It was a surprisingly early 5:30PM when the venue doors swung open to welcome the horde of eager metalheads. Frequent visitors to Space City, Amon Amarth brought their Metal Crushes All Tour to Bayou Music Center, alongside an opening lineup that promised an evening of the fast, heavy, loud stuff.
Hailing from Tumba, Sweden, and taking their name from Tolkein’s Middle Earth, Amon Amarth are known for their melodic, mythology-filled brand of death metal. Formed in 1992 and with 12 studio albums under their belt, the band found success with 2008’s Twilight of the Thunder God.
The show kicked off with local, Texas band Frozen Soul, who played a short, 30-minute set before ceding the stage to Obituary. Formed in 1984, Obituary powered through a screaming 7-song set to the rapidly growing crowd.
At 8PM, legendary death metal band Cannibal Corpse took the stage, immediately launching into “Scourge of Iron” and sending the pit into a frenzy. Lead singer George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher, sporting a shirt with his own face on it, spent much of the set with his face concealed behind his hair while growling into the mic, the lyrics nearly unintelligible.
After a 45-minute set, including fan favorites “Hammer Smashed Face” and “I Cum Blood,” Cannibal Corpse vacated the stage for the headlining act of the night. With a lengthy changeover period, the crowd was rife with anticipation as the lights dimmed for the last time of the night.
As the curtain dropped, it was clear that this set would be a spectacle. With a surprisingly bright lighting setup, Amon Amarth took the stage flanked by two massive Viking totems, not dissimilar to the Argonath from the fictional world from where the band takes their name.
The band kept the crowd involved throughout the entirety of their 15-song set – at one point nearly half of the fans got down on the floor and began rowing in unison during “Put Your Back into the Oar.” Closing out the night with the classic “Twilight of the Thunder God,” Amon Amarth left the stage having once again shown Houston why they’ve been a death metal mainstay for over 30 years.
I'm a Houston-based concert and automotive photographer. I've been a music fan my whole life, and previously was the director for Coog Radio, the University of Houston's student radio station. I listen to a bit of everything, from blues to rock to EDM, but predominantly metal. Some favorites include Slayer, Iron Maiden, and Metallica. When I'm not behind the camera, you can catch me skating, going to car events, and buying too many coffee table books.
