EMP Rock Invasion recently conducted an interview with vocalist Johan Hegg of Swedish death metallers AMON AMARTH. You can now watch the chat below. Speaking about the departure of drummer Fredrik Andersson and AMON AMARTH's decision to enlist a session drummer, Tobias Gustafsson (VOMITORY, CUT UP), during the recording sessions for the band's new album, "Jomsviking", Hegg said: "Tobias was helping to write the album and record the album. We asked him to help us write and record the album, 'cause we didn't wanna go out and find a complete replacement, start working on a new album and then realize halfway through that, 'All right. This is not working out. We need to find someone else.' That wouldn't have been good at all. So we decided to work with someone we know really well. Tobias is an old friend and a great drummer. I mean, he's been playing for years in VOMITORY and now, obviously, he's in CUT UP. I think he contributed a lot to the end result of the album. I think it would not have turned out as great as it did without him. But right now, for the upcoming tours, we're working with a guy called Joakim Wallgren (OCTOBER TIDE, VALKYRJA). We're gonna do a U.S. tour and the summer festivals with him. And then we'll see. If he wants to continue working with us and everything works out fine…" According to Hegg, AMON AMARTH is in no rush to make a decision regarding who will sit behind the kit for the band on a more permanent basis. "To be fair to anyone, you need to give them a real chance to grow into it, 'cause it is a tough lifestyle and it can be very aggravating," he explained. "You have to make sure that you feel you get along really well and it's the right guy. I have a good feeling about Jocke, but maybe down the road, he'll grow tired of us. Who knows? [Laughs]" AMON AMARTH's tenth studio album, "Jomsviking", debuted at No. 19 on The Billboard 200, having shifted 21,000 equivalent album units in the week ending March 31. The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). In terms of pure album sales, "Jomsviking" opened with 20,000 copies. "Jomsviking" was released on March 25 via Metal Blade in North America and Sony Music internationally. AMON AMARTH's previous album, "Deceiver Of The Gods", sold around 17,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 19 on The Billboard 200 chart. AMON AMARTH's 2011 CD, "Surtur Rising", opened with around 15,000 units to debut at No. 34. The band's 2008 album, "Twilight Of The Thunder God", registered a first-week tally of more than 11,000 copies to enter the chart at No. 48. "Jomsviking" — the first concept record in AMON AMARTH's storied career — tells a tragic tale of love and revenge, backed by the Swedes' trademark melodic, anthemic metal, which was produced and mixed once again by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, ACCEPT) and also features special guest session drummer Tobias Gustafsson (VOMITORY). The epic original story is set in the world of the Jomsvikings, the legendary order of mercenary Vikings. AMON AMARTH's North American tour features support from fellow Swedes ENTOMBED A.D. and young USA metal upstarts EXMORTUS.
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