Alestorm brought the Tour Of The Dead Marauder to the Midway Music Hall, Edmonton, AB on April 5th, 2024. Alestorm on this tour brought amazing acts to open for them including Glyph and Elvenking. All the acts on this tour across the USA and Canada complement each other, it is no wonder why the cities that have been slated are selling out and Edmonton, AB was no different with a sold-out crowd! I think this is one of the first times ever I have walked into a place with a show and seen it at capacity which always means you’re in for one hell of a show!
Glyph
Glyph was the first band to start out the night. Having never heard of them before was unsure what to expect from them and to say the least, it blew my mind. Being a newer band starting out in 2023 they played like they are veterans and have been around forever. R.A.Voltaire (Vocals), Rob Steinway (Guitars), Darin Wall (Bass), and Jeff Black (Keyboards). They had a short 30-minute set but guaranteed they left everything on the stage. R.A. Voltaire being from Alberta, Canada brought down the house when he said he couldn’t believe he was with this amazing band. R.A. Voltaire paced, and roamed the stage with a persona that seemed out of this world, Rob Steinway seemed like a shredder from out of the galaxy, Darin Wall‘s bass skills were from another planet, and Jeff Black well playing keys was stellar, which fits the bands image to be an intergalactic power metal band. Glyph hit the Edmonton, AB crowd with everything they had in their arsenal. They played 6 songs from their debut album Honor, Power, Glory.
Glyph Setlist:
Honor, Power, Glory
A Storm of Crimson Fire
March of the Northern Clan
When the World Was Young
Defy the Night
Volaråd
Elvenking
Elvenking took the stage after a quick stage changeover. Elvenking set was about 45 minutes, and they tore through their catalogue. Again another band I had never seen or heard of before and they were exceptional. Elvenking started in 1997-2000 and released the first album in 2001 they have continued to put out albums since then with the latest in 2023 Reader Of The Runes-Rapture. Elvenking is a band created and comes from Sacile, Italy and intended on creating music with a fusion of folk music and power metal which they have done flawlessly.
Elvenking current lineup members: Davide “Damnagoras” Moras (Vocals), Federico “Aydan” Baston (Guitars), Mattia “Headmatt” Carli (Guitars), Alessandro “Jakob” Jacobi (Bass), Simone “Symohn” Morettin (Drums), and Fabio “Lethien” Polo (Violin). Davide Moras‘s vocal duties are, to say the least amazing, he can hit the highest of notes to the lowest notes and struts across the stage like some kind of folklore god. Fredrico Baston and Mattia Carli share guitar duties on the stage and you lose yourself trying to watch these guys play as both are amazing and both bring a different element to the stage. Simone Morettin on the drums brings up the beat for this band and that can not be an easy task as the band’s songs are fast-paced. Yet Simone Morettin seems to complete the task without missing a beat.
Elvenking Setlist:
Rapture
The Hanging Tree
Draugen’s Maelstrom
Pagan Revolution
Silverseal
Moonbeam Stone Circle
To Oak Woods Bestowed
Pagan Purity
Bride of Night
The One We Shall Follow
The Wanderer
The Divided Heart
Elvenlegions
She Lives at Dawn
Alestorm
Alestorm took the stage after again another quick stage change, with also the inflating of a large rubber duck! You may say “What The Duck?” But during the inflating of the duck, the crowd was cheering and going crazy seeing this larger-than-life rubber duck being inflated. First time hearing and seeing Alestorm live it was one of the best shows seen. The band is there to party and that’s what they did bringing the Edmonton, AB crowd along with them. Alestorm is another band that has created a cliché of their own pirate music with heavy metal and somehow it all works together all too well. The current lineup of Alestorm is Christopher Bowes (Lead vocals and Keytar), Gareth Murdock (Bass), Peter Alcorn (Drums), Elliot Vernon (Keyboards), and Máté Bodor (Guitars). Alestorm came together as Battleheart in 2004 and now is under the moniker of Alestorm they signed with Napalm Records in 2007 for their very first release Captain Morgan’s Revenge.
Alestorm powered through their catalogue starting from 2007 and kept their foot on the throttle. They kept the Edmonton, AB crowd bouncing, sweating and dancing the night away. Alestorm has brought the pirate party to the Midway Music Hall and it was quite the party, the band on stage looking to drink like dirty pirates but also the crowd partaking in beer, rum or whatever quenched their thirst. The band was firing on all cylinders and had the crowd eating out of their sweaty hands. All the members were there to show Edmonton, AB a good time and that is what they did. The crowd surfing started prior to the band hit the stage and continued throughout the night. At some parts of the night, you would see odds and ends of clothing being tossed towards the stage. This was a night to feel like a pirate and that’s what the band intended. The songs are geared towards swashbuckling good ole pirate party songs. Alestorm even during their set took it upon themselves to treat the Alberta crowd to a cover of Captain Tractor’s “Last Saskatchewan Pirate”. This band knows how to keep the drinks flowing and the party going on….
Alestorm Setlist:
Keelhauled
No Grave but the Sea
The Sunk’n Norwegian
Alestorm
Under Blackened Banner
Hangover (Taio Cruz cover)
The Last Saskatchewan Pirate
Wenches & Mead (Following the first chorus,… more )
Magellan’s Expedition
Mexico
Voyage of the Dead Marauder (With: Barbara Blackthorne)
Big Ship Little Ship
Nancy the Tavern Wench
Rumpelkombo
P.A.R.T.Y.
1741 (The Battle of Cartagena)
Shit Boat (No Fans)
Encore:
Drink
Zombies Ate My Pirate Ship (With: Barbara Blackthorne)
Fucked With an Anchor
