Thursday night I went to see a Finnish heavy metal band, Beast in Black in the Academy Dublin, who are currently on a European tour with Glory Hammer and I had the pleasure of interviewing lead vocalist Yannis before the gig (check out our interview below).
It was the first time Beast in Black were in Ireland and was not without its difficulties as founder and guitarist Anton, was very ill and could not play that night.
When the guys took to the stage, they blasted out ‘Cry Out for a Hero’, and ‘Unlimited Sin’ for their intro as a four piece – Yannis lead vocalist, Kasperi (guitar), Mate (bass) and Atte on drums.

Once they had warmed up the crowd, Yannis informed them about Anton and apologised, even though there was no need, as ill is ill. He said it was going to be an interesting night as Kasperi would be taking on all of Anton’s solos and backing vocals as well as his own, which was met with a huge cheer and chants of “Beast in Black, Beast in Black!” I’m sure this let them know how much people wanted to hear their music and perhaps a little boost to the confidence given the circumstances.
The guys continued to blow the roof off the place and Kasperi was just brilliant taking on the dual role. Considering that they only had a few hours to rehearse as a four piece, only hard-core fans would have noticed the difference.
They blasted out ’Die by the Blade’ and Sweet True Lies from their new album ‘From Hell with Love’ and when they played ‘Blind and Frozen’ (this was their first big hit) from their first album, ‘Berserker’, the crowd went nuts.’ Yannis vocals were simply epic and he knew just how to keep the crowd going.

And we loved it. The bands stage presence as a whole ensured that we all enjoyed every single minute of their performance and their final song was ‘End of the World’, a perfect ending.
I must also compliment the guys on their interaction with the crowd. As always, people were taking photos and videos throughout the night. The guys enjoyed this just as much and gave people the opportunity to snap them in mad poses, leaning into the cameras, pulling faces and being a bit silly. It just gives that little bit more to fans.
Yannis told the crowd that they intend to return to Ireland as a five piece so they could enjoy the full band performance and then invited fans to meet them at the merch stand after they played.

I feel the crowd could happily have listened to them blast out more from both their albums even as a four piece. Fans that were there to see Glory Hammer, were clearly won over.
The sooner these guys return to Ireland the better and I can’t wait to see them again.
Finally, Metal Planet Music sends warmest get well wishes to Anton and hopes he gets to enjoy the rest of the tour in full health and metal madness.
Finally, Metal Planet Music sends warmest get well wishes to Anton and hopes he gets to enjoy the rest of the tour in full health and metal madness.
Sooo…this gig really has to be seen to be believed. I am conflicted here because I want to tell you all about it but I don’t want to spoil the surprise.
Indeed, this was my first time seeing Glory Hammer and I am still wondering if it really happened!

Firstly, let me say, you can tell who the Glory Hammer fans were because they were waving about hammers and fluffy unicorns, not what you would expect to see at a heavy metal gig.
After a certain Welsh singer warmed up the crowd (not giving the game away here), the guys took to the stage in full inter-galactic costume, blasting out ‘Into the Terror Vortex’ and the ‘Siege of Dunkeld’.
I do not quite know how to describe it, but there is clearly a secret language that only Glory Hammer fans are aware of and I’m not sure if their chants were an actual language or something related to the fantasy themed songs.

They will understand why a yellow goblin type dude came onto the stage and battled with the lead singer Angus McFife XIII, (Crown Prince of Fife…) for the song, ‘The Legend of the Astral Hammer’ and the relevance of ‘The Land of the Unicorns’.
At one stage there was great disappointment by the band and the crowd when it was revealed that not everyone travelled to the gig in a flying submarine and the fact that one fan said he was from Boston, not Inverness.
The look on the fans faces meant they knew what was coming next throughout the set, no matter what song they played they loved every second of it, again evident by their involvement in the actions and in secret language.

I can honestly say this was pure entertainment putting insane heavy metal to the inter-galactic, sci-fi and fantasy realm. It is no too often you hear blistering riffs applied to epic tales of wizards, goblins and unicorns or battles for the Galaxy..
As I said at the start, a Glory Hammer gig is most definitely an experience, whether you are into the fantasy sci-fi world or not. Don’t miss the opportunity to see them and make sure you get there on your flying submarine.
Review by Fiona D
Photography by Stephen Brophy