We won't be sitting idle in the new year either, and we want to visit as many concerts and festivals as possible and bring you reports from events that you may not have been able to attend. The first one for me was a stop of Witches & Kings tour on Sunday 11.1.2026 in Masters of Rock Café in Zlín. As the name of the tour suggests, a total of two bands performed, Hammer King from Germany and Burning Witches from Switzerland
The first group to perform was the German band Hammer King, who have been around for over 10 years but haven't really made it big in our country yet. I hope this opportunity will help them gain more fans. They set out on tour not only with their new album "Make Metal Royal Again," but also with a new five-member lineup. Frontman Titan Fox V. put his guitar aside and can now focus much more on singing and interacting with the audience. The lineup Gino Wilde, Günt von Schratenau and Count Shandorian is completed by a young replacement guitarist Marex van Ferum. Z nového alba zahráli nakonec celkem tři skladby, dva singly hned na úvod a pak ještě „Hoheitsgebiet“ ke konci pro vyplnění času. Setlist byl doplněn také o starší skladby jako „König und Kaiser“, „Pariah is My Name“ nebo „Awaken The Thunder“, ale také „Kingdom of the Hammer King“ z jejich úplně prvního vydaného alba, které oslavilo 10 let. Jejich vystoupení jsem viděla již několikrát, ale stále mě dokáží překvapit a hlavně také potěšit svou muzikou a celkovou show.
The highlight of the evening was the Swiss women Burning Witches, who arrived not only with their new album "Inquisition." During their set, they took us on a journey through almost their entire discography. In addition to their latest songs, of which I was most impressed by "Release Me," which seemed more different from the others, they played something from each album, including the closing "Wings of Steel," "We Stand As One," and of course "Burning Witches." However, I must say that I was not very impressed with the performance overall. After a while, the songs became quite similar, with a few exceptions, and the female vocals were too shrill for my taste. I understand that it is mainly male audiences who go to see them, but probably not entirely because of their musical talent.
I know my opinions are very biased, but I've known Hammer King for several years and I really enjoy seeing them live, and this evening was no exception. I'm glad they finally got the opportunity to tour other European countries, and I'm looking forward to seeing them in the summer at Masters of Rock.
Thank you all for a pleasant evening, and we look forward to seeing you again sometime, whether in Zlín, Brno, Prague, or other cities.
Photos by Vasilis Tiropolishttps://www.xp-spot.com/index.php/gallery)
Report by Kerry Lynx