It is an utterly miserable night in Bristol, the weather is grim and has been bucketing it down with rain all day. But that hasn't dampened the spirits of the power metal-loving fans, decked out in an array of capes, unicorn-themed attire and with a brace of inflatable weaponry; in anticipation of the questing that was to come, the queue was long and snaking around SWX long before doors were due to open.
To the credit of the Bristol crowd, many turned out to see the support acts with the room almost full by the time our opener Fellowship took to the stage. I first got to experience Fellowship on the New Blood stage at 2021's edition of Bloodstock festival and was instantly hooked immediately marching myself to the merch stand after their set to get my hands on any piece of merchandise that they had on offer; for that fact, I am sad that it has taken me almost 4 years to be able to see them again.
There is really only one word to describe the British four-piece from Harwich, Essex, and that is wholesome. Their particular brand of power metal; sonically symphonic and lyrically heart-warming; is a joyful, cosy, cheesy romp filled with delightful melodies and uplifting solos. But it is Matthew Corry's voice that ties it all together, creating a sound that would not be out of place soundtracking the next Disney film (they even threw a cover of The Lion King's "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?" into the middle of their set to hammer home my point).
Opening with, what according to Spotify is, their biggest hit to date "Glory Days" from 2022's The Saberlight Chronicles; recent release from 2024's The Skies Above Eternity "Hold Up Your Hearts (Again)" follows and sees the crowd, arms aloft with their hands forming shapes of hearts (to varying success) swaying in time to the music.
Alas, our time with Fellowship is all too brief, the Bristol fans getting a quick-fire greatest hits from both of the band's studio albums. The set comes to an end with fan favourite "Glint", giving the Bristol a small glimpse of what is to come, as it also includes a guest appearance of Gloryhammer's very own Angus McFife, proving that Fellowship have "always been worthy" of this support slot.
Hailing from Nuremberg, Germany, Dominum were my surprise highlight of the night; coming into the gig having not come across their work before, I was blown away by their performance and won over as a fan by the end of it.
Front man Dr Dead commands the stage with all of the gravitas befitting an undead circus ringmaster, marshalling his band of "Metal Zombies"; Patient Zero (Bass), Victor Hilltop (Drums), Tommy Kemp (Guitar).
Their control of the crowd is impeccable. They iterate that if only a few of us do metal things, it would look silly, but if the entire crowd got involved, it would be epic. Queue the synchronised front-to-back of the crowd "Metal Mexican Wave Jump," which sounds ridiculous but was hilariously awesome to witness.
Titular track from 2024's The Dead Don't Die gives a horror twist on a familiar tune. "Frankenstein" from 2023's Hey Living People is a fist-pumping, foot-stomping bop; with a cover of Scorpions "Rock You Like a Hurricane" allowing the sections of the crowd who are not familiar with the Dominum discography a chance to get stuck into something that they know.
But their songs also have some serious messaging behind them though, at one point Dr Dead monologues that "it doesn't matter where you are from, what size you are, the colour of your skin, to my metal zombies you all taste the same" as an introduction to "We All Taste The Same" from 2023's Hey Living People.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the tumultuous past couple of years that the band have had, with the leaking of messages from a less than savoury group chat (which the band have subsequently apologized for) followed by the sudden departure of their previous frontman. With that out of the way let us focus on the show tonight and what a show it was, Gloryhammer never fails to deliver a cheesy and hyper-absurd foray into the deep history of Scotland, from the birth of Dundee to the far-flung future of 1992. With tonight being the final stop of the tour, it was sure that Bristol would see them out with a bang.
Always one for tease, the set starts off with an overly long scene from Metal Gear Solid projected behind the stage; showing Solid Snake arduously climbing up a seemingly infinite ladder, the suspense building seems to have worked judging from the cheer it gained from the crowd once he reached the top. Then follows suspense-building set piece number 2 as a stage hand brings out a cardboard cut-out of Sir Tom Jones OBE whilst "Delilah" plays (fans will know that Sir Tom has been fulfilling this role for some time now and I suspect that they have been using this same particular cut-out of the Welsh baritone legend as he is looking very worse for wear). The band emerge onto the fog-filled stage 1 by one, creating the crowd as the characters that they portray before diving headlong into "Holy Flaming Hammer of Unholy Cosmic Frost" from 2023's Return to the Kingdom of Fife. One change noted from previous times seeing Gloryhammer, Zargothrax (Michael Barber) is no longer tickling the ivories but shredding an axe of his own.
The front half of the set is filled with banger after banger, "The Land of Unicorns" from 2019's Legends from Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex is followed by what was the first single to be recorded featuring the newest incarnation of Angus McFife, current frontman Sozos Michael, "Fly Away".
I have to say that Sozos's voice is incredible. The power he is able to put out and the top notes that he can reach are something that has to be experienced live.
A brief pause in the proceedings gives Sozos his first opportunity to work the Bristol crowd before latest single, "He Has Returned", which sees the return of fan loved minor character, the Robot Prince of Auchtertool, to the Gloryhammer Dundaxian mythos.
This is swiftly followed by Tales from the Kingdom of Fife's (2013) "Angus McFife" which sees the assembled masses in full voice. There is then a run of tracks that feature arguably the real star of the show, whoever the member of crew that the band get to dress up in the goblin costume. Firstly during "Wasteland Warrior Hoots Patrol" they are seen pulling off an almighty saxophone solo, "Gloryhammer" sees our goblin friend return to battle Angus McFife but ultimately come foul to his "Laser Powered Goblin Smasher". Finally, the goblin returns in a blue wig as a stand-in for Hellscore's Noa Gruman on "Fife Eternal"
The set is filled with set interludes allowing each of the members to interact with the crowd, introducing songs in character, be it Zargothrax encouraging us to rip a baby goblins head off, Ser Proletius (Paul Templing) rounding up the Death Knights of Crail for battle or The Hootsman (James Cartwrigt) downing a pint to chants of "Hoots Hoots Hoots" as Richard Strauss "Also Sprach Zarathustra" plays adding a ridiculous air of epicenes to the whole situation. Sadly Ralathor (Ben Turk) behind the drums is the only member of the band who doesn't get a little moment like this.
On a brief side note, some confusion arose during the back half of the set between presumably the band's management/the touring photographer, the venue security and the information that we as reviewers received on the night. I believe some crossed wires meant that our cameras had to be hastily packed away in contradiction to the scope that was agreed upon at the start of the night; this sadly meant that our photo coverage was curtailed short.
The Heavy hitters "Universe on Fire" (Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards, 2015) and "Hootsforce" initially bring the set to a close with the crowd fully whipped up into a frenzy, the booming chants of 1 more song, 1 more song, mean that the band forgo the formalities of leaving the stage to return for an encore. On the proviso that the crowd bring the roof down the band jump straight into closer "The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee", the Bristol fans understood the assignment with the largest circle pit of the night.
The night finally draws to a close on a formal note with Zargothrax crowning King Hootsman of Unst whilst The National Anthem of Unst plays; before the crowd are released back to the rain soaked streets of Bristol, waved off just as they were welcomed by Sir Tom Jones OBE and his "Green Green Grass of Home".
....For the eternal glory of Dundee!
