Live report HAMMERFALL, BATTLE BEAST & SERIOUS BLACK, Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg – 31.01.2020

It is the first time that I can witness a Metal concert at Alsterdorfer Sporthalle. The fact that it’s not a concert hall or theatre means that it’s not built to host musical events only and the rumors of the sound not being the best reached me already prior to the show. Now, it’s more than rumors and the opener Serious Black has to suffer from a sound that certainly isn’t perfect. Having hereby ticked off this topic allows us to have a look into event itself.

Based on German Pünktlichkeit the show started at 19:30 sharp with Serious Black entering the stage. ‘Suite 226’ is the new longplayer of the German/US metallers and being the part of the current Hammerfall tour is a great moment to present the new songs to a bigger audience. Serious Black surfs though a 30 minutes set and does a good job in warming up fans at Alsterdorfer Sporthalle. The room is filled already pretty well and Serious Black’s Melodic Metal is more than just songs of a support band. More than a handful of fans obviously came to see the band, resulting in a good appearance and a very respectable applause by the end of the set.

Battle Beast on stage, that’s more than just a concert, it’s an experience.

The moment Noora Louhomi and bandmates enter the stage the energy level at Alsdorfer Sporthalle faces a next high. It‘s a mission impossible to not get infected by the power of Battle Beast singer Louhomi. Not only the she has an excellent voice, which she knows to use in perfect fashion, the ‘Metal queen’ is also all over the place/stage. She is like a power-pack that spreads its entire energy in 45 minutes. Battle Beast rocks Hamburg tonight, that is for sure.

Gimmicks like the colorful lit drum installation, handled by keyboarder… amplify the positive experience and the theatric opening of ‚No Hollywood Endings‘ brings the bigger show to shine. Hands in the air is the motto during ‚King For a Day‘ and it’s ‚Beyond the Burning Skies‘ that ends a gig full of power and glory. Like said earlier, Battle Beast live is a full circle experience.

Prior to the tour start Metal pioneers Hammerfall mentioned a bigger production for the ‘Dominion’-tour and the guys stick to the promise. Fire, showers of sparks and great stage set-up incl. the drum-kit being on top of a 3 mtr. high podia, that’s what fans can look at during a 100 minutes set.

The guys from Gothenburg start with ‘Never Forgive, Never Forget’ into their set. Not only that first flames bring some heat into the room, also the firing riffs of the ‘Dominion’-smasher are much appreciated by fans. Hammerfall has a strong fanbase in Germany and therefor it’s not surprising that the five Swedes face an enthusiastic crowd right away.

The first backdrop has a clear statement: ‘Welcome to Purgatory, the Capitol of Hell’. During the opener the backdrop falls and unveils a new one that creates a real scenery on stage.

Hammerfall runs through a setlist that includes current highlights, like ‘Dominion’, and doesn’t forget with ‘The Dragon Lies Bleeding’ the glorious starting days of the five-piece powerhouse. With each song played, the Metal party vibe at Alsterdorfer Sporthalle increases. A first crowdsurfer enjoys the ride and the band’s great postures on stage showing the true spirit and vibe of Heavy Metal. The Hamburg show is the second on the current tour and it feels like the band being hungry for kicking off this tour. Everybody on stage, and in front of the stage, has great fun. Norgren and Dronjak have more than once a riff-duel, Joacim Cans has a smile on his face during the entire show while Fredrik Larsson and David Wallin delivers a tight beat with tireless working horse power.

Unexpected and very welcome is the guest appearance of Battle Beast singer Noora Louhimo during ‘Second to One’. It was a touching duet of the two and a highlight in the middle of the set.

‘Let the Hammer Fall’ and the loud sing-a-long by fans ends the regular set. After a few minutes the band returns for 3 extra songs in the encore. ‘Hammer High’ and ‘Hearts on Fire’ are hereby more of the foreseeable classics while ‘(We Make) Sweden Rock’, taken from the latest longplayer ‘Dominion’, is the more astonishingly a part of the final triple too.

Hammerfall is one of the spearheads of the contemporary Heavy Metal, revitalizing the traditional Metal in the period of Grunge and Death Metal. The five Swedes haven’t lost any power over the last three decades and are as strong as ever.