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Concert Review – Alestorm (The Concert Hall, Toronto, ON, 03/22/2024)

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In a winter-like night of spring in Toronto, countless fans braved a ruthless snowstorm to enjoy the incendiary concert by the most famous pirates of the metal scene worldwide.

OPENING ACTS: Glyph and Elvenking

Unfortunately due to a heavy snowstorm that hammered the city of Toronto on Friday night (it looks like we moved from a spring-like winter to a winter-like spring, which is a real bummer), I wasn’t able to make it to The Concert Hall to enjoy the start of the Tour of the Dead Marauder 2024, with the bands GLYPH, ELVENKING and ALESTORM, another amazing event brought to the city by the one and only Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment. Not only that, this was the first ever event Noel held at The Concert Hall, which according to my buddy Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi is a fantastic venue for metal concerts. Huge stage, amazing lighting and sound, and the wrap around the upper balcony has a wicked view with one bar. Hopefully I’ll be able to see other bands playing at The Concert Hall, because I’m really curious to see how it is now. Anyway, as mentioned Keith was able to make it to the show, so not only he was responsible for the photos, but he also had to send me some words about each of the bands that played Friday night. I’ll add some information about the bands to the review as well, just to make it more detailed, and I hope you crazy metalheads enjoy the reading.

“Toronto is in its 4th day of spring and old man winter thought it would be nice for a snowstorm. However, the fans of the band Alestorm didn’t care. They stood outside for more than an hour in the blustery wind and snow to get inside a warm and newly renovated The Concert  Hall, where Noel Peters and his company Inertia Entertainment put on their first show. The bands Glyph, Elvenking and headliners Alestorm kicked some ass and let all their fans enjoy some much needed moshing,” said Keith about the entire night. The doors opened at 7pm and the first band of the night, GLYPH (a Power Metal featuring members of Gatekeeper, Greyhawk, Hjelvik, and Ravenous) went on shortly after, leaving Keith scrambling to get his camera ready and fight his way through the already packed venue. I believe they played the songs Honor, Power, Glory, A Storm of Crimson Fire and When The World Was Young during their set, and maybe a few others, but these three definitely deserve a listen. Moreover, Glyph will release their new album Honor. Power. Glory. this Friday March 29, so don’t be a fool and get ready to rock with such an amazing band by purchasing it or streaming it on BandCamp and on Spotify.

Band members
R. A. Voltaire – vocals
Rob Steinway – guitars
Darin Wall – bass
Jeff Black – keyboards
Ryan Yancey – drums

Right after Glyph finished warming up the crowd, it was time for Italian Melodic Power/Folk Metal entity ELVENKING to take the city of Toronto by storm (and fortunately not a snowstorm) with their hypnotizing concert, blending songs from their vast catalogue (as the band has been kicking ass all over the world for 27 years already) with their most recent effort, the 2023 album Reader of the Runes – Rapture. In addition, Elvenking are not your regular band, as their lineup includes mystical creatures represented by frontman Damna, guitarist and keyboardist Aydan, guitarist HeadMatt, bassist Jakob, drummer Symohn, and the iconic violinist Lethien, who definitely adds an extra touch of magic to their live performances. Keith said their concert was insane, driving their fans crazy and eager for more Elvenking in the city in the near future, and I honestly can’t wait for that as long as there isn’t a boring snowstorm blocking all roads, of course.

Setlist
Rapture
The Hanging Tree
Draugen’s Maelstrom
Pagan Revolution
Silverseal
Moonbeam Stone Circle
To Oak Woods Bestowed
Pagan Purity
Bride of Night
The One We Shall Follow
The Wanderer
The Divided Heart
Elvenlegions
She Lives at Dawn

Band members
Damna – lead vocals
Aydan – guitars, harsh and backing vocals, keyboards
HeadMatt – guitars
Jakob – bass
Lethien – violin
Symohn – drums

ALESTORM

Finally, after a quick break, the main attraction of the night took the stage for a memorable performance. The one day Scottish but now multinational Folk/Power Metal privateers ALESTORM kicked some serious ass according to Keith, with a jam packed venue making the night even more special. Having released that same Friday their new EP Voyage of the Dead Marauder (which is really cool, by the way), the band formed of Christopher Bowes, Máté Bodor, Gareth Murdock (and if you don’t know his Black Metal band Imperial Demonic, I highly recommend listening to their 2023 debut EP Beneath the Crimson Eclipse), Elliot Vernon, and Peter Alcorn was on fire during their entire set, playing classics like Keelhauled, Drink and Zombies Ate My Pirate Ship as well as the new songs The Last Saskatchewan Pirate and Voyage of the Dead Marauder, leaving a sold out The Concert Hall eager for another killer show by those metallic pirates in a not-so-distant future. “The crowd barrier broke and me and the security held it up during the third song for Alestorm. They had to fix it on the fly,” said Keith who, despite having a corrupt memory card and losing most of his over 200 Alestorm photos, made sure I got a very special (or maybe I should say divine) photo taken by our amazing brother and photographer Ryan Miles Leblanc. “There was a special appearance by the lord Jesus Christ who graciously moshed and crowd surfed,” said Keith in a message to me. Well, who would say that Jesus would be a fan of pirate metal, right? YAAAAAARRRR!

Setlist
Keelhauled
No Grave but the Sea
The Sunk’n Norwegian
Alestorm
Under Blackened Banners
Hangover (Taio Cruz cover)
The Last Saskatchewan Pirate
Wenches & Mead
Magellan’s Expedition
Mexico
Voyage of the Dead Marauder
Big Ship Little Ship
Nancy the Tavern Wench
P.A.R.T.Y.
1741 (The Battle of Cartagena)
Shit Boat (No Fans)

Encore:
Drink
Zombies Ate My Pirate Ship
Fucked With an Anchor

Band members
Christopher Bowes – vocals, keyboards
Máté Bodor – guitars
Gareth Murdock – bass
Elliot Vernon – keyboards, backing vocals
Peter Alcorn – drums

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Album Review – Lutharo / Hiraeth (2021)

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Behold the first full-length album by this fantastic Canadian Melodic Death Metal band, balancing hauntingly beautiful atmospheres with raw power and aggression.

Following the success of their 2020 EP Wings of Agony, Hamilton, Canada-based Melodic Death Metal outfit Lutharo (or Lutharö, if you prefer) is back into the battlefield with their first full-length opus, entitled Hiraeth, a Welsh word that has no direct English translation but that means an intense form of longing or nostalgia for a place long gone, or even an unaccountable homesickness for a place you have never visited. Recorded and mixed by Tyler Williams at Monolithic Productions, mastered by Lasse Lammert at LSD Studios, and displaying a classy artwork by Gogo Melone, Hiraeth launches into an epic exploration of the technical, musical and compositional abilities of frontwoman Krista Shipperbottom, guitarists Victor Bucur and John Raposo, bassist Chris Pacey and drummer Duval Gabraiel, balancing hauntingly beautiful atmospheres with raw power and aggression, and therefore, representing a huge step in the right direction for such talented Canadian band.

The sound of a beating heart ignites Lutharo’s metal machine in the intro Introspection, setting the stage for Victor and John to kick some ass with their riffs in the high-octane To Kill or to Crave, where Krista already showcases all her talent and fury through her sick, demented roars, sounding like a modern-day version of Angela Gossow during her unforgettable Arch Enemy years. Duval keeps hammering his drums frantically in What Sleeps in Your Mind, accompanied by the rumbling bass by Chris and the always sharp axes by the band’s guitar duo in a flawless display of contemporary Melodic Death Metal, followed by Phantom, slightly more symphonic than its predecessors but still venomous and heavy-as-hell, bringing forward another round of the band’s unrelenting music spearheaded by the she-wolf screams by Krista, and Worship Your Path, where the band’s stringed trio generates a massive atmosphere for their unstoppable frontwoman to shine once again, not to mention it’s epic NWOBHM vibe.

Lutharo Hiraeth Box Set

In Hopeless Abandonment the skillful Krista and the boys show no sign of slowing down, with Duval being on absolute fire with his crushing beats and fills, not to mention the always incendiary riffage and solos by Victor and John. Are you tired already? Because Krista is ready to slash your damned soul with her wicked roars in Valley of the Cursed, displaying a brutal performance by Duval on drums and, consequently, adding an extra touch of aggression to the band’s first-class musicality; whereas In Silence We Reign sounds and feels more epic than the rest of the album, a pounding tune that will work perfectly if played live with Duval making sure we break our necks headbanging nonstop while Krista gives a vocal lesson from start to finish. Their second to last explosion of Melodic Death Metal comes in the form of the breathtaking Eclipse, very intricate and progressive at times, with the guitars by Victor and John exhaling electricity and harmony, and last but not least, the band invests into a darker sonority in Lost in a Soul, putting a climatic ending to the album to the blast beats by Duval and the crisp riffage by Victor and John, until everything fades into an enfolding darkness.

As I like to say, it’s an absolute pleasure seeing bands like Lutharo taking their music to a whole new level and showing the entire world the quality, strength and diversity of the current Canadian metal scene, and with Hiraeth they not only more than succeeded in that, but they also placed themselves as one of the driving forces of the Canadian scene. Hence, don’t forget to give them a shout on Facebook and on Instagram, to subscribe to their YouTube channel (like I’ve already done) for more of their awesome music and beautiful videos, to stream all of their creations on Spotify, and of course to grab your copy of Hiraeth from their own BandCamp page or from their Big Cartel (where you can find a fantastic box set containing the Hiraeth digipack CD, a logo patch, a Hiraeth flag, a logo keychain and a signed photo), as well as from Apple Music. It will be interesting to see if Lutharo will be capable of delivering something more powerful and dynamic than Hiraeth in their future releases, but based on the talent of all musicians involved I wouldn’t be surprised if next year Krista and the boys stun us all once again with their undisputed metal music.

Best moments of the album: To Kill or to Crave, What Sleeps in Your Mind, Valley of the Cursed and Eclipse.

Worst moments of the album: Phantom.

Released in 2021 Independent

Track listing
1. Introspection 1:42
2. To Kill or to Crave 4:51
3. What Sleeps in Your Mind 5:19
4. Phantom 5:01
5. Worship Your Path 5:03
6. Hopeless Abandonment 4:23
7. Valley of the Cursed 4:31
8. In Silence We Reign 4:50
9. Eclipse 4:07
10. Lost in a Soul 7:03

Band members
Krista Shipperbottom – vocals
Victor Bucur – guitars, backing vocals
John Raposo – guitars
Chris Pacey – bass
Duval Gabraiel – drums

Guest musician
Elliot Vernon – orchestral arrangements