My recent trips to Manchester have been relatively trouble-free journeys, but the plague of peak time traffic reared its ugly head with vengeance for this trip to catch veteran German speed/power metal act Helloween and the highly influential and successful Swedish powerhouse Hammerfall on a tour dubbed the United Forces. With only two dates in the UK it was pretty certain that the venue would be packed, and indeed it was. This gig was actually postponed from about the same time in 2021 and I have to admit I have a soft spot for both bands though I was expecting some supports on this bill but instead only the two performed meaning Hammerfall got a longer set than ordinarily would be given to a support band.

Said insane traffic meant setting off early enough to arrive for the door time of 6pm even though Hammerfall didn’t perform until 7pm. I was glad my friends and I set off early enough as we arrived to a half full venue at about half six meaning I could get myself a drink, find a spot and await Sweden’s finest metal brethren to hit the stage. Noticeably, when I peered at the merch area, I could see only Helloween stuff with no Hammerfall merch apart from the commemorative United Forces shirt with both bands listed. Hammerfall had a headlining stage set up with only the drum riser being brought forward to limit the space of the ever-active other members.

With a short intro the crowd roared in anticipation of 75 minutes of pure heavy metal showmanship and that is exactly what we got from start to finish, as this was the band’s first show in over two years and strode into ‘Brotherhood’ with consummate ease and confidence. Unfortunately, my shooter got held up in that traffic so only managed to get a few shots of the band, which is a pity because they have that photogenic quality a metal band should have in the live environment. They smashed into the anthemic driven ‘Any Means Necessary’ with the crowd singing the lyrics but especially the chorus, complete with its backing vocals from the band.

I was utterly stoked when they launched into ‘The Metal Age’, one of favourite tracks going back to the band’s debut released in the late 90s. The band went back to the new album and played the title track ‘Hammer Of Dawn’ with the audience now chanting “Hammerfall” at the top of their lungs. Typically, their stage show was decorative with risers at the left and right for band to strike a myriad of clichéd metal poses and indulge in a ton of synchro headbanging alongside the giant illuminated hammer and shield also positioned left and right as I faced the stage. The band scoured their discography playing virtually across them all as the recognisable motorbike sound signalled the arrival of ‘Renegade’ to huge approval as they sang their hearts out. Apparently, the bands merch was still in transit to the venue, which explained why they had none which must have annoyed the hell out of the band and cost them a lot of money in shirt sales and meant the United Forces shirt sold out of all sizes, I was led to believe.

The band was a blur of activity, constantly darting around and engaging with the crowd as vocalist Joacim spurred on the audience participation with constant and unabating energy. I sort of lost track mid-way through their set with some of the songs as they seemed to play a medley from ‘Crimson Thunder’ which is on its 20 year anniversary, before the obligatory sing back section that preceded ‘Let The Hammer Fall’, another total classic from the early era. I was surprised when they aired ‘Glory To The Brave’ a power ballad tune that the audience loved but I didn’t as they concluded their main set with ‘(We Make) Sweden Rock’.

In the encore they hit us with the doublet of ‘Hammer High’ and the ever favourite ‘Hearts On Fire’ to tumultuous approval with both guitarists striking a variety of poses, but particularly Oscar who always seems to relish playing live and indeed was constantly smiling throughout alongside the other members as enthusiasm and energy dripped from their show. I took the opportunity to grab a beer and await Helloween at this point as by now the venue was pretty much rammed where I was stood.

With the venue probably at capacity and people vying to get a decent spot to watch Helloween I did wonder at the decision to cordon off the bottom part of venue which was either for disabled punters or VIP, I couldn’t tell to be honest but it certainly reduced the amount of room down there that’s for sure. With a half hour change over allotted for setting up Helloween everything ran like clockwork as the drum kit was unveiled and people were adrenalized for what was to come, two hours of German power and speed metal.

As the lights dimmed the cheer from the crowd was massive as the intro piece ‘Orbit’ led into ‘Skyfall’ from the self-titled latest album. A brave move considering it is an epic as the audience loved every second and were galvanised by the follow up of ‘Eagle Fly Free’ complete with a variety of video imagery, a facet that adorned every song with appropriate montages and animations which were often a distraction if truth be told. Back to the new album with ‘Mass Pollution’ and it was clear Helloween were glad to be back on stage after two years as vocalists Andi Deris and Michael Kiske were in exceptional form throughout the evening, feeding off each, as their blend of vocals was pristine.

‘Future World’ was excellent, instantly recognised by the vocal and knowledgeable crowd as Michael took over vocal duties here. Their slick, cohesive and flawless performance was superb to watch as ‘Save Us’ linked with ‘Future World’ being from the Keeper era of the bands discography. With songs from a huge range of albums ‘Where The Rain Grows’ continued the set with Andi Deris spouting that he had put on 15kg since ‘Master Of The Rings’ was released in 1994 from which the tune was from.

The cheer of approval was deafening when the intro piece to the band’s debut album ‘Walls Of Jericho’ started up and I am pretty certain the crowd was expecting the ‘Ride The Sky’ riff to blaze forth but instead we got a medley of tunes from the album beginning with ‘Metal Invaders’ as Kai Hansen took over vocal duties and dazzling shredding of course. He asked us if we were ready for some good old 80s heavy metal, of course we were as ‘Metal Invaders’ flowed into ‘Victim Of Fate’ and ‘Gorgar’ before eventually unleashing ‘Ride The Sky’.

Personally, I would have preferred the full version of ‘Ride The Sky’ but the medley was smoothly done, with tons of blitzing guitar work as the band stuck to older material with ‘Heavy Metal (Is The Law)’, maintaining momentum as the drummer was certainly earning his keep with a relentless display at this juncture of the set. I’ve never been a ballad fan as the band switched to ‘Forever And One (Neverland)’ and I headed to the bar to replenish my plastic cup.

‘Best Time’, from the new album, was starting when I returned from the bar and returned the set to more speedy material before the massive hit of ‘Dr. Stein’ was aired to glorious approval by the audience. They really spoiled us by raining down ‘How Many Tears’ upon us, one of my favourite tracks and ended their main set. Disappearing off stage for a minute or two meant we chanted the band’s name beckoning them to return as ‘A Tale That Wasn’t Right’ retained the old school ethos before smashing us with ‘Power’ and the colossal ‘Keeper Of The Seven Keys’ in full and was utterly devastating.

With transport issues approaching, i.e. my lift home, I started my way out just as the second encore gave us ‘I Want Out’ to yet another huge roar. I could hear the audience singing it boldly and loudly in the foyer as I ventured into the cold for the journey home.

This double billing of Hammerfall and Helloween will be remembered for many years to come, a perfect pairing for two acts, who rejuvenated the heavy metal genre in the 90s and subsequently for the former and spawned the whole power metal scene by the latter. A faultless and unmitigated triumph of heavy metal at its utmost best.

REVIEW: MARTIN HARRIS
PHOTOS: ANDY POUNTNEY