Live Review: Grimgotts at Cart & Horses, London – Retribution Alive (03/10/26)

Celebrating ten years of existence, the London based power metal band, Grimgotts brought their epic and anthemic sound to the iconic Cart & Horses in Stratford as part of Retribution Alive.

About bloody time, eh? I’ve been a fan of Grimgotts for some time and have covered many of their releases (all the way back to Dragons of the Ages in 2019) over the years. The two albums, Tales, Sagas, & Legends and The Time of the Wolfrider, are still on regular rotation today. Yet, somehow, I had gotten this far without seeing them play live.

I am glad to have finally remedied that, even if I could have done with a bit more Grimgotts to leave me more satisfied.

When you have a back catalogue as big and strong as theirs, it is inevitable that some personal favourites will fall by the wayside. Sure, I would have loved to have heard the likes of Sagas, Lord of the Battle, Ride the Storm, and Grimgotts Calling, but how can I complain when the group trawl their catalogue so extensively as they did here? It was a rich and rewarding trip through Grimgott’s history with vocalist Andy Barton as our guide. A truly underrated vocalist, not just in the power metal scene either.

It’s not the wildest night in the history of The Cart & Horses, but Grimgotts’ chemistry wins over a sizeable chunk of the crowd, and a section are more than willing to dance when shanties like Down the Hatch come along. As well as sing along loudly to the likes of Ancient Voices, For the Power, and Go West. Yes, Grimgotts did play their cover of the Village People classic and it was awesome.

I had a blast and am already counting the days until I can see them again. Congratulations on ten years of existence Grimgotts, here’s to the next ten!