Review Concert Gloryhammer + Dendera at Petit Bain 17/01/2018

The madmen of Gloryhammer (2010) are a perfect example of the wave of parodic modernity that has overwhelmed Metal for the last ten years. This project, initiated by Christopher Bowes, is like an outlet for what he couldn&#8217t do with his band Alestorm (2004), itself a quasi-parody of Pirate-Metal.

But what is the Metal parody ? It is what these groups do, taking the codes of a style of music or culture and voluntarily have fun with it. I personally put Powerwolf (2003), Ghost (2008), Steel Panther (2009), Ultra Vomit (2000), among others.

Dendera as opening act

But let us return to our unicorn sheep of Gloryhammer ! In France, they opened for Stratovarius in 2015, and it was really cool, I was there more for them than for Strato. But it was way too short ! Fortunately, the tour EUROPEAN TOUR MMXVIII makes them finally climb to the top of the bill. Poster that the band shares with Civil War (a split of Sabaton).

Unfortunately, Civil War does not play on 17/01/2018 due to goblinitus (information verifiable here).

It’s a rather sporty tour: 24 dates, 24 days in a row, 24 different places !

As a result, we have the right to only one opening act led by the band Dendera. Formed in 2008 and coming from England, the formation bathes in the Heavy Metal current and draws its inspirations in the Iron Maiden culture with a nice mix of current more Thrash to the heavier rhythmics.

I will go to the point: Dendera is really a good sound and a good introduction to a concert !

A great energy emerges from this music at the same time very melodic (with Maiden) and powerful. This energy is embodied live by Ashley Edison, the singer who does not hesitate to push in lyrical highs when he is not on the very chopped and hard vocal ground borrowed from Thrash.

And in addition, the sound was very clean in the small room of Le Petit Bain. The sound check was great and the voice was super clean. Thanks to the control room 😉 Dendera put on a super pro show and even made less bread than Gloryhammer.

A real pleasure to see a quality first part.

Unicorns, Zargothrax, goblins: Gloryhammer and its “heroic fantasy power metal”

I won’t lie to you, I’m a big fan of the band. It&#8217s funny, the lyrics are catchy, the catchy melodies and the universe of Gloryhammer is really crazy. The two albums Tales from the Kingdom of Fife (2013) and Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards (2015) are not just simple parodies ! The whole is coherent, tells a story – that of the fight of the king Angus McFife against the sorcerer Zargothrax – while playing clichés of the Power Metal.

On stage, Gloryhammer promises to play Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards in its entirety. It must be said that with only two albums to date in 2018, holding 1h30 can be quite complicated ! Fortunately, both albums have relatively little waste, and I’m looking forward to the next one, if it ever comes out.

With only a little twenty titles in its repertoire, the band Gloryhammer has created an incredible fan-base who rush to see them play in live.

Review of Gloryhammer’s concert: it breaks the goblin !

So for those who didn&#8217t follow everything: Gloryhammer is a big fake, it&#8217s not serious. It’s Tolkien anachronistic musical in space (at least for the album N°2, the first one being quite terrestrial). So we talk about unicorns, astral hammer, goblins, wizards, magicians, princesses, and of course dragons ! Because dragons are cool.

Despite the absence of Christopher Bowes on this tour, none of the band&#8217s charm is taken away ! The two stars on stage are anyway Hoots (James Cartwright) and Angus McFife (Thomas Winkler). Because while we’re at it, their real names are completely useless. Gloryhammer it’s Role-playing whether it is the audience or the musicians. To be precise, the band is composed of :

• Angus McFife – Voice-Modulated Star Nucleus,
• Ser Proletius – Dark Matter String Manipulation Interface,
• The Hootsman – Trans-Dimensional Subsonic Cluster,
• Zargothrax – Positronic Oscillator Command,
• Ralathor – Percussive Phi-Quason Battery

It is clear no ? Otherwise, it&#8217s a shame that this kind of band can&#8217t tour in bigger venues. In addition to being sold out, the stage is too small to accommodate the band&#8217s banner ! We have the right to a rather funny LORYHAMM in the background 😛

After the introduction Infernus Ad Astra, the rhythm is given from the beginning with Rise of the Chaos Wizards, the most difficult to sing for my taste ! Immediate atmosphere in the pit which launches a pogo that will last the whole concert. Those with good English diction can follow this song when they are not drawn into the mosh :

For the king we will ride
Through the dark galactic skies
To defeat the foes
When the Chaos Wizards rise
Now the universe will burn
Evil sorcerer returns
Tragic fate rages tonight
Chaos Wizard rise

The others meumeument as they can ! The animation is guaranteed with King Angus McFife who doesn&#8217t hesitate to brandish his giant hammer in front of the public who returns him well. It goes on quite quickly with the music interspersed with comic interludes based on breaking goblins with a hammer and beers downed live by the Hootsman.

As for the first part, the sound is nickel. On the other hand, the fatigue from touring is showing ! Poor Angus manages to get through it but the voice sounds weak. Thanks l’echoing constant that gives a little more volume 😉 But I don’t care a bit because I have fun, despite the bread of the batter.

And the band, McFife first, seems to have a good time too.

The 13 songs played that night are already classics of the Power Metal genre. And this is only half of the training repertoire… Can’t wait for the rest ! The show ends with an encore of 4 songs including the awesome Magic Dragon, the famous fight of The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee to finish on the title to the glory of the leader : Angus McFife.

Not at all in a hurry to leave, Gloryhammer stays on stage for many more minutes to greet the audience and throw some fist-magic-heroic-bump, because everything is inevitably more epic with them !

I’m looking forward to the next tour, and especially to a new album, maybe ?

I wanna set the universe on fire
Feel it burn tonight
Set the universe on fire
There’s no end in sight
Bring me to the holy origin power
Where I find my destiny
The universe on fire
You’re my guiding light !

Setlist Gloryhammer Petit Bain 17/01/2018

Infernus Ad Astra – in magneto
Rise of the Chaos Wizards
Legend of the Astral Hammer
Goblin King of the Darkstorm Galaxy
Also Sprach Zarathustra – on tape
The Hollywood Hootsman
Victorious Eagle Warfare
Questlords of Inverness, Ride to the Galactic Fortress!
Universe on Fire
Heroes (Of Dundee)
Apocalypse 1992
Anstruther&#8217s Dark Prophecy – on tape
The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee
Quest for the Hammer of Glory
Magic Dragon
Angus McFife
The National Anthem of Unst – on tape