"We liked them so much last year we invited them back this year. This is Stormwarrior!"
With these encouraging words it was time for Stormwarrior to take the stage in front of a small but very enthusiastic crowd at the Magic Circle Festival.
All I knew of Stormwarrior from earlier was that Kai Hansen of Gamma Ray sometimes plays with them, and that I had missed out on them on several occasions before this one, at other festivals. Sadly, Kai would not be joining them this day however, which I felt was a shame since he was one of the big reasons I wanted to see these guys in the first place. As I said, I had never heard them before.
Oh well, now that I am here I might as well see what these Germans have to offer I thought to myself as they started playing.
Even though they did not seem to be very old, they made a perfect copy of the old 80ies Hamburg sound with their power metal songs. It was clear to hear where they had their influences from, and they did a good job of it. At least in the start. I must admit that I got a little bored halfway through the set, as there was almost a complete lack of variation in the songs they had chosen to perform. And in addition to this, there was an almost complete lack of showmanship as well. They came on stage, stood and played their songs, and that was about it. Nothing to get very enthusiastic about, I'm afraid. And if that wasn't enough, their sound was messed up, and lacked all form of treble, but on the other hand the bass drum was very much present.
All I can say is that I had higher hopes for this show, and I was disappointed. Too bad.

Setlist (incomplete):

Heading Northe
Sign Of The Warlord
Heavy Metal Fire
Valhalla
Into The Battle