocked”) appear on this album. Are you aware that 20% of your set involves “rock” in some way?
PC: I think that’s probably the lack of imagination of a teenage boy. When these songs were written, that’s what you’re dealing with. It’s one of those things – be careful what you wish for. You want to be a rock star, then you go, “Shit, we’ve got all these songs, ‘Rock’ this, ‘Rock’ that”… But to be quite honest, they are rockin’ songs; they kind of work in that way. I do think that that’s what happens with younger guys – before you travel and get a different view of the world. So much has happened – politically, socially, spiritually – just from traveling around the world. I guess if we were to write songs about “rockin’ out” now, it wouldn’t be where we’re actually at.

LEO: What inspires you these days?
PC: You meet people, you grow, you get more experience, you see how the world works… I think it’s great, traveling. I’ve been in the most amazing conversations around the world – in India, talking to someone about the prime minister; In Russia, I talked to a dissident. I wouldn’t have had that opportunity, talking to people all over the world. You can say, “I’ve got songs about rockin’ out, and I’ve had a conversation with an arms dealer.” All of a sudden you can put that in your book of experiences, and you just constantly grow. It’s good to be open minded, you can let all these things in, if you write songs or books or poems or paint, even. You can let all this out in an artist way. It’s fantastic, and I really appreciate it. I didn’t really realize that when I went into it in the first place, when I took up the guitar, that it would take me to all these places. You can talk to people on either side of the political fence and, if you’re open minded, you can become an ambassador. Hopefully, you can do some of that in your music, as well.

LEO: Do you have any favorite young bands today?
PC: Something happened – this isn’t just ’cause of the internet, but I think the motivation changed. People want to be famous and rich, but they don’t necessarily want to have an artistic expression. I think that’s a big difference, if you listen to the Beatles, the Stones, Hendrix, Bob Dylan, there was an expression, regardless of genre. If you listen to Erykah Badu, she is an artist, she gets her shit out, what she wants to get out there. There’s some great stuff out there, but you have to dig in and reach for it. There’s not a lot of it.

c. 2011 LEO Weekly