Gig Review: Alestorm Keelhauled Brooklyn’s Warsaw

Now this was a whirlpool event. Alestorm began the weekend on a Monday! If you’re a fan of folky power metal and you haven’t gotten to seeing the captains for one of this year’s must-see tours, you should let this metal scribe convince you to attend a gig. It is a hoot! We in Brooklyn pre-gamed early in the trek at Brooklyn’s Warsaw, but it’s worth saying that all three crews on this run, including Gloryhammer and Glyph, will deliver the treasured gems in ways you will be grateful for beyond words when the bash wraps up. You’ll make yourself proud to honor the jollier side of metal if this U.S. circuit landlocks in your area.

On a related note, this clerk began his madcap day of metal wealth with a screening of Spinal Tap II: The End Continues at the Williamsburg Cinema! Featuring David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), and counting Rob Reiner’s Marty Di Bergi, this sequel is satirical enough to conjure laughs within an infinite-mile radius. Without the inclusion of heavily spoiling the movie for you, what the storyline offers is fidelity: a clarity with the moment, however humorous, however recognizable. The three-member reunion, abrading the familiarity of friction between band members, was caricatured by a music wire, depicting the side hustles they pursued outside of music, such as producing music or curating a museum of glue, and the interference of industry sharks in their group affairs. It insists that a conclusion is still possible, even if the results involve a chaotic ending involving a twelve-foot stonehenge, and where parody itself can be conducive to relatability. As Hubbins and Tufnel once said: “It’s such a fine line between stupid, and uh…clever.” With that said, don’t let the mixed reviews discourage you from seeing it, even if it means you literally being the only one watching it on a big screen in a darkened theater! And I’m sure you will give both films countless rewatches in years to come when Spinal Tap II is available to stream in a few months.

A sequel well worth the wait and a steamy night of music to come? Yep. As the day finally started to dip into those moderately mild pockets of the low-60s, I set sail via subway and bus to the vortex of the effervescence that the early raiders and I couldn’t shake on Driggs Ave. First up, the beginning festivities at 6:00—as those ventured to holding up the bar to indulge in the finest ale, beer, and liquor, regional, and, frankly, reasonably priced, regular beverages Warsaw offered like Liquid Death and soda, there’s the regular scholars, which absolutely lined up to purchase another Alestorm, Gloryhammer, or Glyph shirt too add to their collection. The first thing for me to check off was a hearty Polish dinner. Warsaw’s galley opened up a little after the doors opened. If you ever attend a gig at this venue, I highly suggest trying two Kielbasa sandwiches and the Warsaw special with a few pierogies, some Kielbasa, and hunter stew. The portions are minimal at best. However, it is still a meal deal worth the doubloons without reducing your drink money, your merch money, or your hard-earned pieces of eight for an upcoming gig because we all know that the rest of 2025 is looking stacked for our kind of music. And finally, for the buccaneer bash to enforce the night by way of a half-hour dual chopping set of Ameri-Canadian music from Glyph.

Fueled by storytelling ambition and a roaring disdain for dragons, Glyph stays true to their style by blending scaling vocals from their new vocalist, Barbara Blackthorne, and raging keytar licks from Jeff Black. Built on bouncing melodies, Battle Beast-like infectious hooks, and flashes of soulblazing, high-energy metal, made them a true mishmash to get the rager of unrelenting heaviness started at 7:00. Glyph is a meteor-sized example of both the devastation and ion pulse that a third-billed band for a power metal three-way archdemon touring package should be known for. Although their set was thirty minutes long, Glyph’s time on stage resulted in raw intensity with a twisting sense of precision from guitarist and Rob Steinway, bassist Darin Wall, and drummer Damien Rainaud winning over a squad of new fans. Their six-song set list mainly highlights Honor. Power. Glory—offered a core representation of the soaring type of unmistakable heavy music that Glyph showed off to the New York Legions of the United States of America — a sound that made us want to bang our fists in the air and headbang all at once from A Storm of Crimson Fire from Honor. Power. Glory and new songs like Rune Master. Barbara Blackthorne would appear once more in a few hours to assist on vocals with the mean, green, lovable Larry’s in a kilt and pants. Glyph won our hearts with every anthemic, blessedly shreddy earworm. And after you started your bar tab with some spirits, do your best to show up early to see Glyph. Their set was fun. The band powered up the audience for some Gloryhammer-style heavy fucking metal.

Glyph

Photo Credit: Andrew Fiero

Gloryhammer is renowned for its celestial and immense presence on stage as the brainchild of Alestorm’s Christopher Bowes. A seasoned project with the united forces of Hoots in Canada, America, Europe, and all over the world over the years, and their superb stage performances while double-headlining with bands such as Beast in Black. So when it was time for Gloryhammer to support Alestorm, a band they’ve shared the stage with in the past, they spared no expense and effort to make a direct support slot a striking one. After heeding the call of Glyph, it was time to journey to the celestial dominion of Fife. After an incoming transmission at 8:00 PM by way of troubadour Tom Jones, serenading us with Delilah, leading into the moment the New York hootsforce was waiting for. The return of Gloryhammer with Angus McFife II (Fife), the Hootsman (Unst), Ralathor (Cowdenbeath), Ser Proletius (Crail), and Zargothrax (Dundee) lit up the stage to usher in fifty-five exciting minutes of role-playing music.

The shattering set started with The Land of Unicorns. Gloryhammer kicked out ten magical bangers with a mixture of anthems from their discography under flaring conditions. Angus and the other elected officials of their nations would often hype the dynamic audience in a fire-spun climate with their banter. The costumed fans scattered throughout the stage area further amplified that, as we were glad to see some of the best cuts like Gloryhammer’s namesake song, Universe on Fire, and new favorites, a part of the set, He Has Returned and On a Quest for Aberdeen. In a condensed live setting, Gloryhammer further synchronizes what crowd participation can contribute to modern traditional metal from the inclusion of unionized clapping and sing-a-longs without getting too wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey concerning the fictitious lineage in the discography timeline. Gloryhammer ended the third performance of this U.S pillage with The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee, followed by one of the many wild charge highlights of the concert. The New York hootsforce pledged allegiance to the Hootsman as Zargothrax crowned him as king Hootsman of Unst to conclude a cosmic performance. The New York chapter of Fife had a great time seeing them. All had hoots for the night to go full swing for the pirate metal drinking crew, Alestorm!

Gloryhammer

Photo Credit: Andrew Fiero

Just in time for the calendar changing seasons to autumn and, for some especially for the moongeist Halloween lovers, the perennial guise of September a.k.a Halloween eve, comes swashbuckling amongst a great lake of blackshirts donning Firewind, Judas Priest, and Sabaton included the costumed patrons to dress up as their favorite rover archetypes as if they were seizing the Scumm Bar on Mêlée Island from the Monkey Island series and Alestorm was the house band. Of course, no Alestorm cosplay gathering would be complete without someone wearing a banana costume. Having said that, whoever identified as a captain, a gunslinger, or a pirate queen filled up the laminated plank floored auditorium of Warsaw created this oceanic atmosphere for the main event to fully turn the heat up and bring Warsaw to a boil for a pirate p.a.r.t.y. of the highest order.

Aqua jetting onto the stage at 9:00, the five pirates of power metal’s dark waters took the pumped up congregation for a near two-hour adventure on the SS Aqua-Duck – a voyage on the cemented high seas of Brooklyn as Alestom hoisted the mizzen with the bouncy opener in Keelhauled. The rum, beer, and some mead flowed; the liquidation of crowd-surfing increased as Alestorm celebrated their eighteen-year musical odyssey with the release of their eighth studio album, The Thunderfist Chronicles. Alestorm’s return to New York saw the freebooting quartet clamping down their jaunty sound to an even more splashing live territory. Over the 115-minute Brooklyn takeover, the five sea dogs took charge of Warsaw faster than the ghostly pirate, Captain LeChuck from Monkey Island. Nineteen songs showcase the band’s folky and ready-for-a-quest sound, keeping the carousing night going with the raw, alcohol-fueled energy of early arias like Mexico, the distinctive eponymous tune, and sparkling new tracks such as Killed to Death by Piracy and The Storm. Nevertheless, Alestorm kept the dance floor afire with one sparksurfer after another as in Frozen Piss 2, the Taio Cruz cover of Hangover, and P.A.R.T.Y. barreled through the waves of crowd-surfers.

Armed with the finest gang of musicians and a lot of keyboard heroics, Alestorm managed to dominate the venue with their scintillating brand of plank diving music from Máté Bodor (guitar), Gareth Murdock (bass), Peter Alcorn (drums), and Elliot Vernon (keyboards with black metal-like backing vocals). Known for simplistic heavy metal party anthems with some atmospheric epics, the band delivered a show that delved into themes of authenticity, fun, and heavy drinking—inviting fans to feel like they’re living it up on a ship anchoring in international waters- the land that law forgot. Alestorm took merciless aim at the plentiful opportunities that aided the horde in front of them, and in the process of diving into their back catalog, did not spare themselves from plundering the sizzling stage with the scenic duck skyscraper as their backdrop. The overwhelming sense of entertainment is inescapable as vocalist and key-guitarist Christopher Bowes kept the musical sails tripped with his lively and playful stage wraps, which I’m certain differ from night to night.

One constant throughout this tour for Alestorm, keeping the riverine booze cruise on course, they recruited Glyph’s vocalist, Barbara Blackthorne, to provide additional vocals for Zombies Ate My Pirate Ship and Voyage of the Dead Marauder. When it comes to an Alestorm gig, there isn’t a moment when someone isn’t clapping, drinking, dancing, or throwing their inflatable cutlass swords in the air. Musically, Alestorm pays homage to the golden era of late 80s and early 90s European power metal, as exemplified by Running Wild, blending fast riffs, anthemic choruses, and massive gang vocals, but with more lyrics about getting lit. It’s a fearless tribute to the genre’s greats, while carving out a distinct space through their witty ambition and comprehensive artistic direction. Yet, one of the best parts of this band’s live show is how few phones I noticed in the crowd. Everyone was having a blast. Fucking love events like this so much. After what felt like seemingly endless gala, it was time for the final celebration in Drink and Fucked With an Anchor and Alestorm throwing down a short ditty of Rumpelkombo to end one heat crash of a moist time at Warsaw, Chistopher and his wild band did an outstanding job for everyone to party like a pirate, an Alestorm get-together features all of the signature qualities of a memorable night out: mammoth songs, compelling support, and good times abound like a cannon shot across the bow for you to take the royal pardon with a song in your heart, a stomach full of suds, and marinated in someone else’s juices.

For all intents and purposes, my friends, call them a gimmick. Consider them a fine line between stupid and clever. Fucking hell, just look at Gareth Murdock’s Nigel Tufnel green skeleton shirt. One thing that draws us to seeing Alestorm time and time again is the provision of mandatory fun. Alestorm is far more than a shtick; it’s a fully realized band showing the concertgoer not to take themselves or such hefty music too seriously. To bring a concert to life, the fans are just as pertinent as the performers on stage: their shared vollied energy weaves together across the set list, creating a harmonious, theatrical dynamic reminiscent of the classic metal concert format. The styles of whimsy that all three bands brought to the evening were just as joyful to witness as the last. The weather’s still warm, but the vibes are piping hot. With the approach of fall, we’re getting very close to the end of summertime event season. To that end, if you’re thirsty for tickets and catching a showtime for the new Spinal Tap movie for the next few weeks, Alestorm will be turning the rest of September and – A LOT – of October into one giant party boat on land and despite being the man behind Gloryhammer, if the date that you attend has Christopher Bowes performing the role of the original Zargothrax as one-off guest appearance, consider yourself lucky. So whether you’re heading into battle with Glyph, hearing epic tales from Gloryhammer, or learning how to become a sea wolf with Alestorm, all three of these magnetic bands have you covered. Don’t let your budget hold you back. Rally your pack (or go solo) and consider seeing Alestorm your official excuse to throwdown alongside the best of them. It’s one of the best metal tours of this year as the fall show season arrives – your wallet (and future self discovering new bands) will thank you!