Throughout its history, heavy metal was a beautiful and pristine thing. Bands of burly dudes with long, unkempt hair sung about important topics like slaying dragons, chasing women, and partying. Then, at some point during the 1990s, the cancer of nu metal started to metastasize in the powerful body of the metal gods. Bands started singing about relationships and their feelings in an effort to gain mainstream popularity and get played on MTV. Were not talking about an obligatory power ballad here and there”some bands sung about nothing else than how miserable they were and how sad they were over a failed relationship. Some bands even resorted to such gimmicks as grooming themselves. This shouldnt be confused with the hair metal era when bands like Motley Crue were wearing makeup and platform heels”the bands were more in to carefully groomed goatees and other sissy like pandering to their feminine fanbase.

The good news is that the ‘nu metal’ movement has been met with a serious backlash. Among the defenders of traditional metal values is Swedish Viking metal band Amon Amarth. As the name implies, bands from the Viking metal genre sing about subjects of interest to vikings such as sailing, lusting for adventure and conquest, furious winds and treacherous seas.

Amon Amarth took their name from a location in J.R.R. Tolkiens Middle Earth, and their name means Mount Doom in the Elvish language of Sindarin. Drawing musical inspiration from bands such as Bolt Thrower and their Viking metal predecessors Bathory and Enslaved, who in turn took their cue from the great American band Manowar, Amon Amarth plays their own unique style of melodic death metal. While they are hesitant to identify themselves as Viking metal, they take most of their lyrical content from Viking history and Norse mythology.

The bands international popularity began to take off in 1998, when they signed with Metal Blade Records and released their major label debut Once Sent From The Golden Hall. Their most recent releases on Metal Blade”2004s Fate of Norns and 2006s With Oden On Our Side”has seen the band become one of the top metal acts in North America as well as their native Sweden.

Amon Amarth recently extended their deal with Metal Blade records and released their latest album in September 2008 called ‘Twilight of the Thunder God’. The album continues their thematic examination of their Viking ancestors, and has become their biggest seller to date.

Heavy metal is gaining strength and resuming its powerful greatness under the marauding sound of Amon Amarth. The band tours constantly, and their powerful live show has earned them a reputation as one of the ‘must see’ concert acts. In 2006, they released a DVD entitled ‘Wrath of the Norsemen’ that brings their live experience to home TV screens.

David Glisan is heavy metal editor for The Savage Science, a website covering both MMA news and heavy metal music. He’s an expert on boxing, MMA and other fight sports, and reportsUFC news for several mainstream sports broadcasts and websites. He’s practiced several martial arts forms since childhood and holds a black belt in judo.

As I was catching up on the music world last week, I found myself reading an article with the published results of a survey. This survey polled American music fans, asking them who they felt the greatest rock band in American music history was. You might be surprised by the fact that more people voted Pearl Jam than any other band.

It might be one thing if they were referring to the best alternative band, or if they polled people 30 years old and younger, asking them who the best American rock band of their lifetimes was. It wasn’t that though.

From there, I was determined to make a long list of American bands who were better than Pearl Jam. As I began thinking about it, I realized that everyone I had in mind was a solo artist. I tried coming up with bands that many would agree were better, and they didn’t make the cut because of where they came from.

That’s when it dawned on me. All of those bands are British, and so are others who might come to mind. I’m a big fan of The Band, but they were Canadian.

There are a handful of other bands that one could consider, like Guns ‘N Roses, Bon Jovi, REM, Nirvana, and a handful of additional ones, but none compared to Pearl Jam.

After thinking about it, I guess Pearl Jam really is worthy of the spot. Think about it. They were amongst the top of the pack when it came to the grunge and alternative movement, and they churned out a massive number of hits in the 1990s.

Not only were they big in the 90s, but they’re still producing some great music today. Take their latest release, Backspacer, for example. This album is packed with catchy songs, and almost 20 years later, the band has produced one of it’s best records yet.

Eddie Vedder and the rest of the band pioneered an alternative rock movement in the early 90s with their Seattle brand of the genre, but they’ve evolved with the times, staying true to their sound at the same time. It’s no wonder they still have so many devoted fans.

While this author loves music, he also likes to write about the gas fireplace blower and wood fireplace fans.