Hammers of Misfortune The Locust Years
Cruz Del Sur Music cruz15 June 23rd, 2006
By Jason Jordan and Nathan Pearce
Today, dearest reader, I am the voice of inexperience. I have not heard The Bastard. I have not heard The August Engine. But, as you can see for yourself, I have heard The Locust Years, and I am obviously about to review it from the perspective of someone who is not a Hammers of Misfortune expert, nor an authority on all things Slough Feg. As a matter of fact, I was introduced to both bands via their latest releases.
Expectations ran high for The Locust Years, naturally, due to the involvement of Cobbett (Ludicra, ex-Slough Feg), Scalzi (Slough Feg), and the uber-attractive Jamie and Sigrid. With a total of eight songs that occupy exactly 45 minutes of time, Hammers of Misfortune present an unbalanced full-length. While there are moments of undeniable brilliance, there is also an alarming amount of ho-hum material, which is incredibly disappointing for eager fanatics. Still, the best compositions are easily identifiable. Opener and title track The Locust Years is an upbeat, engaging seven and a half minutes of catchy choruses and airtight musicianship riddled with progressive metal tendencies. Trot Out the Dead is perhaps the highlight of album, and besides being rousing in nearly every way imaginable, it boasts stellar vocal tradeoffs.
Slightly past the halfway point is the solid tune Chastity Rides, which is nicely beefed up when the guitars adopt a more conspicuous edge, bolstered by distortion. War Anthem is good, too, with its choir-led choruses. Still, having been involved in drumming most of my life, when the drums take center stage during the songs middle, it conjures the halftime portion of a high school football game rather than the militant, war-riddled battlefield that groups such as Mayhem, Amon Amarth, and Bolt Thrower are capable of producing. The piano introduction to Widows Wall is superb, and the remainder of the closing number does indeed follow suit. In fact, the instrumentation is epic and electrifying, while simultaneously avoiding the overblown or the masturbatory in any fashion.
If youve kept track no pun intended Ive only mentioned five songs up to this point. The rest are basically inconsequential, and the ones that Ive already covered arent perfect. Essentially, The Locust Years has a few gems (The Locust Years, Trot Out the Dead, and Widows Wall), a few pearls (Chastity Rides and War Anthem), and a few stones (We Are the Widows, Famines Lamp, and Election Day), which reinforces statements made earlier. As general consensus would have it, arguably Hammers of Misfortune havent trumped The August Engine with their most recent effort. I wouldnt know. What I do know, however, is that I prefer Slough Fegs Atavism, though I certainly didnt want to thrust the two into a versus match. Nonetheless, the artwork is gorgeous, the lyrics are well-conceived, and the music aint anywhere close to bad, so it appears that The Locust Years is a good album, but not a great one.
7/10
UMs Review Rating Scale
Unlike Jason, I have heard The Bastard and The August Engine. Much like The Hammers first two releases, The Locust Years is a sprawling cohesive piece of work meant to be heard as a whole. Furthermore, much like the two previous releases, The Locust Years also features a number of songs (possibly all of them) that can easily be listened to on their own merits. Thats not to say all the songs on The Locust Years are great songs. I agree with Jason in his assessment of some weak tunes on this outing for The Hammers.
Im not going to tell you The Locust Years is better or worse than The August Engine or The Bastard, because I sense a gradual progression in the albums. The Bastard contained a definite underlying feel of traditional metal mixed with a sort of darkness that I cant quite pinpoint. Im not talking about a black metal type darkness or even gothic type darkness (although The Hammers do have their fair share of gothic influences). The Bastard was a very conceptual album, but it didnt feel proggy. Consequently, The August Engine showed a definite progression into prog territory for The Hammers. Much like Iron Maiden did over the course of their 80s albums, The Hammers have shown a tendency to delve deeper into the world of concepts and eclecticism. On The Locust Years, The Hammers have once again gone deeper into a conceptual world of their making. However, the concept on The Locust Years cant be compared to the overt drama played out on The Bastard. Much like the promotional material accompanying this disc says, The Locust Years is more opera than dramatic production.
Because an opera has its ebb and flow of songs, some more meaningful than others, I wont comment on individual songs; although, there are definitely songs that stick out. For further comment on this, refer to Jasons review.
To say that The Hammers have reached a pinnacle in their career would be misleading. I feel theyve merely developed their sound further down the path of the progressive tendencies of 70s and 80s rock and metal greats from Yes to Iron Maiden to Celtic Frost. The Locust Years covers a wide range of styles, yet it is completely The Hammers doin their thing. This music comes easily to this band, and if you enjoy a band that seems to sound like they were meant to create an experience and not just a great song, check this album out. If you want something darker and edgier, check out Ludicra (a related band . . . see Jasons review for more on that).
8/10
UMs Review Rating Scale
Official Hammers of Misfortune Website
Official Cruz Del Sur Music Website
Cruz Del Sur Music cruz15 June 23rd, 2006
By Jason Jordan and Nathan Pearce
Today, dearest reader, I am the voice of inexperience. I have not heard The Bastard. I have not heard The August Engine. But, as you can see for yourself, I have heard The Locust Years, and I am obviously about to review it from the perspective of someone who is not a Hammers of Misfortune expert, nor an authority on all things Slough Feg. As a matter of fact, I was introduced to both bands via their latest releases.
Expectations ran high for The Locust Years, naturally, due to the involvement of Cobbett (Ludicra, ex-Slough Feg), Scalzi (Slough Feg), and the uber-attractive Jamie and Sigrid. With a total of eight songs that occupy exactly 45 minutes of time, Hammers of Misfortune present an unbalanced full-length. While there are moments of undeniable brilliance, there is also an alarming amount of ho-hum material, which is incredibly disappointing for eager fanatics. Still, the best compositions are easily identifiable. Opener and title track The Locust Years is an upbeat, engaging seven and a half minutes of catchy choruses and airtight musicianship riddled with progressive metal tendencies. Trot Out the Dead is perhaps the highlight of album, and besides being rousing in nearly every way imaginable, it boasts stellar vocal tradeoffs.
Slightly past the halfway point is the solid tune Chastity Rides, which is nicely beefed up when the guitars adopt a more conspicuous edge, bolstered by distortion. War Anthem is good, too, with its choir-led choruses. Still, having been involved in drumming most of my life, when the drums take center stage during the songs middle, it conjures the halftime portion of a high school football game rather than the militant, war-riddled battlefield that groups such as Mayhem, Amon Amarth, and Bolt Thrower are capable of producing. The piano introduction to Widows Wall is superb, and the remainder of the closing number does indeed follow suit. In fact, the instrumentation is epic and electrifying, while simultaneously avoiding the overblown or the masturbatory in any fashion.
If youve kept track no pun intended Ive only mentioned five songs up to this point. The rest are basically inconsequential, and the ones that Ive already covered arent perfect. Essentially, The Locust Years has a few gems (The Locust Years, Trot Out the Dead, and Widows Wall), a few pearls (Chastity Rides and War Anthem), and a few stones (We Are the Widows, Famines Lamp, and Election Day), which reinforces statements made earlier. As general consensus would have it, arguably Hammers of Misfortune havent trumped The August Engine with their most recent effort. I wouldnt know. What I do know, however, is that I prefer Slough Fegs Atavism, though I certainly didnt want to thrust the two into a versus match. Nonetheless, the artwork is gorgeous, the lyrics are well-conceived, and the music aint anywhere close to bad, so it appears that The Locust Years is a good album, but not a great one.
7/10
UMs Review Rating Scale
Unlike Jason, I have heard The Bastard and The August Engine. Much like The Hammers first two releases, The Locust Years is a sprawling cohesive piece of work meant to be heard as a whole. Furthermore, much like the two previous releases, The Locust Years also features a number of songs (possibly all of them) that can easily be listened to on their own merits. Thats not to say all the songs on The Locust Years are great songs. I agree with Jason in his assessment of some weak tunes on this outing for The Hammers.
Im not going to tell you The Locust Years is better or worse than The August Engine or The Bastard, because I sense a gradual progression in the albums. The Bastard contained a definite underlying feel of traditional metal mixed with a sort of darkness that I cant quite pinpoint. Im not talking about a black metal type darkness or even gothic type darkness (although The Hammers do have their fair share of gothic influences). The Bastard was a very conceptual album, but it didnt feel proggy. Consequently, The August Engine showed a definite progression into prog territory for The Hammers. Much like Iron Maiden did over the course of their 80s albums, The Hammers have shown a tendency to delve deeper into the world of concepts and eclecticism. On The Locust Years, The Hammers have once again gone deeper into a conceptual world of their making. However, the concept on The Locust Years cant be compared to the overt drama played out on The Bastard. Much like the promotional material accompanying this disc says, The Locust Years is more opera than dramatic production.
Because an opera has its ebb and flow of songs, some more meaningful than others, I wont comment on individual songs; although, there are definitely songs that stick out. For further comment on this, refer to Jasons review.
To say that The Hammers have reached a pinnacle in their career would be misleading. I feel theyve merely developed their sound further down the path of the progressive tendencies of 70s and 80s rock and metal greats from Yes to Iron Maiden to Celtic Frost. The Locust Years covers a wide range of styles, yet it is completely The Hammers doin their thing. This music comes easily to this band, and if you enjoy a band that seems to sound like they were meant to create an experience and not just a great song, check this album out. If you want something darker and edgier, check out Ludicra (a related band . . . see Jasons review for more on that).
8/10
UMs Review Rating Scale
Official Hammers of Misfortune Website
Official Cruz Del Sur Music Website
