GIG REVIEW: Eternal Champion @ New Cross Inn (London, UK)

Much like with the recent Midnight show, Eternal Champion were supposed to play Manorfest but sadly it fell through. A U.K siege has been salvaged with them embarking on a tour, stopping at the capital for a special show alongside some Hardcore alumni. Said Hardcore bands are: Big Cheese, Pest Control (well, they were more a crossover Thrash Metal band) and Stingray. While for the sake of keeping this a purely Heavy Metal website, I shall not be dissecting their sets, I encourage everyone to support these guys if you are fans of the more Punk side of musical extremity and check out any shows they do in your area! All 3 summoned anarchy and carnage impressively for such an early show, with a good turnout from the doors opening.

Now let us talk Heavy Metal! The instrumental warriors took to the stage one by one, followed by a chainmail hooded frontman and launching right into an onslaught of melodic and powerful metallic fury. The aggressive atmosphere of hardcore pits and yelling still lingered which gave the show an odd vibe, however certainly not altering the quality of Eternal Champion‘s set who twisted the punky anger into battle-calls for fist-pumping, headbanging and even some mosh action. Playing through the most solid cuts of both records (which could’ve been every song they’d written, but alas it wasn’t a long enough set). Anthemic magic took place with killer tracks like “The Armour Of Ire” and “I Am The Hammer” while the more majestic likes of “Ravening Iron” blasted us with pure old school Heavy Metal excellence. The entirety of their set was very much led by the charisma of vocalist Jason while the entire band were well-rehearsed, allowing the galloping rhythm sections and face-melting lead guitars to seamlessly backdrop and entwine with the soaring vocal delivery. Though their set only lasted about 45 minutes, every second was packed with action and musical brilliance that transported the whole crowd to a land of swords, sorcery and Metal. Of the newer traditional Heavy Metal bands, there is good reason Eternal Champion are at the foreground, both on record and live they have proved their worth in delivering pure steel.