On October 12^th 2019, four bands from the Metal Capital of the world, Sweden invaded New York City and decimated through all the weak and brought pure brutality, chaos and joy. Grand Magus, At the Gates, Arch Enemy and Amon Amarth all brought their signature sounds of Swedish Metal and turned the Hammerstein Ballroom into their own realms, all while maintaining technical excellence and engaging with the crowds.

Opening this epic night was the trio, Grand Magus from Stockholm Sweden. With their new album Wolf God packing a lot of heat, many people were stoked to see this opener. Though they were opening the stage, it didn’t seem like it when the dance floor of Hammerstein was completely packed. The audience welcomed them with open arms instantly clapping as they kicked into I, The Jury. Engagement was constant as they delivered a stoner vibe to their heavy sound. They only played five songs, but in the end the left the audience wanting more after they ended with Hammer of the North. The night was off on a good note.

Next we get the Gothenburg death metal veterans At the Gates. One year after they destroyed Times Square on their tour with Behemoth, they returned once again with a vengeance. Opening with the title track of their latest record, To Drink from the Night Itself, they began a nine set killing spree. Since it was a very short set being thirty five minutes, they made sure every millisecond count. The lights were moving and the band was moving more. Title track after title track was played from To Drink from the Night itself, to Slaughter of the Soul to At War with Reality. Vocalist Tomas Lindberg was engaging and had stage presence that was practically hypnotic. This set also delivered the first moshpits of the night, at some moments, having more than one. The band moved and the audience moved with them.

Those melodic death metal riffs combined with the high pitched screams of Lindberg reminds us why At the Gates is one of the most influential artists in the realm of heavy music. Ending with their classic, The Night Eternal, the sealed the final nail in the coffin before passing the torch on to Arch Enemy

Arch Enemy would take the stage and this is when the production is turned up to a T. We were able to get a small taste of it during the sets of Grand Magus and At the Gates, seeing their signature logo behind the drums to the whole time. When the lights dimmed, we knew all hell was about to break lose. Once those lights dimmed, we heard the recording of Set Flame to the Night and once all five of those members took the stage, they kicked right into The World is Yours. We get the signature melodic riffs and soloing we all know and love from Michael Amott and Jeff Loomis. With Alissa’s fierce screams and hypnotic stage presence, we were now in the territory of Arch Enemy.

We get some old school classics with My Apocalypse all delivered with excellence, raw energy and power. When Jeff Loomis would kick into the solos, there was so much emotion that cut through the crowd and the intensity would just possess every individual whether they were at the barricade or in the balconies. After ending with the classic, Nemesis, we get one last bow from the whole band as they disappeared into the darkness behind their beautifully hypnotic lights with the recording of Enter the Machine.

As we geared up for the headliner of the night, the anticipation and buildup was nearly just as insane as all the performances were. We get a giant curtain reading Berserker covering the whole stage. Every second that passed by, everyone in the balcony was at the edge of their seats, but when those lights dimmed and the logo on the curtain lit up, we knew that we were about to embark on the war of Vikings.

The Vikings of Swedish Death Metal, Amon Amarth took the stage. When that curtain dropped, all the remaining hell that wasn’t unleashed from the previous three acts was all let out at this very moment. Opening up with a newer track of their latest album Berserker, Raven’s Flight, all five members of this group absolutely decimated everything right out of the gate.

The venue practically went down in history as the stage went up in flames. Nothing was held back once the first note kicked in. As they kicked in even further playing some older classics such as Death in Fire and Deceiver of the Gods, the audience was just as entertaining to watch as they moved and swayed with the music that was being unleashed upon them. One minute you has numerous whirlpools of circle-pits, to having the audience drop down on their bottoms and row the Viking ship.

The growls of vocalist Johan Hegg were able to be felt from any point in the venue. It echoed as far as the security check in-area in front of the venue, all while Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg delivered riffs that practically had lighting striking us all and drummer Jocke Wallgren delivered blast-beats that sounded like the thunder gods themselves. Having the perfect setlist combining newer songs such as Fofner’s Gold, Shield Wall and Crack the Sky, as well as some classic melodic death metal tracks such as Guardians of Asgaard, and The Pursuit of the Vikings, many old school fans were satisfied and many new school fans on board the Viking ship were pleased as well. Ending with their classic, Twilight of the Thunder God, the Swedish invasion on NYC came to a bloody yet incredible end.

By the end of the night, the Hammerstein Ballroom was left a smoldering crater that had the sound of Viking Growls, intense riffs and beats echoing throughout the city, all while many metalheads walked away with a smile on their face, drenched in the sweat of their metal peers and their own sweat from the pyro that toasted us all quite a bit. All in all, this was a night of raw energy, intensity and power.

 One thing that needs to be said about this particular night is that this was a night that proves that metal is anything but dead. Hammerstein Ballroom is 2,200 cap and it sold out. There was also so many metal shows on this night including Napalm Death and Municipal Waste at Bowery Ballroom, Revocation and Voivod at Brooklyn Bazaar, Earthless at St Vitus, Evergreen Terrace at Kingsland and Life of Agony at Cony Island Brewery. Every one of these shows were backed to the brim and the next morning, everyone in the tri-state was posting pictures on their social media of their fun experiences at these shows. Sure, some venues closed, sure, some bands end, but in the end, everyone on October 12^th was at a metal show and as long as we all have these crazy days, this genre and the live presence that comes with it will never die.