Tonight was the last date of Greek powerhouse Firewind’s six-date UK tour promoting their 10th studio album Stand United, which was released on 1st March 2024.
The room was already decently full by the time openers Fury took to the stage at 7:15pm. The West-Midlands metallers put on a ionate and full-throttle performance playing tracks from their 2022 album Born To Sin as well as other hits from their back-catalogue.
I last saw them live at Bloodstock in 2021, so it was great to see them again, this time with Nyah Ifill ing Julian Jenkins on lead vocals. The combination of their vocals really elevated the band’s sound in my opinion, and each member of the band had fantastic stage presence; bassist Becky Baldwin (who plays in Mercyful Fate’s touring band), Tom Fenn (Torous, Brassick) on drums, and Tom Atkinson (Vice, ex-Absolva) on guitar.
With nods to legendary metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Metallica, Fury have a very accessible rock / metal sound and went down really well with the crowd. They were the perfect for tonight’s headliners, and I am certain that they made a good few additional fans following their performance.
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At around 8:30pm it was time for Firewind to take to the stage. For the uninitiated, Firewind are a ridiculously fun mix of hard rock and power metal, featuring lead guitarist Gus G (Ozzy Osbourne, Arch Enemy, Dream Evil) and charismatic vocalist Herbie Langhans (Avantasia, Radiant, Seventh Avenue). It was my first time catching them live and they certainly didn’t disappoint.
From the very start they were super-energetic and engaging with the crowd, and they played a stonking set featuring tracks from Stand United as well as their excellent cover of Michael Sembello’s “Maniac”, and my personal favourites “The Fire and the Fury”, and “Rising Fire”. They were also ed on stage by Nyah Ifill for a most excellent rendition of “Breaking the Silence”.
Firewind were brilliant, and I had a thoroughly delightful evening enjoying their catchy, powerful, and anthemic songs alongside my photographer pals Adrian and Kevin.
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All photos by Katie Frost Photography
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