Alestorm, Gloryhammer, Bootyard Bandits
University Of East Anglia, Norwich UK
December 9, 2021
After a two year wait Scottish pirate metallers Alestorm are back on the circuit for an 11 date tour of Ireland and the UK. Along for the ride with them are symphonic power metal outfit Gloryhammer and the UK's "most wanted" country metal band Bootyard Bandits, stepping in for the originally billed melodic death/folk metal 4 piece from the US Aether Realm who unfortunately had to pull out. That is alot of different metal for one night but a concoction guaranteed to be a lot of fun!
Firstly, I must apologise to Worcester based Bootyard Bandits for my tardiness as due to the gig being on a Thursday night I was a bit pushed to get to the venue on time and so arrived halfway through their set. They certainly looked the part in their cowboy outfits complete with banjo and inflatable cactus stage props. They had a big stage presence and even though it was weird hearing them talk in their native English accents the crowd were really getting into it. They had a few sing along anthems with titles like "Hoedown Showdown" and "Let's Rodeo". Personally I did not get into the band as much as others as I am not a Country music fan and found the posturing, line dancing and weedy sounding banjo rather tiresome but fair play to them, they know how to get the crowd going and put on a lively show.
Next up were the fantastical Gloryhammer, a 5 piece symphonic power metal band that sing of great battles both past and future, stories of undead unicorn invasions and wizardry. A side project of Christopher Bowes (vocalist and keytarist in Alestorm) started in 2010, each band member has their own character, costume and backstory and are well known for their comedic and incredibly catchy songs. Right now however the band are currently attempting to bounce back from a bit of bad press. After their performance at Bloodstock festival in the UK this summer they parted ways with singer Thomas Winkler which came as a surprise to Winkler himself and caused quite a lot of outrage amongst the fans. Not only that but soon after this a string of private Whatsapp messages between the band members were leaked showing them in an unfavourable light, for which they have all since apologized. Their new singer, Cypriot born, Sozos Michael (Eons Enthroned/Harmonize) has very quickly picked up the hammer and raised it triumphantly aloft on his first appearance on tour with the band. This was my first time seeing Gloryhammer as I've only really got into their music in last couple of years, when I bought tickets for this tour Winkler was still on board so I was a bit gutted to hear of his sacking and that I would never get to see him perform with them but Sozos Michael has a very similar vocal style and range and I was very impressed with what I saw. In a short space of time the band have managed to rehearse and perfect a solid performance and great onstage banter as a band. Their set consisted of their most well known songs from "Hootsforce", "Masters Of The Galaxy" and "Universe On Fire" to "Gloryhammer", "The Unicorn Invasion Of Dundee" with a little rendition of "Legendary Enchanted Jetpack" thrown in for good measure. The response from the crowd was huge, it kind of felt like a double headline thing going on and there were certainly no bad feelings towards the band at all. They played an epic set and left the stage showing a united front.
As the stage was cleared of Gloryhammer's gear the familiar sight of Alestorms giant inflatable duck was brought out and started inflating. Anticipation grew as the duck filled up for we knew that once fully inflated the band would hit the stage! Alestorm recorded their sixth studio album "Curse Of The Crystal Coconut" in 2019/20 just before the pandemic hit, releasing it in May 2020 whilst everyone was in lockdown. They had to cancel all the dates they had planned for the album tour so this is the first time they have been able to play their new material. Alestorm are a band of habit though and they always choose a great mix of songs spanning the majority of their back catalogue. Kicking off with familiar opener "Keel Hauled" flowing seamlessly into the new material, from "Curse Of The Crystal Coconut" they played the first single "Treasure Chest Party Quest" and continued with "Tortuga", "Zombies Ate My Pirate Ship", "Shit Boat (No Fans)" and "Pirate Metal Drinking Crew" interspersed with some old favourites such as "The Sunk'n Norwegian", "Captain Morgans Revenge", "Nancy The Tavern Wench", "1741 (The Battle Of Cartagena)" they even did their cover of "Hangover" and, of course, ending with their classic sing along "Fucked With An Anchor"! It is safe to say that Alestorm and Gloryhammer have been sorely missed by the British public as they both received a riotous response from the crowd and a great night was had by all. The band were on top form as usual and loving every minute of it. The sound was a bit muddy when Alestorm first came on but I get that trying to balance the sound of 2 keyboards along with the rest of the band in a large crowded room of very drunk people is a tricky business and they managed to sort out the sound issues very quickly. Bands like Alestorm and Gloryhammer are often discredited as gimmick bands which may be so but neither of these bands take themselves seriously at all and they really don't care what people think of them they are just here to put on a great show, play some metal and just have fun! Everybody needs a bit of these bands in their lives sometime and I for one cannot wait for them to come back!
Gloryhammer:
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all photos by Sarah Jane
