ALBUM REVIEW: Legends From Beyond The Galactic Terrorvortex – Gloryhammer

Four years on from the release of Space 1992: The Rise Of The Chaos Wizards, GLORYHAMMER have returned with their long awaited third album, Legends From Beyond The Galactic Terrorvortex. The new record continues the legacy of the hero and frontman Angus McFife, with all of the members continuing their roles from the previous two albums, including ALESTORM lead singer Christopher Bowes as the evil wizard Zargothrax.

Much like the last album, the new one begins with an instrumental opening track – Into The Terrorvortex Of Kor-Virliath. There is a brief voice-over at the very start of the record which sets the tone and the scene picks up right from the end of the final song of the earlier album. That then kicks straight into The Siege Of Dunkeld (In Hoots We Trust). It’s fast and electric and epic all at once, and McFife showcases his vocal ability once again. By now GLORYHAMMER have established their own unique sound and it continues in the very early stages of the new album, with plenty of keyboards and galactic sound effects. There is even a dialogue, for want of a better word, in this particular track between McFife and Zargothrax, showing the continuing battle between the pair.

While the band feature in the power metal sub-genre and contain a lot of the elements from start to finish, GLORYHAMMER haven’t really been renowned for their heavier side. That is until the following track, Masters Of The Galaxy, which begins with a crushing opening riff and maintains it throughout. The whole track shows a darker side of the band’s character, which gives you an inkling of what the album is about and how proceedings have become in the tale of McFife. It’s so hard to pick out star picks for this record when you look at just the names alone, never mind the quantity of each track – The Land Of Unicorns and Legendary Enchanted Jetpack are just two which immediately spring to mind.

But much like Bowes’ other band ALESTORM, this record finally features a self-titled track for the band, and there aren’t any prizes for guessing that one. Much like Masters Of The Galaxy, the riffs are certainly more prominent in this track, and in fairness are for the majority of the record. This track sums up the band perfectly in the way it is delivered, the sound and the overall feel the track gives you, and it truly is fantastic. And what appears to now be a tradition for the band, the final song is an epic 12-minute masterpiece, entitled The Fires Of Ancient Cosmic Destiny. This track is split up into five different parts as the sound and pace shifts between each one, and is an outstanding way to bring the record to a close in preparation for the next instalment.

Its been a long wait for the third chapter of Angus McFife’s tale, and it was well worth the wait. GLORYHAMMER have gone from strength to strength in such a short space of time over recent years, and Legends From Beyond The Galactic Terrorvortex has got to be their best record to date and no doubt will really set them up for even bigger things to come.

Rating: 9/10

Legends From Beyond The Galactic Terrorvortex is set for release May 31st via Napalm Records. 

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