AMON AMARTH Releases New Album “Berserker” Today
Today (May 3rd), Amon Amarth have released their 11th full-length, Berserker, via Metal Blade Records (North America)/Sony Music (International)! To preview and purchase Berserker, please visit here where the album can be streamed, and also ordered in the following formats:
–digipak-CD
–deluxe box set [digipak-CD, shield (~12″x12″), patch (~4″x4″) – limited to 500 copies in US]
–opaque white w/ black splatter vinyl (limited to 1200 copies)
–opaque white w/ silver haze vinyl (retail exclusive – limited to 1300 copies)
–clear w/ red splatter vinyl (webstore exclusive – limited to 750 copies)
–black w/ red haze vinyl (webstore exclusive – limited to 750 copies)
Fans can also make their own Berserker shield now here.
Comprising 12 monstrous heavy metal anthems that bulge with irresistible melodic hooks, bursts of thrilling savagery and moments of spine-tingling dynamic drama, Berserker is the result of the huge surge of creativity and a collective desire to keep moving forward with no compromise. From the disarming melodrama and explosive riffing of opener “Fafner’s Gold” and the brutish simplicity of the rampaging “Crack The Sky” to the epic fury of “Raven’s Flight” and the grim, gritty storytelling of “Ironside” and “Skoll and Hati”, Berserker is an album full of trademark Amon Amarth bluster and bite but with every aspect of the band’s sound somehow refined, sonically enhanced and made vastly more potent, both in terms of metal oomph and emotional power. Neatly summing up the spirit behind these exhilarating new songs is the album’s semi-title track, “The Berserker At Stamford Bridge”: a visceral but vivid historical tale, recounting the Vikings last stand against the English army in 1066 and the mind-bending heroics of one axe-wielding warrior.
Showcasing an undeniable and startling upgrade for every aspect of Amon Amarth‘s iconic sound, Berserker was recorded in Los Angeles with renowned studio guru Jay Ruston (Anthrax/Stone Sour) manning the controls. After recording several rounds of professional demos for the new songs (initially with fellow Swedish metal icon Peter Tägtgren and then later with Ruston himself) the band crossed the Atlantic to make final the recordings in LA, eager to take a fresh approach to the album-making process.
“For me, this is Amon Amarth 2.0,” vocalist Johan Hegg declares. “I think what we’ve done here is give ourselves the space to explore other parts of our musicality and who we are as a band. If you’re content with where you’re at, what’s the point of continuing? We always want to come up with new ideas and find new ways of doing things and to create bigger and better shows and really try to improve every aspect of what the band is. We want to try to keep growing and to do this for as long as we have the possibility to do so, because this is the best fucking job in the world.”
In support of Berserker, Amon Amarth will be touring with Slayer, Lamb of God, and Cannibal Corpse this month in North America, before returning to the states this fall for a headlining run with Arch Enemy, At The Gates, and Grand Magus. See below for all dates!
w/Lamb of God, Amon Amarth, Cannibal Corpse
May 2 – Ak-Chin Amphitheatre – Phoenix, AZ
May 3 – Isleta Amphitheatre – Albuquerque, NM
May 5 – UTEP/Don Haskins Center – El Paso, TX
May 7 – Bert Ogden Arena – Edinburg, TX
May 8 – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory – Dallas, TX
May 10 – MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre – Tampa, FL
May 11 – Coral Sky Amphitheatre – West Palm Beach, FL
May 13 – Big Sandy Superstore Arena – Huntington, WV
May 14 – Merriweasther Post Pavilion – Columbia, MD
May 16 – Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center – Noblesville, IN
May 17 – Providence Medical Center Amphitheatre – Bonner Springs, KS
May 19 – DTE Energy Music Center – Clarkston, MI
May 20 – Covel Centre – Youngstown, OH
May 22 – Canadian Tire Centre – Ottawa, ON
May 24 – BB&T Pavilion – Camdel, NJ
May 25 – Xfinity Center – Mansfield, MA
Summer European Festival Tour
June 1 – Metalfest – Plzen, Czech Republic
June 2 – Forta Rock – Nijmegen, Netherlands
June 3 – Strasbourg, France
June 6 – Sweden Rock – Solvesborg, Sweden
June 8 – Rock Im Park – Nuremberg, Germany
June 9 – Rock Am Ring – Nürburgring, Germany
June 11 – Petrzalka, Slovakia
June 12 – Budapest, Hungary
June 13 – Nova Rock – Nickelsdorf, Austria
June 14 – Greenfields – Interlaken, Switzerland
June 16 – Download UK – Donington, England
June 17 – Limerick, Ireland
June 20 – Knotfest at Hellfest – Clisson, France
June 21 – Graspop – Dessel, Belgium
June 22 – Copenhell – Copenhagen, Denmark
June 25 – Mystic Fest Poland – Krakow, Poland
June 27 – Sonic Park – Bologna, Italy
June 29 – Download Madrid – Madrid, Spain
July 1 – Toulouse, France
July 2 – Grenoble, France
July 4 – Rock Harz Festival – Ballenstedt, Germany
Berserker World Tour – Raid Of North America tour dates
w/ Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, At The Gates, Grand Magus
September 26 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SODO
September 27 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
September, 28 – Vancouver, BC – PNE Forum
September 30 – Edmonton, AB – Edmonton Convention Centre
October 1 – Calgary, AB – Grey Eagle
October 3 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
October 4 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
October 6 – Minneapolis, MN – Skyway Theater
October 7 – Chicago, IL – The Riviera Theater
October 9 – Toronto, ON – Rebel
October 10 – Montreal, QC – M Telus
October 12 – New York, NY – Hammerstein Ballroom
October 15 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
October 16 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
October 18 – New Orleans, LA – The Fillmore
October 19 – Houston, TX – House Of Blues
October 20 – San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theatre
October 23 – Las Vegas, NV – House Of Blues
October 25 – San Francisco, CA – The Warfield
October 26 – Los Angeles, CA – The Palladium