Gloryhammer - Bristol Review

I had not undertaken a two-gig weekend for a few months, so it was with glee that this weekend gone I set off to London, and then on to Bristol, to take in some shows. The trip to London was extremely successful, with Devon's The Fallen State absolutely tearing the 229 a new one, but Bristol's offering was always set to be a very different proposition. While The Fallen State play a tough, modern take on hard rock, Sunday's show in Bristol promised to be an evening of over-the-top, bombastic power metal from three of the genre's current (relatively) big names. Headlining the bill was Gloryhammer, a British-based band who set out being to power metal what Steel Panther are to hair metal, but have since become part of the genre's furniture and accepted as a strong original band in their own right. They are an extremely silly band, but that is all part of their charm and appeal. At the end of the day, power metal itself is a very silly genre of music, and those bands who take it very seriously often end up coming over as pretentious. No-one could accuse Gloryhammer of being that, and the band have become popular here in the UK since their debut album's release in 2013. I do not think I realised just how popular the band had become however, as when I saw the announcement of their 2019 UK headline tour earlier this year I was surprised at the amount and size of venues booked. I had wondered if the band had overstretched themselves somewhat, but I was proved wrong - with most of the shows selling out long before the tour actually took place. The Bristol show, at the SWX, was actually one of the few shows to not officially sell out - but you would not have known that from the size of the crowd. The place was absolutely rammed during the whole night, with even the first band on playing to a near-capacity crowd which really is a rarity. I had only been to the SWX once previously, which was back in April when In Flames toured their I, the Mask album, and had found myself rather crushed by the side of the sound desk. This time I decided to stand on a raised section to the right of the stage which proved to be an excellent vantage point. There was a barrier to lean on and, while the area was busy, it was not as crushed as it would have been on the floor. The venue seems to be being booked by rock and metal bands more and more these days, so I think I will attempt to make that spot mine each time I visit from now on if I can! It was also a great spot to watch the venue fill up, and it was extremely pleasing to see a power metal show attract such a large crowd outside of London.

The first band on were Italy's Wind Rose, a folk metal band who draw their lyrical inspiration from J. R. R. Tolkien's works - particularly his Dwarven lore. I was not that familiar with the band prior to their set, but on the whole they really impressed. Folk metal can sometimes be a bit twee, but Wind Rose's sound was pretty weighty, with frontman Francesco Cavalieri's low, rumbling voice driving the band forward while Claudio Falconcini (guitar/vocals) churned out a number of strong riffs. Despite the band's relatively heavy sound, their songs were still pretty melodic. Big keyboard melodies filled the set, which acted as a nice counterpoint to the guitars, and the vocal melodies were still pretty memorable despite Cavalieri's deep tones. The band were not as anthemic as some, instead letting the atmosphere of their pieces and their heaviness do the talking. There were some strong anthemic moments however, such as the strident opening number Wintersaga and their cover of the Internet meme song Diggy Diggy Hole which unsurprisingly got the whole crowd going. Despite only having half an hour on stage, Wind Rose were the perfect warm-up act for the evening, and probably gained themselves a few fans in the process. I will make an effort to check out their stuff in the near future.

The special guests were Finland's Beast in Black, a band who are starting to make a real name for themselves in the metal world and are riding high off the release of their second album From Hell with Love earlier in the year. I had seen the five-piece twice previously, and was looking forward to seeing them again as I have listened to their new album a fair bit this year, so was pleased to hear a good chunk of it on Sunday night. Two new songs got the set underway, with Cry Out for a Hero and Unlimited Sin really kicking things off nicely. The band seemed to be battling a slightly muddy sound mix throughout, which meant that band leader Anton Kabanen (guitar/vocals) screeching counterpoint vocals during the choruses were often drowned out, but on the whole the band shone. The band's newer material is probably more accessible than their debut album, with both Kabanen and fellow guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen peeling off soaring lead after soaring lead. The latter started things off perfectly with one at the start of Cry Out for a Hero, but in truth both players swapped lead and rhythm duties throughout. Frontman Yannis Papadopoulos was as impressive vocally as always, and really nailed the band's challenging material. Heavier tracks like the old Beast in Black and Born Again really showed what an aggressively melodic voice he possesses, whereas big singles like Sweet True Lies allowed him to enter into more AOR-esque territories for similarly impressive results. The only downside of the band's set, and this is something I have thought previously but not committed to word, is the fact that all the band does not have a keyboard player. Beast in Black's sound is very keyboard-heavy, especially in the songs from the new album, and relying on a backing track for all of the keyboard parts is something that always makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. I think the band would be greatly enhanced by the addition of a live keyboard player, as it would allow the band to be less rigid in their performances and include some flashy power metal keyboard runs. This issue aside, which is certainly not exclusive to Beast in Black, the band were excellent. There were clearly a lot of the band's fans in attendance too, as the more well-known songs certainly received big cheers. The old single Blind and Frozen certainly went down well, and the heavy, fast-paced End of the World brought the band's nine-song set to a powerful end. Beast in Black are a band that certainly deserve the chance to headline here in the UK now, and hopefully they can make the jump up to top billing in the near future. The setlist was:

Cry Out for a Hero
Unlimited Sin
Beast in Black
Born Again
Die By the Blade
Sweet True Lies
From Hell with Love
Blind and Frozen
End of the World

Despite two strong showings from the support acts, it was clearly Gloryhammer that the majority were there to see. As soon as the lights went down the place erupted, and the band took to the stage as their intro music filled the venue - and launched into The Siege of Dunkeld (In Hoots We Trust), an epic track from their latest album. Fourteen songs were featured by band throughout the evening, with the bulk of the songs coming from their most recent two albums. This was a good move, as overall these albums are stronger than their debut, but it was one of those early songs Angus McFife that received one of the biggest reactions early on in the set. While frontman Thomas Winkler held everything together nicely with his stage patter, in truth the whole band do their part when it comes to interacting with the crowd. Each band member takes the part of a character from their multi-album space sagas, with each (with the exception of drummer Ben Turk) addressing the crowd or 'playing a part' at some point during the show. This did lead to some silly moments, such as when touring keyboardist Michael Barber was clearly miming his character's spoken word sections during a few of the songs, but in truth it was all part of the hammed-up atmosphere. I had seen the band twice previously, once as a support act and once at a festival, and wondered if their stage patter and antics would get tiresome over the course of a full length set, but in fairness it all hung together pretty well. It helps that the band's songs are mostly all epic, with anthemic battle hymns like Legend of the Astral Hammer and fist-pumping power metal stompers like The Hollywood Hootsman all drawing strong reactions. At times the show felt more like a pantomime than a heavy metal concert, with the crowd cheering/booing certain parts of the show on cue, with a moment where a member of stage crew invaded the stage dressed as a goblin only to be battered away by Winkler's big hammer being probably the most farcical moment. It was all good fun however, but for me it was all about the music. The band are extremely talented musicians and songwriters, with Paul Templing (guitar/vocals) in particular impressing with lots and lots of excellent shredded soloing. He really kept everything going, although Barber did his bit - especially during keyboard-heavy numbers such as Hootsforce and replicating the great Jens Johansson during Battle for Eternity. It is always the sign of a great gig when time flies by, and soon the main set was coming to an end with Masters of the Galaxy, one of my favourite songs from the new album. There was more to come however, and a three-song encore followed. The up-beat disco-tinged Universe on Fire was a strong moment, but it was the closing track The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee that really sent everyone into party mode. It was a great end to a fun-packed set, and it was one that showed that Gloryhammer are a genuine headline act now - which is great to see. The setlist was:

Into the Terrorvortex of Kor-Virliath
The Siege of Dunkeld (In Hoots We Trust)
Gloryhammer
Angus McFife
Legend of the Astral Hammer
The Land of Unicorns
Questlords of Inverness, Ride to the Galactic Fortress!
The Hollywood Hootsman
Goblin King of the Darkstorm Galaxy
Hootsforce
Battle for Eternity
Masters of the Galaxy
-
Infernus Ad Astra
Rise of the Chaos Wizards
Universe on Fire
The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee

After the show Beast in Black did a meet and greet session at the back of the venue, so I had taken my copy of From Hell with Love along to get signed, but sadly it seemed that a few 'fans' wanted to ruin this experience for everyone else. The band had positioned themselves in a strange corner, which was not really wise, but the fans at the front just did not want to move once they had got their autographs/pictures to allow others a chance to meet the band. I stood in the same spot for about ten minutes not moving, and in the end I just gave up and left as it was clear that a few were intent on spoiling the whole session. During this time a woman in front of me left the 'queue' to go the merch desk, and literally forced her way back to where she had been before without even saying please or thank you and instead seemed annoyed that people had moved down to take her spot making sarcastic comments about how myself and others should position ourselves to allow her to return. Her behaviour summed up the signing session for me, and it was not long after her rudeness that I left. I was looking forward to meeting the band, but unfortunately I was not able to so this did put a bit of a downer on the end of the night. A more formal session might have been better with a proper queue where people are moved down the line to meet the band and then moved on - which would have been much fairer. That aside though, the gig was an excellent one, and it was great to see such a well-attended power metal show in Bristol. Hopefully the success of this tour will persuade more bands to branch out a bit when it comes to UK tours and Bristol sees more events like this.