Acts: Majesty, Warkings, Victorius
Venue: Graz / Explosiv / Austria
Date: Saturday, 26 October 2019
Right then. Given the general decline of softer and more melodically accessible genres in the metal universe, we should count ourselves lucky that worshippers of flying dragons, Thor, and enchanted swords still occasionally show up anywhere near Slovenia. Majesty, the German disciples of the mighty Manowar, put together a new headlining tour and invited the increasingly hot new kitsch-metal sensation Warkings and their fellow hard-grinding compatriots from Leipzig, Victorius, as special guests. With a stop at Graz’s Explosiv club, the evening promised to be a proper requiem mass for everything modern power metal has achieved and aspires to.
Victorius, the German power metallers who played here on January 28, 2017, supporting Grave Digger (RockLine concert review HERE) — or rather, the same day Slovenia elegantly snatched the bronze medal from favourites Croatia at the Handball World Championship — opened the evening’s festivities at Graz’s Explosiv. The first to lock into your field of vision was vocalist David Baßin. With his new bleached haircut and close-cropped look, you’d instantly think Jan Vetter aka Farin Urlaub himself had jumped ship from Die Ärzte to defend the colours of power metal. Even a cliché can catch fire if you’re sincere and dedicated. You have to believe it. And Victorius simply must believe it. You can tell they play a lot. They’re no longer rookies. They own the stage with real confidence. The band must have recently discovered that the kids who spend their days blasting arcade games go for flash and kitsch — bordering on parody — over artistic depth. So with the EP »Dinosaur Warfare – Legend of the Power Saurus«, released in 2018 on Massacre Records, they injected their image with a dose of Dragonforce and Gloryhammer grotesquerie (you could throw in our own Space Unicorn of Fire and the picture would be complete). Then again, considering the (temporarily frozen) Edguy also drift through these waters from time to time, it’s simply a trend that Victorius are now trying their hand at. The band mostly played tracks from the EP (Dinosaur Warfare, Lazer Tooth Tiger, Legend of the Power Saurus, Razorblade Raptor), adding one brand-new track from the upcoming album »Space Ninjas from Hell«, which was loaded with keyboards and pomp: Super Sonic Samurai. A solid set from the quintet, which alongside Baßin features Dirk Scharsich (guitar), Florian Zack (guitar), Andreas Dockhom (bass guitar), and Frank Koppe (drums).
What we were just going on about in the paragraph above — well, the next act, Warkings, has it down to a fine art. A quartet. Each member’s real identity wrapped in mystery — almost a prerequisite. On stage, everyone comes alive through an alter ego. Let’s say the guys adopted personas that borrow tricks from everywhere: from antiquity to the Vikings, all the way into the realm of fantasy. So: the singer goes by Tribune, the bassist is Viking, the guitarist is Crusader, and the drummer is Spartan. Fun’s on the horizon. Definitely. The Napalm Records charges put out their debut »Reborn«, and even the cover art speaks in macho Manowar tones. Sonically, though, the band leans more Germanic-Scandinavian when it comes to power metal — think the approach of Dream Evil or Firewind. After a recorded intro, the band launched into the catchy Never Surrender with its infectious chorus, and what immediately surprised you was not just the excellent sound but how tight they were as a unit. Crusader on guitar stood out straight away with a terrific opening solo and some serious riffing. Pre-recorded keyboards backed the band throughout, while vocalist Tribune has a clean yet sufficiently dominant and piercing voice reminiscent of Georg Neuhauser from Serenity. Ha. That’s actually Georg. The guys worked up a decent sweat over forty minutes, coming across as hugely entertaining and witty while backing it all up with a quality delivery of the material. The crowd rewarded them for it — the band had them thoroughly fired up. The further the set went, the deeper the audience was into it.
We’ll see how far Warkings go from here, but they have the potential to take on even the likes of Powerwolf (also on Napalm Records), who have grown big by recycling clichés and meticulously crafted stage kitsch. Nothing to fault the band for. They pulled it off professionally and with total command. These are experienced figures with genuinely good musicians hiding behind the personas. Interestingly, it’s an increasingly common trick — bands putting more energy into their stage image than into the songwriting. Especially the freshly minted metalheads of the youngest generations are becoming ever more image-first. Musical substance comes second — if it comes at all. People come to shows above all to unwind and have a good time. And Warkings delivered exactly that. You can laugh yourself to tears at this stuff. The band then strung together Hephaistos, Battle Cry, Give ’em War, Fire Falling Down, Sparta, and Gladiator. Oh, and the whole party got an extra kick from Swiss singer Melissa Bonny joining them on stage — a lethal growler who featured on Sparta. She sings for Rage Of Light and also lends her voice to Serenity at live shows.
Majesty took the stage last to present the new album »Legends«. The band hasn’t changed one iota over the years. Vocalist Tarek Maghary — the man who organises the legendary Keep It True festival — remains the central figure. The band sounds Manowar-esque and dresses pretty similarly too. The hungry Tarek has packed on a few extra kilos, there’s no question about that, and vocally he wasn’t exactly at his sharpest this evening either. At times he sat slightly flat, especially on the grandiose chorus lines. Not everywhere. Just occasionally. By a quarter-tone. Otherwise: great sound and a very tight band. But once you’ve seen one song, you’ve basically seen them all. Majesty fans had a blast, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that Warkings had slightly stolen the show from the headliner. The crowd noise was noticeably lower than during the Warkings set. A just-over-an-hour show that only the real devotees truly savoured. Well-worn and experienced as Majesty are by now, they come across as just a touch too worn down, and on stage especially too monotonous and too routine. Or maybe it’s simply that the relentless recycling of the same phrases and the same stage moves starts to grate. It looks like that evening in Graz, the fun factor won out with Warkings, who delivered the peak moment of power metal thrills.
author: Denis Paradiž
photos: Denis Paradiž
(text edited by: Aleš Podbrežnik)
Setlist Majesty:
1. Hail to Majesty
2. Burn the Bridges
3. Rebels of Our Time
4. Metal Law
5. Words of Silence
6. Hellforces
7. Die Like Kings
8. We Are Legends
9. Thunder Rider
10. Stand as One
11. Heavy Metal Battlecry
Setlist Warkings:
1. The Last Battle
2. Never Surrender
3. Hephaistos
4. Battle Cry
5. Give ’em War
6. Fire Falling Down
7. Sparta
8. Gladiator
Setlist Victorius:
1. Dinosaur Warfare
2. Legend of the Power Saurus
3. Empire of the Dragonking
4. Blood Alliance
5. Super Sonic Samurai
6. Lazer Tooth Tiger
7. Metalheart
8. Silent Symphony
9. Razorblade Raptor
