Ankhara
Thirty years in the game, a wall of guitars and absolutely no intention of playing second fiddle. Ankhara brought Spanish metal muscle to Valencia and set the scene for a night of heavyweight power metal.
There is something deeply satisfying about watching a band with three decades of history refuse to fade quietly into the background. Ankhara have spent 30 years carving out their place in Spanish heavy metal, and their appearance at Roig Arena on Sunday night was a timely reminder that this Madrid outfit has plenty of fight left in the tank. Invited to open for German power-metal veterans Primal Fear, they faced the familiar challenge of the support slot: grab the audience, make an impression and ensure nobody treats the first band as merely the musical furniture before the headliners arrive. Ankhara had every reason to relish the opportunity.
Formed in Madrid in the mid-1990s, Ankhara belong to a generation that helped establish a distinctive Spanish identity within the wider European heavy-metal scene. Their sound draws on the muscular foundations of traditional heavy metal, the speed and precision of power metal, and the kind of melodic hooks that stay lodged in your head long after the amplifiers have cooled. This is music built on big riffs, soaring vocals and the belief that a great metal song should hit hard without sacrificing its melody. Three decades on, that formula remains a formidable weapon.
Roig Arena was the perfect setting for an evening celebrating the enduring appeal of heavy metal, with Ankhara providing the Spanish steel before Primal Fear delivered their own German-engineered assault. The pairing made musical sense, bringing together two bands whose approaches share a love of precision guitar work, powerful choruses and the grand, fist-clenching drama that makes this corner of the metal universe so gloriously unapologetic. There is no need to reinvent the wheel when you can make it spin faster, louder and with considerably more distortion.
The occasion carried extra significance for Ankhara, who are celebrating their 30th anniversary with plans for a commemorative album revisiting their legacy through new recordings and collaborations with prominent names from the Spanish metal scene. Rather than simply looking backwards, the anniversary offers an opportunity to reconnect with the songs and spirit that helped define the band, while introducing their history to listeners who may have discovered heavy metal through a completely different generation of artists.
There is also a particularly neat connection between the two bands sharing the bill. Primal Fear frontman Ralf Scheepers previously collaborated with Ankhara on “Tu Verdad”, giving the evening a musical link that goes beyond the usual arrangement of headliner and support act. Metal has always thrived on these connections, with musicians crossing paths, trading ideas and recognising a shared language that stretches across borders. On this occasion, the relationship between the Spanish veterans and their German counterparts added another layer of interest to the bill.
For Ankhara, the significance of playing Roig Arena was about more than the anniversary celebrations. Every opportunity to stand in front of a new audience is a chance to demonstrate that Spanish heavy metal has its own history, character and champions, and that a band does not need to come from Britain, Germany or Scandinavia to deliver the goods. Spain has produced its own generations of metal musicians, fans and underground institutions, and Ankhara remain part of that story.
Thirty years is a serious stretch in any musical career, particularly in a genre that demands stamina, commitment and an almost unreasonable willingness to keep turning up with the volume at eleven. Bands change, trends come and go, and th
e music industry regularly develops a short memory, but heavy metal has always rewarded those who stay the course. Ankhara have done precisely that, carrying their music through changing times and returning to the stage with their legacy firmly in view.
Their appearance at Roig Arena was a welcome reminder that the support slot can be an opportunity rather than a consolation prize. With Primal Fear waiting in the wings, Ankhara had the chance to put Spanish metal front and centre on a bill designed for fans who appreciate their riffs heavy, their melodies mighty and their choruses built for raised fists.
Three decades down the road, Ankhara are still flying the flag. And if Sunday night in Valencia reinforced anything, it is that Spanish heavy metal deserves to be heard at full volume.
Words and photos: Rhyan Paul
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