It’s a packed house at KK’s Steel Mill tonight, and there is definitely a buzz of expectation around the room as the lights dim and The Almighty roar onto the stage with all of the energy and enthusiasm they displayed back in the day. And of course what makes these shows even more special is that this is not a case of some sort of remnants of the band going out as The Almighty; this is the four guys that started the whole thing off back in Glasgow in 1988, namely Ricky Warwick, Floyd London, Stump Monroe and Tantrum. With Ricky being so busy with both Black Star Riders and his solo career, it seemed unlikely he would be able to find time for The Almighty. Thankfully, a balance has been reached where the band are playing a trio of shows at the end of every year (December 2025 has already been confirmed), and with the occasional festival appearance scheduled in the summer.
The opening salvo of ‘Crucify’, ‘Destroyed’ and ‘Do you Understand’ laid down the blueprint for much of what followed across the next couple of hours, namely rabble-rousing, impactful and forceful hard rock. Aside from ‘Do you Understand’, the set was pretty much evenly spread across the first four albums, that’s Blood, Fire & Love, Soul Destruction, Powertrippin’ and Crank. Built on the foundations of the thunderous rhythm section provided by Stump and Floyd, and with Ricky now surely elevated to the level of Rock Royalty, this was about proving that while the albums have held up well, it was in the live arena where The Almighty truly thrived. And although Tantrum moved on after the first two albums, he showed no signs of ring-rustiness and was clearly having a tremendous time being back on stage with the band after thirty-odd years.
The audience reaction was typically rabid for the likes of ‘Little Lost Sometimes’, ‘Power’ and ‘Over the Edge’, and even the less celebrated number such as mid-tempo stomper ‘Praying to the Red Light’ and acoustic led ‘Bandaged Knees’ received a huge response. Notably, the fact the band could play more than twenty songs and still not find room for ‘Resurrection Mutha’ or ‘Full Force Lovin Machine’ only served to demonstrate the strength in depth of the Almighty back catalogue. A scorching ‘Wild & Wonderful’ closed out the main set before they returned to encore with a poignant ‘Jesus Loves You…But I Don’t’ and the teeth-rattling, bone-crunching ‘Free ‘n’ Easy’.
With a headline slot at Stonedead announced for next year and another weekend of Three N’ Easy shows already confirmed, The Almighty are most definitely back in business. There is no doubt that they put on a thrilling live show, and this is an opportunity not just for those of us who witnessed them first time around but also the current generation of hard rock fans can get to see what all the fuss was about. This was a night when all were enthralled by the all-powerful, all-conquering, Almighty.
Set list: –
Crucify
Destroyed
Do You Understand
Wrench
Ultraviolent
Addiction
Gift Horse
Praying to the Red Light
Little Lost Sometimes
Crank and Deceit
Way Beyond Belief
Jonestown Mind
Power
Takin’ Hold
Bandaged Knees
The Unreal Thing
Devil’s Toy
Over the Edge
Wild & Wonderful
Encore: –
Jesus Loves You…But I Don’t
Free ‘n’ Easy
