INTERVIEW: AMON AMARTH IN CONVERSATION WITH TED LUNDSTROM
Interview by Cecilia Pattison-Levi
A new Amon Amarth album is always something to look forward to as the Swedish Vikings release ‘The Allfather Awakens’ to the world.
If you love narrative storytelling, Norse mythology or just great melodic heavy metal with a message about finding wisdom and honouring tradition, then ‘The Allfather Awakens’ from Amon Amarth is a musical journey worth taking.
“It is about our heritage, our history and those stories and tales we have been told since we were kids,” explained the bassist, Ted Lundstrom. “We like to create music around these stories and make it visual for fans. The songs are made for live shows where we can play around with the looks and the atmosphere. But the messages are really important, and we hope that by making it fun that people listen.”
The Swedish band Amon Amarth is a melodic death metal band that takes its name from the Sindarin name for Mount Doom, the volcano in Tolkien’s Lord Of the Rings. And knowing this fact will give you some insight into the style of music and lyricism you will hear on ‘The Allfather Awakens’. The album is themed around Norse mythology, especially Oden, king of the Æsir and the “allfather”.
“The album is quite diverse,” stated Ted Lundstrom. “We tried new sounds, and we created an acoustic song with guitar riffs that our guitarists, Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg, had kept for a few years, and then we had this idea. We wanted to lyrically talk about the start of life and the oral traditions around those stories. Johan Hegg loves the old stories and wants to put them in a modern setting. Humans are the same today as they were 2,000 years ago. Humans all struggle with the same issues. And we always try to balance new, interesting takes on our music and lyrics and add some new, interesting ideas to the album.”
Amon Amarth are about to start touring and playing the new album.
“We are about to head out on tour around Europe in October,” said Ted Lundstrom. “We see the songs in our heads, and we get a feeling about what should work and what doesn’t. But nothing beats a live audience. It sometimes depends on the song, but we are going to be looking at what the fans like”.
“I don’t want to say too much about the new tour as we want it to be a surprise,” exclaimed Ted Lundstrom. ‘‘We have been working hard on the presentation, the lighting, the costumes, and especially the setlists. We need to get that right,”
The biggest surprise is that Amon Amarth are thinking or planning to journey Down Under. Ted Lundstrom continued:
“We are going to play shows in Europe and the UK until the end of the year. Then, in 2027, we are hoping to get to Australia to play. The planning has begun. The primary focus is getting the album out and starting to tour but we would love to come to Australia, and we know it’s tricky, but the planning is happening.”
“I really want to go and see Tasmania,” he said. ‘’There is just so much to see and different things to experience. I would also love to tour and see South Korea and South Africa.”
The album and tour of Amon Amarth’s new songs that are inspired by historical epic tales of conflict and sacrifice for a greater good, with memorable riffs and unflinching melodic aural power, are worth experiencing live. Until then, we will have to wait and enjoy the new album when it is released. Skol!
Amon Amarth’s new album is ‘The Allfather Awakens’, and it will be released on 2 October 2026 through Metal Blade Records. The tour announcement will be in the new year.
