History Music / Gloryhammer

Gloryhammer are an AffectionateParody of PowerMetal, led by the vocalist of Music/{{Alestorm}}, Chris Bowes. In this band, he originally played the keyboards and the voice of evil sorcerer Zargothrax[[note]]until he stepped down to keep his commitments to Alestorm from interfering with Gloryhammer[[/note]]. They decided to do the usual HeavyMithril PowerMetal fare, but set it in UsefulNotes/{{Scotland}} so they didn't have to make up place names. The first two albums, ''Tales from the Kingdom of Fife'' and ''Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards'' have been concept albums, with the second one being the first one JustForFun/RecycledInSpace. The third album, ''Legends from Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex'', is a direct sequel to the second that takes place in an alternate universe. The fourth album, ''Return to the Kingdom of Fife'', takes place in ''another'' alternate universe where the Kingdom of Fife has been destroyed and has become a nuclear wasteland.

* DoomedHometown: The story starts off with Zargothrax destroying Dundee, causing Angus to swear vengeance against him and motivating him to quest for the Hammer of Glory.

* DropTheHammer: ''Tales From the Kingdom of Fife'' had the Hammer of Glory. ''Space 1992'' goes on to explain how it is also called "The Astral Hammer", luckily hidden on Earth by the Starlords, and then found and wielded by Angus [=McFife=], and passed down to his descendants, until Angus [=McFife=] XIII wields it on the moon in "Legend of the Astral Hammer", from that song:
-->Wielding this ancestral weapon\\
The Hammer of Glory its name\\
The Kingdom of Fife will forever proclaim! [''sic'']

* NoSell: In "The Siege of Dunkeld," the Hammer of Glory has no effect on the villain of the day because its magic doesn't work in another dimension.

** Zargothrax imprisoned Princess Iona MacDougal in ice upon making off with her in Dundee. Angus rescues her.

* HarmlessFreezing: Zargothrax is imprisoned in ice for ten centuries and is no worse for wear when he's eventually freed by cultists. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], as Zargothrax is immortal.

* RapePillageAndBurn: What Zargothrax does to Dundee. He also carts off a beautiful princess.

* RobotOrSpacemanAlterEgo: The band have fantasy alter-egos in ''Tales From the Kingdom of Fife''. Played straight in the second where Prince Angus'descendant is saving the galaxy.

* ChewingTheScenery: When characters speak within songs, each of them use an exaggerated throaty growl and very emphatic pronunciation. Most often this is Zargothrax, Proletius speaks a few times, and the Hootsman gets one epic pre-asskicking speech in In The Fires Of Ancient Cosmic Destiny.

** The battle over the skies of Mars depicted in ''Apocalypse 1992'' goes completely in favor of the bad guys. The Astral Dwarves of Aberdeen, the Space Knights of Crail, and the Unicorn Lords of Inverness are all wiped out with little effort, leaving only Angus [=McFife=] XIII and the Hootsman. And then the Hootsman makes his HeroicSacrifice.

** In a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzETHnOr4oA&lc=Ugz39URbk0p4HraCv-V4AaABAg.9qSstyzYzf39qTS36u7wYR YouTube comment], Ben Turk mentions there were fifteen submarines because "for some reason the video people thought 15 looked better".

** "Keeper of the Celestial Flame of Abernethy" from ''Return to the Kingdom of Fife'' is about Zargothrax's humble origins as a basket weaver and his descent into a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against Dundax for destroying his home.

** "Maleficus Geminus" also goes entirely in favor of the bad guys. Zargothrax's clone, wielding the Vorpal Laserblaster of Pittenweem, kills everything that stands between him and the containment zone where the original Zargothrax is imprisoned in liquid ice. [[spoiler: Then the [[DiabolusExMachina Starlords of Eternity]] arrive and deliver one of their own by eradicating all life on earth (except Angus).]]

** "Maleficus Geminus" also goes entirely in favor of the bad guys. Zargothrax's clone, wielding the Vorpal Laserblaster of Pittenweem, kills everything that stands between him and the containment zone where the original Zargothrax is imprisoned in liquid ice.

** ''Return to the Kingdom of Fife'' also starts out with the Knights of Crail being killed by Zargothrax Clone Alpha 1, when he nukes Dundee.

** ''Return to the Kingdom of Fife'' is literally set in a nuclear wasteland caused by Zargothrax' clone nuking Dundee at the beginning of the album. In fact, aside from "Incoming Transmission", ''nearly'' every single track on "Return to the Kingdom of Fife" includes at least one use of the word "nuclear". [[spoiler:Exceptions being "Brothers of Crail" and "Keeper of the Celestial Flame of Abernethy".]]

* NeglectfulPrecursors: The Starlords. They left three legendary artifacts - the Hammer of Glory, the Knife of Evil, and the Vorpal Laserblaster of Pittenweem - lying around in Scotland along with other [[AttackDrone assorted]] [[AmuletOfConcentratedAwesome artifacts]], and did nothing to stop Zargothrax ''or'' Angus from collecting them. Nor, apparently, did they think unleashing an elder demon or a cyborg destroying Earth was worthy of their attention. [[spoiler:They finally did show up in the climax of the fourth album, only to wipe out everyone but Angus for "meddling with the three artifacts of power."]]

** The fourth album is literally set in a nuclear wasteland caused by Zargothrax' clone nuking Dundee at the beginning of the album. In fact, aside from "Incoming Transmission", ''nearly'' every single track on "Return to the Kingdom of Fife" includes at least one use of the word "nuclear". [[spoiler:Exceptions being "Brothers of Crail" and "Keeper of the Celestial Flame of Abernethy".]]

* WorfEffect: In ''Tales From The Kingdom of Fife'' the Knights of Crail are hailed as an invincible army that has "never lost a fight", and they prove their worth in the battle against Zargothrax. In the following album, ''Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards'', they're utterly crushed by the eponymous chaos wizards.

** The fourth album also starts out with the Knights of Crail being killed by Zargothrax Clone Alpha 1, when he nukes Dundee.

** The fourth album is literally set in a nuclear wasteland caused by Zargothrax' clone nuking Dundee at the beginning of the album. In fact, aside from "Incoming Transmission", ''every single track on "Return to the Kingdom of Fife" includes at least one use of the word "nuclear"''.

* LargeHam: All of the characters can be considered this.

** Zargothrax actually wins ''twice'' on ''Return to the Kingdom of Fife''. First, at the end of the track "Holy Flaming Hammer of Unholy Cosmic Frost", his nuclear clone, Zargothrax Clone Alpha One, blows himself up (and somehow survives), destroying Dundee and killing Angus McFife and the Knights of Crail in the process. And later, on "Vorpal Laserblaster of Pittenweem", when Angus, Proletius, Hootsman and Ralathor reach the mighty citadel of Strathclyde, where the vorpal laserblaster is said to be hidden, they find out that their quest was in vain because Zargothrax already has the laserblaster.

* BreakingOutTheBoss: In "Rise of the Chaos Wizards", the Chaos Wizards manage to free Zargothrax from his frozen prison.

** "Maleficus Geminus" also goes entirely in favor of the bad guys. Zargothrax' clone, wielding the vorpal lasterblaster of Pittenweem, kills everything that stands between him and the containment zone where the original Zargothrax is imprisoned in liquid ice.

* DePower: In ''Legends From Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex'', Angus [=McFife=] XIII's Hammer of Glory is unable to tap into the powers of the universe in the alternate timeline (possibly due to Zargothrax's interference) and is unable to harm the evil sorcerer. Part of Angus's quest is to restore the Hammer of Glory's power, as detailed in the song "Gloryhammer".

** "Maleficus Geminus" ends with the Starlords of Eternity eradicating Earth because Angus and Zargothrax are treating their Artifacts of Power as if they were mere playthings. Only Angus is spared.
* EternalHero: Both Ralathor and Hootsman are apparently immortal. Hootsman is explicitly mentioned as being immortal, though it's not explained if he became thus before or after he became [[{{Cyborg}} a cyborg powered by a Neutron Star]]. No explanation is given for Ralathor, aside from his being a "Mysterious Hermit". Ralathor even manages to somehow turn up in the AlternateUniverse, and it's explicitly stated it's the same Ralathor from the first two albums rather than an alternate universe counterpart. When Angus asks him how he managed to come to the alternate reality, Ralathor dodges the question.

* PostModernMagic: ''Legends From Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex'' has a song that features an enchanted JetPack as one of the PlotCoupons required to defeat Zargothrax.

** The "Anti-Telharsic" power that the Knife of Evil uses to corrupt people with, and which fuels Zargothrax Clone Alpha One, is named after a BBC America show called ''Look Around You'', which posits that "Maths" is an Acronym for "Mathematical Anti-Telharsic Harfatum Septomin". The words "Harfatum" and "Septomin" are also chanted during the intro to "Maleficus Geminus (Colossus Matrix 38B - Ultimate Invocation of the Binary Thaumaturge)".

* TheEndOrIsIt: The final song of ''Legends From Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex'' concludes the saga of Angus [=McFife=] and ends with Zargothrax defeated once and for all. However, at the end of the song, a cryptic message in Morse code is transmitted from an unknown entity across time to the year 1022. [[spoiler: Translated, the message reads "Activate Zargothrax Clone Alpha 1".]]

** The fourth album also starts out with the Knights of Crail being killed by Zargothrax Clone Alpha One, when he nukes Dundee.

** The fourth album is literally set in a nuclear wasteland caused by Zargothrax' clone nuking Dundee at the beginning of the album.