We were all in on the hammers this early February night at Amager Bio. Hammerfall was headlining, but in order to have a hammer fall, you’ll need a hammer to begin with. A glorious hammer that is, and thus Gloryhammer was set to support the tour!

“Hello Copenhagen! We are Gloryhammer from outer space, and we’re here to sing songs about hammers! This is Legend of the Astral Hammer!”
- Thomas Winkler (vocals)

This was clearly something the Copenhagen crowd had been waiting for. Amager Bio was now very well filled, and there was a lot of cheering as the ragtag band members hit the stage. Thomas Winkler (a.k.a. Angus McFife XIII, Prince of the Galactic Empire of Fife) in a slightly different armour from last time we saw the band, and now sporting Macho Man Randy Savage glasses. Paul Templing (a.k.a. Ser Proletius, Grand Master of the Spaceknights of Crail) in his blue and red surcoat, and Robocop tights underneath. James Cartwright (a.k.a. Hootsman, the Barbarian King of California) in super cat-skin boots. Ben Turk (a.k.a. Ralathor, the Mysterious Spacehermit of the Cowdenbeath Sector) and Christopher Bowes (a.k.a. Zargothrax, the Dark Sorcerer of Auchtermuchty) looked more like they’ve done in the past, but to start with, I couldn’t quite decide if they’d put a suicide bomber’s rig on Turk. It wasn't, but rather a SpecOps vest, which went in style with his new camoflage pants. As had been the case with Lancer, Gloryhammer too had their drummer hidden off to the side of the stage, and it wasn’t easy to see what he was wearing, until the band took a bow at the end.

Anyway, the show was opened by a majestic fantasy intro in Infernus Ad Astra, which was followed directly by the band playing Rise Of The Chaos Wizards. Its Latin word bridge rung throughout the hall, calling all of its followers to arms, as we were told of the return of the evil wizard Zargothrax. Yes. this was Epic storytelling, of Epic proportions! (yes, the E’s are intentionally written as capitals)
This sort of unapologetic and self-aware silliness in the lyrical department would not stand alone! Already in Return Of The Astral Hammer, the ugly enemy reared its head – a minuscule goblin wandered onto the stage, where it proceeded to give the musicians a hard time. It was not equipped with an impractical sword, but instead carried the legendary Astral Hammer, which McFife then proceeded to battle him for.
Later, during Universe On Fire the band had another visit, this time by a gloriously dancing spaceman! After a while, it turned out to be yet another goblin, and fight ensued.
The Unicorn Invasion Of Dundee was the final song of the gig, and of course the band wouldn’t leave us without a final fight between McFife and Zargothrax. I must admit, I missed a few special effects as the evil wizard wove his spells, but at least the goblin earlier had brought a confetti hand cannon to the fight, so we had to make do with that hilarity.

“You set the roof on fire. We know a band that likes to set hearts on fire. We set the universe on fire!”
- Winkler (vocals)

Gloryhammer was hilarious, and the audience ate it up! The band obviously had many fans in the crowd, and they were taken aback by a loud chant of “Hoots” early on, even before his song was played, and before also his special and exclusive beer drinking “live on stage!”. How did he get this beer? Why, a member of the audience, Lasse (or Rasmus, since apparently all Danes are named Rasmus), was put on a quest by McFife to “ride to the Galactic Fortress”, or in translation crowdsurf to the bar. Because the cyborg Hootsman may be powered by a neutron star, but it’s a little-known fact that neutron stars are powered by alcohol!
Hootsman wasn’t the only one who felt the devotion of Copenhagen either. As Proletius called out for his spaceknights in Hail To Crail, the dubbed Danes answered his call loudly and proudly, especially in the chorus of the song.
In a surprising twist ending, it was not only the crowd that was put to the sing-along test. After taking a well-deserved bow after the show, the members of Gloryhammer stayed on the stage, and sang along to their own outro melody, The National Anthem Of Unst.

One thing is for sure – Gloryhammer is no longer just a fun side project to Alestorm, they are very much a true band in their own right. I’m not won over yet, especially because Winkler’s voice simply doesn’t agree with me. But I fully respect the fact that they know full well what they are, and they go for it with all that they’ve got. They came, they sang, and they conquered. In my opinion, Gloryhammer delivered the best performance of the night, and made me smile and laugh out loud several times.

Setlist:

Infernus Ad Astra
Rise Of The Chaos Wizards
Legend Of The Astral Hammer
Hail To Crail
Questlords Of Inverness, Ride To The Galactic Fortress!
The Hollywood Hootsman
Angus McFife
Universe On Fire
The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee
The National Anthem Of Unst