Live Review: Amon Amarth - Manchester

Live Review: Amon Amarth – O2 Apollo, Manchester

9th October 2026
Support: Soilwork, Orbit Culture
Words: Oli Gonzalez
Photos: Scott Clarke

It’s not easy for a band to stay relevant for well over two decades. It’s harder for a band to do that and be an icon for as long as Amon Amarth has. Then again there aren’t many bands like Amon Amarth! The Swedish Viking themed melodic death metal band stormed into the Manchester Apollo on the back of their 13th studio album “The Allfather Awakens”, which dropped exactly one week beforehand. Almost 7 years since their last appearance in this very same building too! The undercard was suitably stacked too with the fast rising Orbit Culture and accomplished veterans Soilwork in an all Swedish affair.

Arriving at Manchester Picadilly and seeing the train station littered with warriors in their black and leather band logo garments spoke to the popularity of tonight’s show and the expected crowd. 5.30pm doors seemed surprisingly early and the crowd snaking round the venue could have meant a long long ordeal in getting into the actual building, but to the Manchester Apollo’s credit they were efficient in managing this! Taking my place in the Circles and getting to see the action unfold whilst seated was a treat for my middled aged knees, though my heart really belonged down below. Time to settle and absorb the atmosphere before our opening act…

The lights went down and judging by the roar of the crowd, a healthy turn out at this early hour. Soilwork‘s initial sound felt remarkably clean, perhaps a little too clean and lacking that crucial low end thunder. Though that came, suddenly, with the kickdrum beginning to shift some serious air half way through the opening song. Then it felt complete, invoking that early 00s melodic death metal/metalcore sound they were amongst the innovators of back in the day. Perhaps best personified by the blast from the past that was ‘Distortion Sleep’.

Though they brought us back to the future with ‘Spirit of No Return’, which also captured that sound but injected a sharper modern edge and sense of urgency. ‘Death Divider’ got the biggest reaction…and no wonder with its blistering and infectious chorus and soaring lead guitar solo! The peak of the set that, with only one more track, felt way too short and ended once it was gaining momentum. No classics like

Where is the sky ceiling for Orbit Culture? Is there even a ceiling ? It seems like the young Swedish act can do no wrong, with their critically acclaimed “Death Above Life” album dropping almost exactly one year prior and really pushing the band into the consciousness of many a metalhead and growing their already respectable fanbase. They’re no strangers to the city of Manchester where a sizable fan base resides, having opened the Coop Arena for Trivium and graced Damnation Festival’s main stage in 2025. Which is likely why the place was so packed before they had even played a note, with a friend describing going for a pint ‘like a warzone’! Warzone could also describe the pits which erupted only 2 songs in! All the ingredients were there for this to happen. With frontman Niklas’ all commanding presence, whether it was his disruptive growls or infectious clean vocals, or the punishing riffs and grooves that really drove the band’s sound. A sound ridiculously mature and complex for a band so early in their career. Matched only by the production values you’d expect from a band 20 years their senior!

Three songs in and it was time for ‘Vultures Are Watching’, where the momentum really started to grow. Before it began running away like a freight train during ‘North Star Of Nija’. If anybody heard a huge explosion in central Manchester at roughly 8.10pm, it wasn’t an earthquake. It was Orbit Culture blasting out ‘Vultures Of The North’.

Though no matter what song they put out, it was a certified banger with the crowd guaranteed to know it in a superbly paced and executed set! It’s a matter of when, not if, Orbit Culture returns here as headliners!

The 40 minute change after Orbit Culture felt like an eternity! Though with the scale of production Amon Amarth bring to the stage, they needed all that time, even if we couldn’t see any of that stage being assembled from behind the vast curtain.

The lights went down and a good old sing-a-long in the shape of Iron Maiden’s ‘Run To The Hill’ made its way onto the PA, with the crowd almost certainly drowning it out during the chorus. Manchester was more than ready!

The PA went quiet. The curtain dropped. Johann Hegg and his four warriors took to the stage. No fancy walk ons. Just straight into ‘Gjallarhorn’. We could see why it took so long to put the stage together, with the sight of the twin serpent heads and the stelae stone pillars surrounding it speaking to Amon Amarth elite production values.

Was it too early for pyro? NEVER. Especially when it’s ‘War Of The Gods’, and going back to 2011 in the process! Or ‘Death In Fire’, taking us even further back into their discography! The old school feel continued with ‘Free Will Sacrifice’ and ‘Deceiver Of The Gods’, but the momentum never slowed, nor did the vast scale of production. As vast as the screen behind the band and the graphics that added so much cinematic depth.

Maybe it’s an unconscious bias, but new songs like ‘’The Allfather Awakens’ just didn’t hit the same level as some of these old school hits. But we needed a breather somewhere in the set.

Now this is pure bias now…’Hermod’s Ride To Hel’! 17 years I had waited to hear this live. Then finally it came. The story of Hermod travelling to Hel in an ultimately unsuccessful bid to free his brother, Baldr, was brought to life by vocalist Johann Hegg interacting with the shield maiden on the screen. Cinematic genius! Though they outdid themselves in the next song, as it was time to put your back into the oar. Seemed as good a time as any to start a viking row boat. Especially those of us who were seated.

“Smile, you’re on camera!”

We got a chance to be part of the show as the Manchester collective were projected onto the screen behind the band! Maybe time to retract the comment about the new songs not connecting?! Especially after witnessing the fully blown stadium level sing along that was ‘We Rule The Waves’.

The campfire was lit. You knew what time it was. ‘Upphaf’ The band’s very first acoustic only ballad! We were amongst the first to hear it live in the world. It was simply beautiful in a sinister way! A lot of effort to ship in all these acoustic guitars and props for one song but fair play to them!

Look, there are countless analogies that could be used to fill out this report. Let’s put it straight. Amon Amarth have simply outgrown 3500 cap arenas now.

The fact that a near two hour set just didn’t seem to be enough reinforces this too. A set that finished with the fan favourite ‘Twilight Of The Thundergod’.

They need to bring this show to the bigger arenas. They’re MORE than capable and ready! Amon Amarth headline show at the AO Arena 2028?