Amon Amarth frontman Johan Hegg has spoken about the band’s upcoming 11th studio album.
They've been working on the as-yet-untitled record over the course of the last year, with bassist Ted Lundström reporting back in March last year that what they had then was sounding “amazing.”
Hegg now reports that, unlike 2016’s Jomsviking, the new record won’t be a concept album.
He tells Revolver: “With the last record, Jomsviking, I wrote a complete fucking movie script and we turned it into an album. This time around, I didn't have any of those ideas but we also didn't want to do a concept thing, either.
“Jomsviking turned out so well, so if you then start working on another concept album and try to top that, it would almost be impossible – unless you have a really great story lined up that you can do that with.
“But I didn't, so it didn't make sense. I was a bit lazy on this one. I waited for the music to be done so I could see where it would take me.”
Hegg reports that one of the new tracks is titled Berserker At Stamford Bridge, while The Shield Wall is “based on a real Viking battle tactic.”
He adds: “It’s also about sticking together in the face of adversity. Then there's more introverted stuff, as well – songs that relate to my private life, and I got the ideas for those songs from my wife.
“I got a lot of ideas from other people on this album, actually. I like working in metaphors, though. Mikael Stanne from Dark Tranquillity told me that when he writes lyrics, he keeps them intentionally vague so that people can interpret the lyrics in a way that benefits them most.
“I like that, and I realised it's something I've done as well.”
Further album details will be revealed in due course.
In November last year, Amon Amarth released The Pursuit Of Vikings: 25 Years In The Eye Of The Storm which came with a documentary about the band which was produced by Alexander Milas and directed by Phil Wallis.
