Gloryhammer

Legends From Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex

BY Max MorinPublished Jun 3, 2019

7
Power-folk metal acts generally fall in two categories: the truly epic, and the tongue-in-cheek cheesemongers trying to take the piss. Take a wild guess which group the writers of Legends From Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex fall into. Gloryhammer's third album is their biggest, silliest and most over-the-top release to date. Oddly enough, it somehow works.
 
How much you like Gloryhammer depends on how serious you think power metal should be. If you're looking for introspection, don't look to a band whose drummer goes by Ralathor, the Mysterious Submarine Commander of Cowdenbeath. But if your tolerance for tracks called "The Land of Unicorns" and "Legendary Enchanted Jetpack" is high, then dive right in.
 
Keyboardist Zargothrax (aka Christopher Bowes) understands this approach from his main job fronting Alestorm, everyone's favourite heavy metal pirates. Most of what can be found on Legends isn't too far from Christopher's other material. Fans of Iced Earth, DragonForce and Devin Townsend's last five years will also love the self-titled single and 12-minute epic closer "The Fires of Ancient Cosmic Destiny." Honestly, if you made it through that last sentence, you probably already know if you will like Gloryhammer or not.
 
If you are still on the fence, just know that there's a track called "Power of the Laser Dragon Fire," which contains the line "We are warriors, wielding hammers so glorious." If that doesn't tickle your epic funny-bone, it's doubtful anything ever will.
(Napalm)

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