Let the conquest begin!
Power metal seems to come along in two distinct varieties; either incredibly serious, telling intricate stories of dynamic battles and enchanting lands, or power metal presented almost as a parody of itself. Conquest of Steel are experts in the second category, preferring to have a chanting crowd and a good time on stage than paint a picture of dragons and knights. That's what makes a Conquest of Steel show so refreshing. This is still power metal; the chords and the strong, clean vocals are still there, but instead of having people trying to nod along to harpsichord solos, or try to take a story about a frog princess seriously, you've got a crowd who are either chanting along simple yet enjoyable choruses or wondering what ridiculous stunt the front man would pull next.
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His antics provided yet more entertainment. We had fake blood sucked out of a skull and spat over the audience. We had more axes and swords than the Vikings ever did, and we had a sceptre of skulls raised to the heavens at least once.
Stage antic aside, the songs themselves are nothing new. There's no mind-bending guitar solos and the music is kept simple. But it's that way because if there were any complex dynamics, the chant-a-long element would suffer, and that's the whole point of a Conquest of Steel show, right?
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The Darwin Suite hosts some absolutely dire sound – at one point during the set it was like everything bar the bass and the drums had been turned off. Regardless, the band battled on and delivered delightful tracks such as their own "Fisting in the name of metal", interspersed with leather classics presented in a more bizarre way.
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It's hard to fault Conquest of Steel's live show. They're just a clever parody of the metal classics, but it really works. Being UK based, a lot of the crowd had seen them before, but on a bigger stage the set only became all the more humorous. Virtuoso musicians maybe not, but a damn good laugh.
To view all photos taken during this set click here. There are 10 available.