Today we continue our coverage of the Stormbringer Metal Festival (14/15 July 2023) – featuring Knight and Gallow. The guys can even tell you about two sets they played.
André: Where are you from? And how long did you travel to get to the festival location? Was it your first time there?
Nick: We’re from Sacramento, California. I’m pretty sure we’re the band that traveled the furthest. We flew out from Sac, our flight got delayed, we had to stop in Denver, immediately get on a flight to Boston, then Uber from Boston to Worcester. We have no clue how many hours that took because of the time difference. Personally I’ve been to Boston before, but I’ve never really gotten a chance to see the other beautiful parts of Massachusetts, so green compared to the Sacramento valley.
André: Which bands were your highlights at this year’s Stormbringer festival?
Nick: I liked every band I heard both days but if I had to choose some standouts; Day 1 Sonja stole the show, Throne of Iron was amazing, they are so much more fun in a live setting, I’m looking forward to seeing them again, also Bastard Cröss absolutely ripped. As for day 2, Visigoth was the best band of the whole fest, (not sorry) Savage Master and Traveler are always a blast, and Sanhedrin were fucking awesome.
Calvin: For me the main highlight of Stormbringer was definitely Destructor! Such a cool progenitor of thrash metal to see in the flesh, and one I never thought I’d get the chance to. Best believe I was in every pit their set whipped into existence (one of the few bands at the festival that had a pit).
Keeley: As a fan, seeing Visigoth live was an unforgettable show. A week later and my voice is still recovering. As a performer, one of the biggest highlights was everyone involved putting the show together. There was a full backline for the drums and amps, and it made getting everything setup and playable that much easier.
André: How did you experience your own performance with Knight and Gallow?
Nick: Well Everyone (except our bassist Gibson who couldn’t make it), played in Ryghär right before, so that made sound check very easy. As for the actual performances, playing in Ryghär on bass was a new experience for me, I’ve never played live with a bass in my hands before, so that was fun. But actually hopping back on the mic for the K&G stuff was super awesome, to have people up front singing my lyrics back to me is super surreal.
Calvin: Our own set was a bit of a blur to be honest. We had backed our buddy Robert up as the band for Ryghär right before, and I think we were all so energized from that, that we tore into our own stuff with much more vigor. The crowd had a great energy of their own too and it helped create a great headspace to be in for a performance. A lot of creative “in the moment” ideas came to the forefront of my playing for sure. That kind of feedback moment is really what I live for when I’m playing with a band.
Keeley: It felt really good to play the Ryghär set since it had been so long since I tracked the drums for his album. The crowd was going nuts during that set, everyone throwing fists and head banging to one of Ryghär’s only live shows. On the Gallow side, playing a couple new songs live felt really great and we’re excited to show everyone what we’ve been working on. During the set there was a corner of guys singing along to a bunch of songs which was wild to see on the other side of the country. I’ll also add it was a real challenge playing on that stage, since it was so hot and humid. I nearly passed out at the end of the Gallow set.
André: What do you think of the location? Please also tell us something about the atmosphere.
Nick: The venue itself was very cool. The guy at the door was a huge dick, and some of the upstairs bar people were super rude. But the fans were what made that show super awesome, along with Evgeny the fest‘s promoter. It was super humid and extremely sweaty inside but everyone seemed to be in good spirits.
Calvin: The atmosphere of Ralph’s was kind of like that bar level from Guitar Hero III. You know the one where you play “Mississippi Queen”. Stuff hanging off the walls and the sides of the stage, yeah that was definitely it.
Keeley: It was pretty hot inside the venue, but it wasn’t incredibly hot outside, just really humid. The venue gave off a pirate ship kind of look, tons of things hanging on the walls, neon signs, fake palm trees, it was really cool.
André: Which bands would you like to see next year?
Nick: Eternal Champion, Crypt Sermon, and/or Sumerlands.
Calvin: In the future I’d love to see more bands from the west coast make the trip out to Massachusetts. There’s a lot of great new and old heavy metal bands alike from our state of California alone. Bands like Hellfire, Haunt, Nite, Blind Illusion and many many more, too many to name ‘em all.
Keeley: I would love to see Fer de Lance, Morgul Blade or Haunt.