HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE The Bastard
tUMULt: www.tumult.net
2001
www.hammersofmisfortune.com
Act One
1 The Dragon is Summoned
2 The Bastard Sapling
3 On Wings of Vengeance
4 Hunting Tyrant
5 You Should Have Slain Me
Act Two
6 An Oath Sworn in Hell
7 The Blood Ax Speaks
8 Tyrant Dies
9 The Witchs Dance
Act Three
10 The Prophesy has Two Meanings
11 The New Kings Lament
12 For the Ax
13 Trolls March
14 Sacrifice / The End
The hardest review to write is the one that discusses a masterpiece. Not exactly sure how this will turn out since there is so much to say about The Bastard, and I realize that the attention span of the average reader (including myself) is comparable to that of a gnat, but lets get the obligatory brief background out of the way and keep this to a minimum: HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE are a heavy metal band hailing from San Francisco. And when I say heavy metal, I refer to the more obvious influences found on The Bastard: 70s prog/folk rock, post-SABBATH doom & NWOBHM, and early 90s Scandinavian Black Metal. Even when blending these diverse styles together, the biggest emphasis is held within the consistently good songwriting, where John Cobbett (guitarist/songwriter/lyricist) is quite obviously the overt perfectionist. Even before you listen to the CD, the packaging and artwork alone is rather breathtaking for such a low-key release.
With Cobbett starting out in the early 80s DC punk scene, only to discover bands like VENOM and THE OBSESSED, and then playing in numerous bands throughout the underground circuit, he makes no secret of being a fan of ALL music and this extends to his songwriting. You could in fact apply this to all his then-band mates (Mike Scalzi - LORD WEIRD SLOUGH FEG, Janis Tanaka - L7 & FIREBALL MINISTRY, and Chewy Cobbetts partner in crime from previous band OSGOOD SLAUGHTER). Thats what makes the HAMMERS music so intelligent, having four real musicians in it purely for the love of the game, each with eclectic backgrounds and tastes. Cobbett, also being a huge fan of the early 90s Black Metal scene, even has a BM side project called LUDICRA, and previously helped establish the Lucifers Hammer club to stage MAYHEM, amongst other acts, in front of a Californian audience.
Having written most of The Bastard in 1996, it wasnt released until tUMULt picked it up for distribution in 2001. Then it went quickly out of print until tUMULt decided to release it again earlier this year, with same packaging intact. The album itself was originally recorded on an 8 track across two reels (one reel for seven drum tracks, and the other for six tracks of guitars & vocals). With a solid engineer behind this minimal recording equipment, The Bastard sounds extremely genuine and adds to their overall retro flavor.
Of course, the real beauty of the album is its concept. Aptly noted as a Tale told in Three Acts, the HAMMERS have essentially created a storyline set within a mythological undertone concerning nature taking revenge against mankind, and a son taking revenge against his father. And somewhere between all that, we witness the backdrop of a living forest, a dragon, an ax made in hell, and the ultimate in betrayal. The lyrics play an extremely important role (you really need to read along to get the full effect), and often include moments of modest humor (These people dont love me, I dont belong amongst them, they want a King and I want peace and quiet). Life of Brian anyone?
Musically, the whole album is just pure genius. Written as an opera, the music just flows through hundred of dynamics (doom laden riffs, occasional black metal blast beats falling into the lap of some medieval folk elegy, Bill Ward-inspired drumming, meandering bass lines) with themes repeating over and over, just as it would if it were a real stage production. Scalzi sings cleanly for the bastard son himself, Tanaka takes on the dragon with her clean vocals, and Cobbett offers up some black metal screams (and shouts?) to represent the wicked King. Of course, there are moments when more than one character sings simultaneously, and the end result suits the tone perfectly whilst refraining from falling into QUEEN like choirs. They also mix up the vocals further to represent other miscellaneous characters such as the townsfolk, and indeed the dragons entrance on the first track has an underlying track of death vocals quietly representing the duality of the nature of the beast. These nuances will constantly flood out of your speakers throughout the duration of the album.
Almost each track is perfect, where my only criticism rests in the third and final act in which the ending feels like it begins to ramble for a while. Much of this Im sure is in the improvisation of when these tracks were written, each as their own entity, and over a long period of time I might add. Interestingly enough, this same criticism can apply perhaps to one of Cobbetts favorite bands, SOLSTICE. Fortunately, that same sound the HAMMERS employ, where the guitars play out those MAIDEN / THIN LIZZY inspired lead harmonies, pays tribute to the doom scene, and should therefore be hailed.
So heres the kicker, and Ill just come clean out and say it: If BLACK SABBATH ruled the 70s, IRON MAIDEN stormed through the 80s with ease, and the 90s were pretty much up for grabs, Ill put money on the fact that the HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE are going to be the heavy metal band to rule this decade. One demo, and two astounding album releases in (with a third on its way, The Locust Years), I can feel it in my bones.
Highest recommendation.
10/10
tUMULt: www.tumult.net
2001
www.hammersofmisfortune.com
Act One
1 The Dragon is Summoned
2 The Bastard Sapling
3 On Wings of Vengeance
4 Hunting Tyrant
5 You Should Have Slain Me
Act Two
6 An Oath Sworn in Hell
7 The Blood Ax Speaks
8 Tyrant Dies
9 The Witchs Dance
Act Three
10 The Prophesy has Two Meanings
11 The New Kings Lament
12 For the Ax
13 Trolls March
14 Sacrifice / The End
The hardest review to write is the one that discusses a masterpiece. Not exactly sure how this will turn out since there is so much to say about The Bastard, and I realize that the attention span of the average reader (including myself) is comparable to that of a gnat, but lets get the obligatory brief background out of the way and keep this to a minimum: HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE are a heavy metal band hailing from San Francisco. And when I say heavy metal, I refer to the more obvious influences found on The Bastard: 70s prog/folk rock, post-SABBATH doom & NWOBHM, and early 90s Scandinavian Black Metal. Even when blending these diverse styles together, the biggest emphasis is held within the consistently good songwriting, where John Cobbett (guitarist/songwriter/lyricist) is quite obviously the overt perfectionist. Even before you listen to the CD, the packaging and artwork alone is rather breathtaking for such a low-key release.
With Cobbett starting out in the early 80s DC punk scene, only to discover bands like VENOM and THE OBSESSED, and then playing in numerous bands throughout the underground circuit, he makes no secret of being a fan of ALL music and this extends to his songwriting. You could in fact apply this to all his then-band mates (Mike Scalzi - LORD WEIRD SLOUGH FEG, Janis Tanaka - L7 & FIREBALL MINISTRY, and Chewy Cobbetts partner in crime from previous band OSGOOD SLAUGHTER). Thats what makes the HAMMERS music so intelligent, having four real musicians in it purely for the love of the game, each with eclectic backgrounds and tastes. Cobbett, also being a huge fan of the early 90s Black Metal scene, even has a BM side project called LUDICRA, and previously helped establish the Lucifers Hammer club to stage MAYHEM, amongst other acts, in front of a Californian audience.
Having written most of The Bastard in 1996, it wasnt released until tUMULt picked it up for distribution in 2001. Then it went quickly out of print until tUMULt decided to release it again earlier this year, with same packaging intact. The album itself was originally recorded on an 8 track across two reels (one reel for seven drum tracks, and the other for six tracks of guitars & vocals). With a solid engineer behind this minimal recording equipment, The Bastard sounds extremely genuine and adds to their overall retro flavor.
Of course, the real beauty of the album is its concept. Aptly noted as a Tale told in Three Acts, the HAMMERS have essentially created a storyline set within a mythological undertone concerning nature taking revenge against mankind, and a son taking revenge against his father. And somewhere between all that, we witness the backdrop of a living forest, a dragon, an ax made in hell, and the ultimate in betrayal. The lyrics play an extremely important role (you really need to read along to get the full effect), and often include moments of modest humor (These people dont love me, I dont belong amongst them, they want a King and I want peace and quiet). Life of Brian anyone?
Musically, the whole album is just pure genius. Written as an opera, the music just flows through hundred of dynamics (doom laden riffs, occasional black metal blast beats falling into the lap of some medieval folk elegy, Bill Ward-inspired drumming, meandering bass lines) with themes repeating over and over, just as it would if it were a real stage production. Scalzi sings cleanly for the bastard son himself, Tanaka takes on the dragon with her clean vocals, and Cobbett offers up some black metal screams (and shouts?) to represent the wicked King. Of course, there are moments when more than one character sings simultaneously, and the end result suits the tone perfectly whilst refraining from falling into QUEEN like choirs. They also mix up the vocals further to represent other miscellaneous characters such as the townsfolk, and indeed the dragons entrance on the first track has an underlying track of death vocals quietly representing the duality of the nature of the beast. These nuances will constantly flood out of your speakers throughout the duration of the album.
Almost each track is perfect, where my only criticism rests in the third and final act in which the ending feels like it begins to ramble for a while. Much of this Im sure is in the improvisation of when these tracks were written, each as their own entity, and over a long period of time I might add. Interestingly enough, this same criticism can apply perhaps to one of Cobbetts favorite bands, SOLSTICE. Fortunately, that same sound the HAMMERS employ, where the guitars play out those MAIDEN / THIN LIZZY inspired lead harmonies, pays tribute to the doom scene, and should therefore be hailed.
So heres the kicker, and Ill just come clean out and say it: If BLACK SABBATH ruled the 70s, IRON MAIDEN stormed through the 80s with ease, and the 90s were pretty much up for grabs, Ill put money on the fact that the HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE are going to be the heavy metal band to rule this decade. One demo, and two astounding album releases in (with a third on its way, The Locust Years), I can feel it in my bones.
Highest recommendation.
10/10
