Band:Himsa Album:Summon In Thunder Record Company:Century Media Writer: The Vish MySpace Link: MySpace Click Album Cover To Buy Now

December 15, 2007 Seattle, WA at El Corazon

A month later and I am finally able to write about my experience after going to see God... erm... I mean Amon Amarth at El Corazon in Seattle, WA. I've gone through a lot of shit over the last month: being kicked out of my living situation, having my computer and camera hijacked as well as other things that have no place here in a show review. So hey, better late than never, right? Anyways, when I saw that Sweden's Amon Amarth were coming to town, I knew that I couldn't pass seeing them, being as they are my FAVORITE band. I was also excited about the prospect of seeing Decapitated (this was before the bands tragic tour bus accident that killed drummer Witold "Vitek" Kieltyka and seriously injured Adrian "Coven" Kowanek) because my good buddy and fellow RMM writer, Joey Edens, told me that I would love this band. I had never heard of Sweden's Sonic Syndicate so I was interested in what they sounded like, too. Local Seattle favorites, Himsa were on the bill as well, a band that I have never really cared for, but do not dislike.

I got to El Corazon at around 6:30pm, December 12, 2008, with another RMM writer, Linda Ode, which was a treat of it's own, because we had been talking about doing a show together for months, and with my digital camera being hijacked, I needed somebody to lend me a camera or else come with me with their camera. I want to say one thing right now: The Rock My Monkey family has some of the coolest people in the world. Linda let me use her camera for the night and we got to finally meet in person and hang out for a few hours, which was super cool, but I would also like to point out that the owner of this site, Mark Carras, sent me one of his digital cameras overnight in the mail for me to use at the show. That's pretty damn cool on both of their parts and I am thankful to have people like that in my life.

We got into the venue with no problems and went to the bar and ran into a couple of my close friends that I didn't know were going to be there and we all had a couple drinks before the show started. The show started soon after we got there and the first band on stage was Sonic Syndicate. I had never heard of the band, so I was interested in what they sounded like. After about five minutes of listening to them, I realized that they sound like the typical cookie cutter metalcore/melodic death metal hybrid bands that I am seeing more and more of. The main draw for this band is their sexy bass player. The music was okay in parts, but the dual vocalists (one singing clean vocals and one screaming like Tori Amos being stripped raped and strangled) were enough to get on my nerves quickly. I finished taking my pictures of them and went back to the bar to be with my friends.

Soon enough, Sonic Syndicate was done and Himsa came on stage. This was really weird for me, because Himsa's new drummer, Joe Frothingham, is a dude that I grew up with and at one point, we were as close as brothers. We were in our first band together and I can remember him and I talking about touring the world together as rock stars. There he was, playing drums masterfully for Seattle's brightest star in the local metal community, touring with my most favorite band in the world. Needless to say, I couldn't help but feel jealous, but he has worked hard to get to where he is at. So, Joe, props to you. Himsa ended up playing a full set that was intense from start to finish. The crowd energy was great and the band was tight as hell. I took my pictures and observed the rest of their set from the bar with my friends.

Next up was the main attraction, the Norse gods of Sweden: Amon Amarth. I haven't been so excited to see a band since I saw Pantera back in 2001. Oddly enough, I also haven't seen a band play such a great set since Pantera back in 2001. Amon Amarth absolutely fucking slayed. From start to finish, Amon Amarth played perfect song after perfect song with the intensity of a Viking Berzerker in the heat of battle. I was drenched in sweat half way through their set and my arms hurt from pumping my fists and throwing up the Viking Horns (fuck calling them devil horns), but I most certainly wasn't going to stop until they stopped. They played for an hour and a half and later on in the set, they dedicated "Fate of Norns" to Vitek of Decapitated and when the song ended, the crowd chanted his name in honor of his memory. I couldn't help but get goose-bumps from that.

By the time Amon Amarth finished their set, I was exhausted, my arms and neck were sore and I was covered in sweat and smelled like a gay orgy, but goddamn, I really enjoyed myself. It was a great relief to do something like that after the shitty few weeks that I have had. It was great to see my favorite band and it was great to finally meet somebody that I have talked to for a couple years online. Overall, it was a great experience.

Band:Himsa Album:Summon In Thunder Record Company:Century Media Writer: The Vish MySpace Link: MySpace Click Album Cover To Buy Now

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