At what point does a devoted fanbase transform into a mythological cult? Looking around at the sheer number of pointy hats in Birmingham’s Asylum on Friday night, it was honestly hard to say. Stoner rock fans a-plenty had come out to see Antwerp’s Gnome, drawn by the promise of an onslaught of crushing riffs, progressive soundscapes and mischievous antics. Rutgar Verbist’s callout of “are you ready for some more nonsense?” was both hilarious, and unwarranted— the three-piece had the venue in a frenzy, delivering a show as technically brilliant as it was infectious.

Wall’s entrance was an unceremonious affair: the duo were easily overlooked before their first mammoth-sized riff came thundering out the speakers. Twins Ryan and Elliot Cole made little attempt to be the stars of the their own show— rather, the thirty minute set was all about those titanic desert rock barrages, and it’s an element we were more than happy to focus on. Closing your eyes, it was shockingly easy to imagine that the full four-piece of Desert Storm (the twins’ other project) were rocking out on stage: instead, that massive wave of sound was coming from just two performers! Ryan Cole’s guitar tone was a great hulking thing, disguising the lack of a bass well and amping even the most basic of chords up to disgusting heights.

The duo’s lumbering riffs came thick and fast: scarcely a word was spoken throughout the entire show, leaving as much room as possible for yet more stoner rock goodness. The twins weren’t the most exciting act to watch, in fairness, remaining fairly static throughout the set— things were clearly going the smoothest when Wall had us head-banging in a frenzy, utilising chorus pedals and the like to positively demolish the venue. That did mean that the sparse moments of ambience scattered throughout the show left us a little cold though: Ryan Cole’s clean guitar tones made the band’s paired-back arrangements painfully obvious, often leaving us waiting for the next heavy passage. In their best moments though, Wall brought an admirable heft to the show, kicking things off on a deservedly impactful note and leaving something of a mark themselves.

Gnome were, without a doubt, a pleasure to watch: the trio may not have the flashiest stage show in the world, but the sheer energy and enthusiasm these “average-sized Belgians” brought injected new life into every track. Frontman Rutgar Verbist strutted around the stage with bravado, pulling a collection of faces best described as ‘unhinged.’ Bassist Geoffrey Verhulst and drummer Egon Loosveldt, meanwhile, simply seemed to be having the time of their lives— when your job is to bounce around playing some of the brightest tunes in stoner rock, it’s surely hard not to bring a joyous energy. Needless to say, the trio pulled off every track flawlessly: moments like the ripping solo of ‘Ambrosius’ or the furious drive of ‘Blacksmith’ demonstrated how, despite their antics, Gnome were taking their musicality deathly seriously.

And you can shoot us if that musicality wasn’t serving one of the most deafening stoner rocks sets around. Gnome’s tunes were even more imposing and hearty in the live setting than on their records, allowing the bass and drums a real presence. Opener ‘Rotten Tongue’— already a monstrous cut— was simply overwhelming at The Asylum, allowing Verbist’s guttural bellows to ring out across the crowd. A sea of pointy hats could be seen thrashing around in a frenzy whenever the three-piece amped their sound up to the maximum: cuts like ‘Duke of Disgrace’ or ‘Golden Fool’ were positively dominating, embodying all the greatest tenants of stoner rock. The group even earned themselves a fair few mosh pits towards the end of the show, with the crowd-pleasing ‘Wenceslas,’ momentous ‘The Gods Are Evil’ and unstoppable closer ‘Ambrosius’ coming as a delight to every hat-adorning member of the audience.

What sets Gnome apart from their contemporaries is not the sheer force of their arrangements (though that is a delightful aspect of the group’s live show)— it was in their most experimental moments that the three-piece were really able to show off their technical prowess. Eight-minute masterpiece ‘The Ogre’ was a brilliant addition to the setlist, seeing the band plowing through all manner of keys, time signatures and theatrical set-pieces. Despite the general accessibility of a show as lighthearted as this, Gnome proved themselves to be shockingly progressive act at points, jamming out to unconventional cuts like ‘Antibeast’ and ‘Stinth Thy Clep’ without skipping a beat. Though the three-piece had us head-banging time and time again, not a single member of the crowd could possibly have found it stale: moments like the psychedelic interlude on ‘Old Soul’ made this a varied, engaging show, full of both hearty laughs and furious metal shenanigans.

Gnome must have done a good job in Birmingham: why else would our cheeks have been hurting from smiling too much? The stoner rock trio are undoubtedly on the rise, and we’d have a hard job arguing it isn’t deserved: their live show really is a sight to behold, feeling about as large as a venue like The Asylum could allow for. Gnome are a premier stoner rock group in 2025, and they just might have put on the best show we’ve seen so far this year.