Johan Hegg – Amon Amarth

After almost a year of near complete silence from the Swedish Vikings in Amon Amarth, they are now plotting their return. The new album – which is the first concept album the band has made – is officially entitled ‘Jomsviking‘ (out on March 25 via Sony Music).

I caught up with vocalist Johan Hegg last week to discuss the new album, the “Keyboard Warrior”, the upcoming world tour and the new drummer. 

The interview was conducted in Swedish and translated to English by me. As all Swedes do, we had a chat about the weather to begin with, and then we got down to business. 

The first question felt pretty obvious. Just a day before I spoke to Johan, Amon Amarth had uploaded a new promo clip on social media, featuring a “keyboard warrior”, a guy who just happened to look a lot like the somewhat infamous Axl Rosenberg of MetalSucks. In the video he is writing hateful comments about the band on Reddit. He then gets taken down by a Viking (who’s being played by UFC champion Josh Barnett). I wanted to know if the guy in the video was actually supposed to look like Rosenberg, and why they made a promotion video of this kind.

“It’s a coincidence, I think. We didn’t really pick the actors, even though the UFC fighter Josh Barnett is a perfect fit! We thought it was really cool. It’s not really directly related to Amon Amarth specifically, it’s just the things are on the internet. Every band has to deal with it, and even individuals. I think the people who are doing it are fucking cowards. I thought it was a funny idea to make a teaser in that way.”

Drummer Fredrik Andersson parted ways with Amon Amarth last year.  I asked Johan what happened between the band and Fredrik. I also wanted to know if his replacement Tobias Gustafsson (Vomitory) is considered a permanent member of the band.

“There’s not really much to say, other than that it was a mutual decision. Relationships have to end sometimes, no matter if it’s between work mates or partners. That’s the way it is. We had seventeen great years [with Fredrik]. It is a new era now, we’re moving on. No, Tobias is not a permanent member of Amon Amarth. We wanted to focus on writing the new record, rather than looking for a drummer. The problem is that if you find someone that you want to work with, and then you notice that it’s not the right fit whilst writing the album, then you have to start over. We felt that we didn’t want to do that. So instead of risking that, we asked Tobias if he wanted to write and record the album with us. And he said yes. It’s an old friend and we know that he’s a great drummer with a positive attitude and creative abilities. He did a great job. But now we’re looking for a permanent replacement. We’ve tried some different alternatives, and it looks like we have a guy now that will join us on tour and we’ll see how it goes to begin with. I think it’ll be really great, but it is also important that everyone feel that it is working out. We’ll be living on top of each other more or less for two years, so you have to be compatible with the people around you.”

Our conversation then turned towards the new album. As mentioned before the band’s first ever concept album. I asked Johan to briefly tell the tale of ‘Jomsviking’.

“It is about a young man who’s in love with this woman. But she’s being married off. And when that happens he decides that he wants to run away with her, but she doesn’t want to. And this guard discovers them. So he accidentally kills this man, and then has to flee. He then meet the Jomsvikings, who are viking mercenaries, a type of brotherhood. He joins them, and he then realise that he will be able to return home in order to have his revenge and to win back his love. But, when he finally meet her again, she has moved on. She doesn’t want anything to do with him. She’s got a new life, she’s independent and she’s happy. And then his world crumbles. There’s no happy ending. I like how the story unfolds. I’m not a big fan of happy endings, I like it when everything falls apart, ha!”

‘Jomsviking’ out March 25 via Sony Music

One can really tell that there’s a story being told on this album. It is not only noticeable in the lyrics, but there is a diversity in the music that represents the ups and downs of every story. I am personally very impressed with how this album has come together. There’s a new element to Amon Amarth’s music that hasn’t been there in the past. I was curious about if the band really had to focus on the emotional side of the music, or if it came to them naturally. 

“I think it felt partly natural, but it was also a different way for us to work. In the past we’ve usually written the music first and then the lyrics. This time we had the lyrics, or at least the story that had to be told. So we had to write the music accordingly. It was almost like writing music for a movie. The same goes for the vocals, the way I performed was really important, in order to enhance the emotional side of the story.  Personally, I’m extremely satisfied. It was difficult, of course, since we’ve never done a concept album before. It was a challenge for sure but I’m really happy.”

The second to last track on the album, “A Dream That Cannot Be”, feels like the pinnacle of this album. This is also the most surprised I’ve been in a long time. One would think that since there’s a woman in this story, she would have to be represented on the album. And this is where she enters the story. The voice of the Jomsviking’s love belongs to no other than metal legend Doro Pesch (Doro, Warlock). I was gobsmacked when I heard the song for the first time, and every time I hear it now, it grows on me. It is one of the best Amon Amarth tracks to date. I of course wanted to know how this duet came to fruition. 

“As I mentioned earlier, this man returns to his homeland years later, but she’s moved on. She’s now a strong, independent woman. The way I see this guy is that he’s sort of stuck in the teenager stage. I wrote the lyrics as a type of dialogue between them, except they are not really talking to each other. They are saying what they think and feel, but it is not a conversation as such. It is like two monologues that are entwined. When we were discussing this duet, we realised that we needed a woman with a voice that suited our music. We needed a strong character. And the person that came to mind was Doro. So we asked her if she wanted to do it. And she loved the song, so she was really happy to do it.”

She brings the song to a whole ‘nother level.

“I agree. I think it’s really great to see what she did with the lyrics too. It was important for us that she would be able to put her own personal touch to the song. We even told her that she was free to make changes to the lyrics if she needed to. But she kept everything as it was and she did a terrific job!”

I then asked Johan if he could tell me a bit about the band’s upcoming tour, other than the already announced European festivals.

“Everything will be announced properly in conjunction with the album details this coming week! But a massive tour is planned of course. I don’t think that we’ll head down to Australia again until early next year. It’s a bit more difficult to find a tour now since Soundwave shut down.”

Have you followed the drama at all?

“Not that much, I just heard that it’s a huge clusterfuck.” <laughs>

This will be Amon Amarth’s tenth studio album. I wanted to know if it gets more difficult with time to pick a balanced setlist, and also if Johan believes that it’s important to not completely exclude earlier albums. 

“It is completely hopeless. It is so difficult. And the old albums have to make way for the new, more popular ones. We’ve discussed this. We’re not a band that know all of our songs just like that. So we might have a couple of songs that we will play on all the gigs, but then rotate the rest. Even if you have a 90 minute set, we might rehearse 120 minutes’ worth of songs. So that we can mix things up and make it more interesting. I’m not sure yet if it’ll happen, but it is something we have talked about. We’ll always try to have at least one somewhat rare song. But most fans do want to hear material from ‘With Oden On Our Side’ and onward, that’s just the way it is. But we haven’t forgotten about the fans that have been with us from the beginning, absolutely not.”

We had reached the end of our interview, and I wanted to put Johan to the test with my signature question of 2016:  “Would you prefer to perform one hundred 1 minute long songs, or a 100 minute long song?”

<laughs> “What a question! To be honest, neither of the options are very attractive! One minute… what can you do in one minute?”

Skate punk or grindcore!

<laughs> “Yeah, exactly! Damn, this is hard. I would probably pick a hundred one minute songs. But at the same time… Fuck, I don’t know. The other way around. Because if you pick a 100 minute long song you can do something really epic!”

‘Jomsviking’ is out on March 25 via Sony Music. Pre-orders are available now through AmonAmarth.com.

Tracklist:

1. First Kill
2. Wanderer
3. On A Sea of Blood
4. One Against All
5. Raise Your Horns
6. The Way of Vikings
7. At Dawns First Light
8. One Thousand Burning Arrows
9. Vengeance Is My Name
10. A Dream That Cannot Be
11. Back on Northern Shores

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