LIVE FROM THE PIT: Burning Witches and Hammer King

Not often The Dome in London is overtaken by Kings and Witches, but when the Swiss powerhouse is on the bill, everything is possible. Bringing with them their latest offering Inquisition, the night promised a great deal of head-banging, as well as singing.

HAMMER KING, the power metal royalty from Germany, opened the night in a pompous manner with an enthusiastic crowd and loads of steam. Assembled in 2015 and celebrating their anniversary, the four-piece already made many promising offerings to their supporters, the latest being a full-length album Make Metal Royal Again, as well as a remaster of their first ever release Kingdom Of The Hammer King, that were both presented to the kingdom last year.

The band’s uplifting energy that emanated from every move and beat, as well as engaging theatrics, made the performance fun both for the audience and the members, and while the atmosphere was predominantly about enjoyment, the band did stop and talked about the importance of the metal community and the acceptance of everyone with no judgement, expressing gratitude to every single fan who was present in the venue, as well as fans, who listen to their music at home. Making the venue move and sing almost instantly, HAMMER KING achieved exactly what support bands should - make the crowd ready and excited for the headline band. Coupled with a few lucky fans, who were able to obtain a plastic token with the band’s name and logo on it, it was a set that could have easily been dubbed as a co-headline.

One change-over later, The Dome was finally ready to welcome the BURNING WITCHES. With a big applause and even bigger cheers, the members ROMANA KALKUHL (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), JEANINE GROB (bass), LALA FRISCHKNECHT (drums, backing vocals), LAURA GULDEMOND (lead vocals) and COURTNEY COX (lead guitar, backing vocals) walked onto the stage one by one, to start the set with one of the songs from their latest album Inquisition, the powerful Soul Eater. From there, the five-piece only turned more restless, as the energy was picking up at a fast pace with each song. Only three songs in, GULDEMOND put on a Devil mask, to perform yet another one of fan-favourite songs - Dance with the Devil.

From there, the presence on the stage was unstoppable, as if all the witches of the past talked through the all-femme band. Using props throughout some of their songs such as masks or even a beheaded head, as well as jumping into the crowd for a duration of one, BURNING WITCHES very quickly bewitched every single fan in the room and proved to them why they are one of the leading bands of the heavy metal scene. As the ritual was coming closer to its end after intense fifteen songs, the crowd was not ready to let the Swiss five-piece go, but eventually bid them a big farewell with cheer and applause, showing them that the capital is already ready for another show.

The Swiss powerhouse BURNING WITCHES had many members throughout their ten years on the scene, but it is evident that this lineup is one of the strongest the band has ever seen. From screeching vocals, to enchanting riffs, the band always surprises with new ways to utilise their potential, and it is to no surprise that after only ten years, they are a staple of the modern heavy metal scene.

Words: Katerina Stepanikova

Photos: Claire Cabanac