Amon Amarth is a melodic death metal band from Tumba, Sweden, founded in 1992. It takes its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien′s Middle-earth. Their lyrics mostly deal with the Vikings, their mythology and their history, leading to the band often being labeled as Viking metal. The band comprises vocalist Johan Hegg, guitarists Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg, bassist Ted Lundström and drummer Fredrik Andersson. Amon Amarth has released nine studio albums, one compilation album, one EP, one video album, and eight music videos. Their first studio album,
Once Sent from the Golden Hall, debuted in 1998. Four more studio releases followed, before the band saw their breakthrough with the 2008 album
Twilight of the Thunder God, which debuted at No. 11 on the Swedish album charts and No. 50 on the US
Billboard 200. Two more albums,
Surtur Rising and
Deceiver of the Gods followed in 2011 and 2013, respectively.