And Amon Amarth’s (Touring) Drummer Is…

Last year, longtime Amon Amarth drummer Fredrik Andersson called it quits, leaving tattooed miscreants everywhere to wonder who might fill his shoes. When we spoke to frontman Johan Hegg on the MetalSucks podcast, he told us that hiring a permanent drummer wasn’t a huge priority for the band.

That said, the band has a kickass new album coming out Friday — check out this new track, it slays — and a tour to support it looming. So, the question is: who will be drumming for that tour?

Now, we know the answer. The lucky drummer is… Jocke Wallgren of October Tide and Valkyrja!

Wait, what? Really?

It’s not that we doubt Wallgren’s abilities — as Sammy O’Hagar once pointed out, Valkyrja’s Contamination is a fucking killer record — it’s just that Amon Amarth are a massive band at this point, as big as a Viking death metal band can be, anyway. Seems like they could have the pick of the scene as far as drummers, and instead they went with a dude who, though seasoned, wasn’t on anyone’s immediate radar.

Now, all that said, we trust Amon Amarth. Those dudes know what they’re doing. So if they think Wallgren’s worthy of the mantle, then we trust them, and we’re excited to see him crush some melodic death metal live.

Check out the band’s welcome video below, complete with Hegg looking as scary as ever and Wallgren drinking out of a carved horn. Wallgren makes his live debut tonight at London’s Underworld. Jomsviking drops Friday on Metal Blade; pre-order it here, and go here for upcoming US tour dates.