By Jase Walker
I genuinely never thought I’d ever get to see Miracle Of Sound live. Gavin Dunne has said more than a few times he never seemed keen on the idea of playing live and touring it but evidently this has changed more recently and here we are. Gavin under the moniker of Miracle Of Sound has produced a ton of fantastic music based on lore, motifs and themes of many video games that I’m a huge fan of and I finally get to hear it done live.
It’s a rare treat that I get to experience music that’s mashed together with video games so closely but tonight I get to get my ears and eyes around Miracle Of Sound as a live show. As for the support act of Colm R. McGuiness, it’s a name I’m not familiar with but I never miss a support act if I can help it!
Colm takes the stage, awkwardly strums a random chord before dashing off and back on stage to some confused cheering. A solo man with an acoustic guitar but getting a good thump going with what looks to be an electric stomp box that helps drive the distinctly Irish folk style. The man clearly knows his audience by immediately making lots of quips and likening the audience to an Xbox 360 lobby which is highly specific yet very relatable.
This guy legitimately represents the stereotype of a charismatic and silver-tongued Irish man and manages to get everyone on side to sing along to a sea shanty right from the start. Using crowd cheering to cover for the brief moment where he needs to tune the guitar or, err… hydrate, is bloody hilarious too.
The change in styles from song to song is fantastic too: Irish folk, sea shanties, blues, it all goes so well together and this is a real surprise of fantastic music. I’ve just noticed the lighting at one point has switched to the colours of the Irish flag as well! A brief dip into ‘My Heart Will Go On’ sung in the style of.. Scott Stapp? After a bit of back and forth banter with the audience and remarking that he wasn’t quite expecting such beer related banter in Europe compared to England. A sudden stop during a song as someone brings him a beer, which he then goes onto chug on stage with the audience cheering and then picks the song back up exactly where he left off! What an absolute champ. Legitimately super fun, entertaining, witty, and charming. Colm has been a real treat that I spent a lot of his set laughing at his quips and jokes as well as really vibing to the music. Great start.
Using the ‘Skyrim’ theme as pre-walk on music is so incredibly nerdy and I bloody love it, absolute chills! Gavin jumps on stage and they kick off the set with ‘Take It Back’ and leading with some ‘Mass Effect’, we’ve fully shifted gears into a full on metal performance and all of the headbang worthy goodness.
I’m already standing here grinning like a complete idiot, metal stuff that leans into really nerdy things is one of my favourite things in the world. As an oddly special coincidence, ‘The Witcher 3’ is ten years old as of today which makes the next song, ‘Wake The White Wolf’ that bit more special and the crowd is clearly pleased about that considering the volume of screaming! One thing that’s very interesting about the approach used for each song is how it distills the genre and theme of the game it’s based on and uses that to influence the style. This is shown again with ‘Ode To Fury’ based on the newer ‘God Of War’ games and brings in the big epic drums and grand musical style of the Midgard-based arc.
Colm McGuiness rejoins the stage, except armed with a violin this time, and the crowd chants from his set return as Gavin takes a moment for some water. It’s time for a song partially in their native Irish tongue, ‘Sirona’, which really leans into the super traditional Irish folk sound while still keeping it solidly metal, a truly epic banger! The Irish flag lighting is back again too! And not just that, possibly one of the most active crowds for jumping around I’ve seen in a long time! And what would a gaming metal show be without referencing ‘DOOM’ at least once eh? ‘Hell To Pay’ mashes up both old ‘DOOM’ and the more recent riffy style of Mick Gordon while Gavin changes to a much more aggressive vocal style, this is exactly what you need blasting in your ears while you turn demons into paste!
Switching things up a bit, Gavin wants to show that this isn’t just about him anymore and takes a small break while the others in the band take lead on vocals for that ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ number, ‘Whatever Comes Our Way’. Switching the genres up again, this feels much closer to something you’d hear from Delain, Sirenia, Epica, all that lovely symphonic stuff. As I watch Gavin steadily make his way across the stage during ‘Sovngarde Song’, shaking people’s hands and I can see it in his face how much he’s enjoying doing this, absolutely beaming as he does it.
Colm returns for ‘Beneath The Black Flag’ and immediately the chants return, just as well for a song about pirates eh? The crowd tonight has been absolutely unreal for how enthusiastic they’ve joined in with literally anything, the vibe from them is truly fantastic and has helped take this show to an entirely new level!
As we draw to a close, it’s like everyone here was waiting exclusively for ‘Valhalla Calling’, if you don’t know Miracle Of Sound, there’s a pretty damn good chance you’ll have heard this song at least once. And finally, ‘All As One’, takes us to ‘Dragon Age’ to finish off the set and what an amazing evening this show has been. A real special one that’s been a mix of great music, belly laughs and a real feeling of being part of an experience that you don’t get at a lot of shows.
Brilliantly nerdy, but also really ‘banging metal.