Hammer King are a Franco-Germanic power metal four piece, fronted by Tito Fox, the vocalist for Manowar legend Ross “The Boss” Friedman. Making their debut with “Kingdom Of The Hammer King”, the band have received praise from Friedman, citing that this album is how power metal should be, and Wishbone Ash’s Andy Powell saying if he could recommend one metal band right now, it would be these. With such praise, let’s see if the Kingdom of the Hammer King is as strong as it is made out to be.
“I) Kingdom of the Hammer King” opens the album and right from the word go the power metal styling is evident. The dramatic sounding lead leads to a moderately paced rhythm with some good drum work before it speeds up a little before going into a heavy chug for the verse. The vocals are strong, sang with power and very melodic and in the chorus we get some gang vocal work and plenty of ‘wo-oh-ah’ moments, one of the cheesy but effective staples of the power metal genre. The solo is decent enough with plenty of melodic hooks and the post solo section brings back the ‘wo-oh-ah’ section which has a bit of an epic feel to it before the chorus ends the song. Not too bad for an opener. “I Am The King” follows on seamlessly from the previous track and its fast paced from the off. It has a real headbanging groove and a greater sense of urgency about it. The guitar riffs are great and the rhythm work is solid throughout the track. Vocally it’s quite strong with some big wails and the chorus has a real catchy melodic lead hook to it. The solo is blistering with its pace and the song ends rather solidly which is pleasing.
“Alderlass; The Blood Of Sacrifice” has a powerful sounding intro with heavy emphasis on the guitars and chug-mute rhythm they play. The vocals in the verse are calmly delivered much like the overall feel of the verse whilst the chorus has more of a kick to it. It’s steady pace has a great headbang/fist pumping feel to it and the melodic solo fits perfectly alongside the lyrics about battle and war, really adding to the song overall. “Chancellor Of Glory” starts off with a real building intro. The war drum sound and the bass melody really builds the tension up and when the song kicks in, it sounds quite powerful and maintains a steady pace. Vocally its quite dramatic and the chorus feels big with its simple, straight forward groove. The break features some guitar and ‘wo-oh-ah’ interplay where the guitars mimic the vocal line with some embellishments here and there and although it is an oft-used cliché spot, it works really well and would go down a storm live. The solo is slow but it fits with the feel of the song, emphasising the phrasing of the notes and technique over speed and the guitar/wo-oh-ah section is revisited to end the song.
“II) I Am The Hammer King” has a very Iced Earth feel to it in the rhythm section with its pounding groove, galloping guitar and thunderous drums. It’s got a fast tempo and the cocals are powerfully delivered in the verses. The chorus has a real dramatic feel to it as the backing choir-like ‘Ahh’s’ add an extra edge to the sound and the use of the choir vocals in the second verse keeps it up. The solo is quite melodic and it features a good harmony section about halfway through it which eventually leads to a more venomously delivered outro. “Blood Angels” keeps the heavy feel. The pounding chugging rhythm accompanies a nice sounding lead in the intro before it hits the verse which stays pounding and has some real venomous vocal delivery. The chorus has some big vocal moments and overall the song is fairly straight forward – it highlights the rhythm section really well. The solo has some flair to it, but it’s all about the chug in this one.
“Visions Of A Healed World” has a bass-heavy intro. It’s got a real Manowar feel to it in the sense that the storytelling in the vocals is delivered great and the song feels quite powerful too. The chorus has some good chord progressions in play and it has an uplifting feel to it, especially with the harmony lead section right after the chorus. The lead section returns again later in the song with the harmony approach once more before it leads to some vocal/lead melodies which work great, and the choir styled ‘Ahh’s’ under the melodic solo work fantastic. “Figure In The Black” revisits the Iced Earth feel with the music. The vocals are quite dramatic sounding and the pre-chorus has a rather interesting harmony line. The drums really shine through in the chorus for this one and the rhythm under the guitar solo is great – plenty of powerful chugs! The Solo itself is fantastic too – it starts off slow then gets quite quick and intricate before it slows again before transitioning back into the pre-chorus harmony section before ending on the chorus. It’s a real hard hitting song with the right mix of melody and heaviness.
“We Are The Hammer” has a very slight thrash like feel to its intro. With a fast paced groove and pounding rhythm, the song is pretty similar to the rest of the album – good vocal delivery, great riffs, a real powerful sounding chorus with some harmonies and solid soloing. Closing the album is “III)Glory To The Hammer King”. It starts off with a very epic feel to it. The guitar and vocal lines mirror each other and the bass has some interesting and good sounding melody parts. The verse starts off with a great stomping groove before it turns to bass/vocal/drum only to really add to the build up feel before it brings the guitars in for the big sounding chorus. The leads are really melodic, giving the epic sounding song more of a kick and this track features some of the best lead guitar work on the album. After the solo there is the obligatory ‘wo-oh-ah’ section before some storming riffs kick in round the 5:40 mark. The song then revisits the intro before it has a real big ending where everyone lets loose with pounding drums and rapidly strummed instruments before a huge power metal wail closes the album.
Overall, “Kingdom Of The Hammer King” is a classic example of power metal. It has the heaviness, the melody, the story telling lyrics and the big vocal performances. Like all good power metal, its cheesy sounding at times but at the same time, it has that knack for making you feel empowered. With that said, I best find my sword and go slay something… Onward, for the Glory of the Hammer King.
(Fraggle 7.5/10)
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