Amon Amarth to tour with... uhh, Amon Amarth

Damn, three tours in one day. Not doing a damn thing one day and then getting overloaded with shit to talk about the next day seems to be a trend with this blog recently. In any case, a few hours ago Metal Blade Records announced yet another North American tour, this time with Viking metal superstars Amon Amarth. However, this isn't your conventional tour, because this time around, there are no supporting bands. Yes, you read that right, Amon Amarth will be the only band playing THE ENTIRE NIGHT! Rather than taking a handful of opening acts out with them like, I don't know, every other band ever, the Swedish beardos will play two consecutive full length sets each night. One set will be nothing but the band's upcoming album Surtur Rising in its entirety, and the other will be a regular Amon Amarth set with songs from the rest of their expansive discography. Unorthodox choice, yes, but this band is notorious for their intense, borderline theatrical live performances, so I think it's safe to say we can expect a crazy-ass show. Dates are as follows:

An Evening With Amon Amarth
4/14/2011 The Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL 
4/15/2011 Station 4 - Saint Paul, MN
4/16/2011 Granada Theater - Lawrence, KS
4/17/2011 The Summit Music Hall - Denver, CO
4/19/2011 Wonder Ballroom - Portland, OR
4/20/2011 Showbox Sodo - Seattle, WA 
4/22/2011 The Regency - San Francisco, CA
4/23/2011 Ace Of Spades - Sacramento, CA
4/24/2011 House of Blues - West Hollywood, CA
4/25/2011 Nile Theatre - Mesa, AZ
4/27/2011 White Rabbit - San Antonio, TX
4/29/2011 Culture Room - Fort Lauderdale, FL
4/30/2011 Beacham Theatre - Orlando, FL
5/01/2011 Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
5/02/2011 Jaxx - Springfield, VA
5/03/2011 Peabody's - Cleveland, OH
5/05/2011 Best Buy Theater - New York, NY
5/06/2011 Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA
5/07/2011 Theatre Of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA

Well then, I know what I'm doing on May 7th. It does seem a bit cocky to perform your newest album all the way through, seeing as that's usually something that's only done with long standing, classic albums, but then again so is going on tour with just yourself, but Amon Amarth are awesome so we won't give them any grief for it. Hopefully no deathcore bands will catch on to this idea. Leave your thoughts below, and come back tomorrow for some more goodies.

-BK

New Amon Amarth album too, yay!

Ok seriously, this is starting to get out of hand, I don't know how much longer we'll be able to keep track of all the new shit that's coming out. Earlier today, the fine fellows at Metalsucks unveiled the cover art for the Viking metal masters Amon Amarth's upcoming album Surtur Rising, and I'm not gonna lie, it may very well be one of the most metal things I've seen in a long time.

Pshh, he ain't so tough

Fifty foot tall Viking? Check. Flaming sword? Check. Fire everywhere else? Check. Yep, it's metal as fuck. Any aspiring bands out there should be able to learn something from this album cover: it doesn't matter what you put on the front cover, as long as there's a shitload of fire everywhere people will think it's badass. In fact, you could probably just have one big picture of a bunch of fire and it would probably look pretty cool. I wonder if anyone's ever tried that...? Anyway, Surtur Rising comes out on March 29th via Metal Blade Records, the same day that Obscura's new album Omnivium, pictured below, comes out on Relapse Records.

Hehe it looks like a sperm

Mark your calendars guys, March 29th is going to be an exciting day. As always, expect full reviews of these bad boys shortly after their release. Tell us which of these two albums you're most excited for in the comments, and have a happy Tuesday.

-BK