ALBUM REVIEW: Hammer King – Hammer King
Four albums in and Germany’s HAMMER KING are really hitting their stride. From the opening notes of the appropriately titled Awaken The Thunder, the band’s latest self-titled record is a thunderous mix of intense, high-octane riffing and big vocal hooks.
Musically, HAMMER KING take much influence from the classic metal greats like JUDAS PRIEST (think Painkiller rather than Screaming For Vengeance though), while also incorporating something indisputably Teutonic into their sound. The relentless sense of energy and the driving momentum of vicious guitars has a lot in common with HAMMER KING‘s homeland brethren KREATOR, or the more speed metal roots of very early HELLOWEEN. Sitting atop the onslaught of guitars however is the silky clean voice of Titan Fox, whose penchant for catchy vocal melodies brings to mind Sweden’s HAMMERFALL. Indeed, Fox is at times a dead ringer for Joacim Cans, but with marginally more grit to suit HAMMER KING‘s heavier aesthetic.
Of course, energy and aesthetic would be meaningless without the song-writing nous to back them up and, for the most part, HAMMER KING deliver strongly on that front. This is an album of fist-pumping chants and deft guitar playing throughout; Baptised By The Hammer’s refrain of crowd shouts and cries of “blood” in its chorus has a wonderfully POWERWOLF-esque vibe to it, and Onward To Victory’s slower approach mixed with Fox’s trade-offs with gang vocals again bring to mind the best of HAMMERFALL again.
On the heavier side of things is the pounding Hammerschlag, which sees Fox trade blows with Gerre from TANKARD, whose gruffer barks provide a perfect foil to Fox. Additionally, Hammerschlag proves itself a guitar showcase with the harmonised leads of its middle-eight leading in to a guitar solo that can only be described as glorious. However, it’s the epic Atlantis (Epilogue) that best showcases the depth of HAMMER KING‘s song-writing. An album highlight in its own right, Atlantis (Epilogue)’s standout moment is its conclusion; a cannon of overlapping vocal parts a la latter day SAVATAGE that proves emphatically magnificent.
For better and for worse, Atlantis (Epilogue) is certainly the peak of Hammer King. That’s not to say the subsequent material is bad by any stretch. Into The Storm is power metal pomp at its finest, replete with duelling guitar leads and epic gang vocals, whereas Ashes To Ashes provides one of the album’s best choruses thanks to its rousing, low toned choir. It’s unfortunate then that the material starts to feel quite samey as the record reaches its end, even if still of a decent quality. This is compounded slightly more by the lyrical approach, with all songs based around the myth of the titular Hammer King. While they certainly provide the right energy for the lively music, they aren’t deep enough to prevent the songs from gradually fading in to one..
Overall, HAMMER KING don’t reinvent the wheel on their self-titled release, but they certainly do hammer it to a more polished state. Although the latter half of the album begins to drag slightly, there is still plenty to get stuck in to for those who like their metal heavy, fast and melodic. It’ll be hard to come away from Hammer King without at least a few of its choruses wedged deeply in to your subconscious.
Rating: 7/10
Hammer King is out now via Napalm Records.
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