Acts: Serious Black / Battle Beast / HammerFall
Location: Graz / Orpheum Teater / Austria
Date: Friday, 21.02.2020
In 1997, the album »Glory To the Brave« was released — at the time, one of the most important documents through which the forces within the sprawling world of metal found their balance. The album heralded a several-year rise of power metal, and labels simultaneously opened their doors to bands drawing inspiration from metal’s classic (musical) era — the eighties — while sidestepping the somewhat overchewed “quest for aggression through half-step solutions.” This also enabled a reactivation of old heavy metal bands that had been effectively wiped off the scene for years by the growing shift toward metal’s extreme genre spheres, where the blossoming of the then-relatively-young black and death metal genres was stealing all the attention.
»Glory to the Brave« was, of course, the debut album of Sweden’s HammerFall. The rest is history. The band has been a fixture of the power metal scene ever since, releasing albums regularly, even as the genre has long been pushed to the fringes of mainstream interest. And yet. HammerFall remain a valued and respected metal institution even after 25 years, still filling venues of several thousand. Although the band’s evolution essentially concluded with the release of »Crimson Thunder«, that hardly matters anymore — HammerFall are gradually crossing over into the realm of legends, even if it’s been obvious for some time that their formula’s recycling is wearing a little thin, and the crew has been patching that artistic staleness — especially in recent years — with the occasional trick of self-parody, which is always a crowd-pleasing, crowd-igniting move.
»Dominion«, the band’s new album, again released through Austrian label Napalm Records (Rockline review HERE), sent the band out on a new tour. As part of it, they stopped close to home. In Graz. And there’s no finer venue there than the Orpheum Teater, which in recent years has been going almost completely unused for rock and metal events. We don’t know why, but HammerFall were one of the rare acts who played there during their previous »Built to Tour« run in 2017 as well (Rockline concert review HERE!). And why not? They’ve played the Orpheum Teater multiple times — in 2001 and 2003, for instance. But those were rosier times.
This time HammerFall chose as their support acts German power metallers Serious Black — who had opened for HammerFall on the 2015 tour (Rockline concert review from Graz (PPC), dated 09.02.2015 HERE), when they were promoting their album »(r)Evolution« — and hot Finnish power metallers Battle Beast. At exactly eight in the evening, Serious Black were the first to take the stage. They’re a quartet of seasoned musical veterans who, regardless of the band’s relatively young lifespan, spent years before it sharpening their chops in various outfits — and they proved it again with another strong delivery of their material. They’re currently operating as a quartet around their newly released album »Suite 226«, though since 2017 they’ve been joined onstage by a fifth member: the highly regarded guitar wizard and virtuoso Christian Münzner. All I’ll throw out at the mention of his name are two words: Alkaloid, Obscura. No need to reinvent the wheel from there. The band had half an hour to play. And they made brilliant, experienced use of every minute. Excellent sound from the first second to the last, and very skillful, savvy use of the available space. Tight, locked-in playing and constant, deft crowd interaction. Swedish vocalist Urban Breed — a great stage name — is something of a long-distance runner when it comes to HammerFall connections (back in 2009 he toured with HammerFall as a member of Bloodbound — with Sabaton along for the ride too — when they played across Europe, including in Maribor — Rockline concert review HERE). The vocalist has lost some of his upper range, but that’s par for the course and just comes with the years — his voice still comes across as remarkably powerful and commanding. Mario Lochert, bassist and band leader, kept a watchful eye on his bandmates’ every move; Dominik Sebastian and Münzner swapped left and right positions a few times, theatrically planting themselves side by side and staging a guitar-harmony moment, with Münzner naturally leading the way in sheer brilliance. In the end, Serious Black did what they were expected to do and delivered a high-level set — simply because, just as simply, they play live constantly.
Battle Beast are a seriously compelling Finnish power metal melodic fortress. The melodic element in the Finnish take on power metal is honestly the most infectious — almost over the top — when you compare it with versions of the genre from other Scandinavian countries (Sweden), or German and American bands in general, yet it never comes across as naively as it sometimes can with Italian outfits. Finland has always cultivated an exceptionally sharp musicality and pomposity in power metal — going all the way back to Stratovarius. The sextet has a new album out, »No More Hollywood Endings«, and it got a thorough airing in Graz. The central, commanding figure is and remains, of course, the statuesque, fired-up vocalist Noora Louhimo, who for over three-quarters of an hour thoroughly dominated the stage with her charisma and energy. Not just because of her outfit and theatrical ornamentation — with which she could easily pass as Lucifer’s bride — but simply because of the razor-sharp bite of her delivery and explosive singing. Even the moments where the otherwise power metal template dips into the pop cosmetics of the eighties — something their colleagues, or rather the younger spin-off Beast In Black, have pushed well past any sensible limit — Noora covers with effortless ease on stage. One word sums it up: the singer is superbly unhinged. Just the right amount. And that’s the band’s trump card — what keeps them interesting through the set when they’re otherwise navigating somewhat worn creative recycling, but with seductive, grandiose peaks in those singalong choruses that, as noted, pull hard toward the pop of the eighties. The vibe is reinforced by one of the Björkroth brothers, who busily clutches a keytar slung over his shoulders (I’m not sure Slovenian has coined a translation for “keytar” yet). There’s even a whiff of parody to it — which is an increasingly common occurrence in post-millennial power metal bands. Sabaton were the first to openly embrace it, and in recent years even HammerFall have caught the bug. But back to Battle Beast. The keyboards were barely audible during the set, and the lead guitar could have been a notch higher in the mix. But Noora saved everything! She’s an absolute force and a genuine magnet who gives the band constant stage appeal. And that’s not all — add to that the band’s high output of pomposity in the very way their songs are structured, with peaks in those, as mentioned, incredibly singable choruses.
HammerFall always bring an extraordinary stage setup on their tours. Each one different. In sync with the current album. This time was no exception. With the obligatory massive riser on which Wallin’s drum kit stood practically sky-high, and two ramps running from the front of the stage up to the top of that riser, one from each side. The lineup has now settled once more with Wallin behind the kit. Two irreplaceable figures remain in the camp: guitarist Oscar Dronjak and vocalist Joacim Cans. Alongside them are original bassist Fredrik Larsson and the formidable guitarist Pontus Norgren, whose undeniable talents consistently and gratefully haul the mix along — picking up the slack from the iconic, lanky beanpole to his left, that being Oscar Dronjak, of course.
What’s always most interesting to watch at a HammerFall show is the setlist. How much old, how much new. A few backing tracks are pre-recorded, as always, but otherwise the band delivers. Routine, confidence, experience. Simple as that. There’s no room for strays here, and none are tolerated. The opening, as expected, unleashed an opening tornado — rolling through new tracks Never Forgive, Never Forget and One Against the World before culminating in the cult classic Heeding The Call. Joacim Cans was a fraction low a few times (the chorus of The Way of the Warrior), but you have to cut him some slack — he was battling a throat infection at that point in the tour. On numbers like Any Means Necessary he had a chance to give his vocal cords a breather. Last Man Standing has been a setlist staple for some time, as has the so-called instrumental medley, which this time around put the emphasis on passages from the »Renegade« album (the band is marking the 20th anniversary of its release). A genuinely lovely surprise in that regard is the phenomenal The Way Of the Warrior, one of the highpoints of the cult »Renegade« record. The band didn’t forget to deliver, alongside Last Man Standing in the closing stampede, one of the finest tracks of their career — Where Dragon Lies Bleeding — before the main set predictably closed with Let the Hammer Fall. The encores delivered a somewhat weaker selection than expected, never quite reaching that definitive peak they could have easily hit if HammerFall had looked more seriously at the catalog from their first four albums. They opened with the pompous, almost self-parodic Hammer High, followed by a brilliant guitar showcase from Pontus — one that could have easily run for ten minutes — before the band jumped from that solo spot straight into another new track, the third of the evening and the one that had been conspicuously “missing” until now: (We Make) Sweden Rock, one of the key singles from the new album. HammerFall could only end this new spectacular show one way. By bringing the crowd to boiling point, and with Hearts on Fire lighting up every last heart in the packed-to-the-rafters Orpheum Teater one final time in a blaze of fire. The place was bursting at the seams. Just like three years ago.
Between songs, Cans reliably worked the crowd with his tried-and-tested tricks to keep everyone entertained; Dronjak kept adding fuel to the theatrical fire with his hammer-shaped guitar, and in the second half the “strongman” was once again “proudly” showing off his “generous” muscles, topless. Oscar is the band’s definitive icon. As entertaining as it gets. The band were clearly in good shape, and in the delivery of their set they proved beyond any doubt that this is a devastating, well-oiled power metal machine that simply doesn’t know how to fail.
In keeping with the “folklore” that surrounds this band’s promotional activities, we can expect HammerFall to roll out the second leg of their European shows tied to the new album’s promotion sometime in 2021 — or possibly already this autumn — which means there’ll very likely be a fresh opportunity to catch one of their concerts on the horizon soon. Graz is so close and so accessible, and the Orpheum Teater itself is a draw that’s simply impossible to resist. So we jumped at the first opportunity. Everyone in the venue had a blast in that spectacular power metal carousel that evening. The energy was excellent once again, and it’s truly remarkable how HammerFall, despite the declining interest in power metal, keep drawing the crowds and holding their attention.
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
SERIOUS BLACK:
1. Akhenaton
2. I Seek No Other Life
3. Mr. Nightmist
4. Serious Black Magic
5. We Still Stand Tall
6. High and Low
BATTLE BEAST:
1. Unbroken
2. Familiar Hell
3. Straight to the Heart
4. The Hero
5. Eden
6. No More Hollywood Endings
7. King for a Day
8. Beyond the Burning Skies
HAMMERFALL:
1. Never Forgive, Never Forget
2. One Against the World
3. Heeding the Call
4. The Way of the Warrior
5. Any Means Necessary
6. Hallowed Be My Name
7. Blood Bound
8. Redemption
9. Renegade Medley
10. The Dragon Lies Bleeding
11. Last Man Standing
12. Let the Hammer Fall
—encore I.—
13. Hammer High
14. (We Make) Sweden Rock
—encore II.—
15. Hearts on Fire
