GloryHammer – Tales from the Kingdom of Fife (2013)

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Lead by the whacky Christopher Bowes, GloryHammer arrives to us with an impressive dose of killer fantasy-inspired Power Metal. Showcasing his awesome songwriting skills and knack for epic orchestrations, Mr. Bowes does a great job in this new band bringing to life his alternative concept of Scotland’s medieval history. For over ten tracks the band crafts epic battle hymns and highly effective songs that will have any fan of the genre throwing away all their Blind Guardian, Rhapsody, etc. merch and CD’s to get some new GloryHammer stuff.

After an epic intro track, “The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee” marches forward with a superbly epic chorus section and a furious pace. While the song title and probably the lyrics are as absurd as anything that Alestrom has ever recorded, the band produces killer music that sounds as good as any veteran fantasy Power Metal band. The vocal arrangements are superb and give that epic vibe that we crave in these kinds of albums.

As the battle hymns roll with songs like “Angus McFife” and “Quest for the Hammer of Glory” we are more and more impressed by the quality and versatility of GloryHammer’s music. One of our favorite tracks in this release is the fast-paced “Magic Dragon”. In particular, we love hearing the band say “Magic Dragon” through the song, cracking us up every time we listen to it. In the mood for an epic Power ballad? “Silent Tears of Frozen Princess” shows a more ‘serious’ and dramatic side to the band that greatly enhances the overall experience of this release.

In terms of Power Metal brilliance, tracks like “Amulet of Justice” are the perfect example that GloryHammer is a force to be reckoned with their powerful riffing and fast-paced drumming, leaving the orchestrations to be just the icing on the cake. Showing off their skills on tracks like “Beneath Cowdenbeath”, the band just kills it when it comes to versatility and intensity. Closing with style, the 10-minute epic “The Epic Rage of Furious Thunder” is as awesome as the name calls for.

In general, we are totally blown away by how epic and cool “Tales from the Kingdom of Fife” is. GloryHammer surely has a great future head of them and we give props to Christopher Bowes to expending his horizons from pirate-related activities to defiling history in such a creative and entertaining way.

Band: GloryHammer Album: Tales from the Kingdom of Fife
Label: F.D.A. Rekotz

Release: March 29th, 2013

Oficial Site myspace

Genre: Power Metal

Country: Germany

Rating: 90/100
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