Beast In Black and Gloryhammer bring the power-metal double bill to Empire Live, March 21

The Finnish heavy-metal disco machine headlines Albany on a Sunday night next spring, with Gloryhammer along for the ride.

Somewhere in the Capital Region there's a battle vest that hasn't been out of the closet since the last big metal tour came through. It has until March. Beast In Black plays Empire Live in Albany on Sunday, March 21, 2027, with Gloryhammer in support. Showtime is 8pm, and tickets are through Ticketmaster.

The date was announced Oct 27 as part of a February-and-March North American headline run. Blabbermouth's report had the tour opening Feb 11 in Charlotte and Feb 12 in Atlanta, with presales on Oct 29 and the general on-sale Oct 30, so tickets have been moving for a couple of weeks already. The Albany stop lands late in the run: Visit Pittsburgh lists the two bands in Pittsburgh the night before, on March 20.

If you don't know Beast In Black, the short version is that they're a Helsinki band led by Anton Kabanen, the former Battle Beast guitarist, as Blabbermouth puts it in its tour announcement. The longer version is that they make power metal with one foot planted on the dance floor: big synths, huge choruses, and a singer who can hit notes that make the front row wince with joy. It's music that takes itself seriously enough to be great and not so seriously that you can't grin through the whole set.

Gloryhammer are the right partner for that. The two bands have shared bills before, including a European double-headline run their label Nuclear Blast billed as Glory And The Beast. Gloryhammer have also come through North America as headliners in their own right, as Metal Temple reported when they announced a run with Aether Realm. Put the two together and you get a night that's heavy on costumes, melody and singalongs, and light on irony.

Power metal with one foot planted on the dance floor.

Empire Live is a smart room for it. At about 1,000 capacity, it's big enough for a production with lights and smoke but small enough that a sold-out floor actually feels sold out, which is what this kind of show runs on. For a lot of Capital Region metal fans, a tour like this usually means a drive to the city or to Boston. Having it downtown on a Sunday, with a reasonable night home afterward, is a gift.

A Sunday show does change the planning, though. An 8pm start with a support act means the headliners won't be done early, so if you're coming from Saratoga, Schenectady or the Berkshires, budget for a late drive and a slow Monday.

The other thing to know is that a 1,000-cap room on a two-band European power-metal tour is not a lot of tickets. Beast In Black and Gloryhammer have each built loyal followings, and fans of one tend to be fans of the other. Waiting until March is a risk.

So dust off the vest, find the keyboard-warrior friend who's been telling you to listen to "the disco metal band," and get the tickets now. Come March 21, Empire Live is going to be loud, ridiculous and a lot of fun.

Sources: BEAST IN BLACK Announces February/March 2027 North American Tour With GLORYHAMMER (Blabbermouth) (blabbermouth.net); Beast In Black with Gloryhammer, March 20, 2027 (Visit Pittsburgh) (visitpittsburgh.com); Beast in Black announce Glory And The Beast double headline tour (Nuclear Blast) (nuclearblast.com); GLORYHAMMER announces North American headline tour dates with AETHER REALM (Metal Temple) (metal-temple.com); Beast In Black tickets (Ticketmaster) (ticketmaster.evyy.net); JamBase listing (jambase.com)