Hammer King: Hammer King

If you love your easy listening and straight down the line Power Metal, then this definitely is the right album for you! Right from the offset, there are just purely gripping melodies and those sing-a-long straight forward memorable choruses from Titan Fox's (ex-Ross the Boss) clan to comfortably keep us hooked.

However, being a fan of Hammer King already and having all their previous records, there is an element of repetition dwindling in this contemporary set of works from the German warriors (even though the band claims they are from France) that we have heard so similarly before. Unfortunately, this for me drags it away from clinching a higher score and it I feel the album just makes itself a solid one at best.

High points to talk about come in the form of the magnificently catchy 'Awaken the Thunder' and the tremendous drum infused patterns from Dolph A Macallan lodged inside the epic anthem 'Atlantis (Epilogue)'.

These two tracks effectively produce some of the best material to ever come from the precious kingdom of the Hammer King and that neatly sits well amongst this collection of Heavy/Power Metal songs for the better.

Other honourable mentions strike forth in the shape of the coolly constructed 'We are the Kingdom', the crowd chanting spectacle entitled 'Hammerschlag' and the clutching riffs of the pedal to the metal number 'Baptized by the Hammer'.

All these three episodes from this self-titled Hammer enriched journey nicely keeps the bulk of the record together strongly and I am sure they will be all welcomed as live additions to the band's set when live music properly kicks back up with hope in the near future.

Overall, another kick ass solidified Heavy Power Metal effort from Fox and the team, not a perfect one today the least but a very good fourth release as an inclusive whole. Additionally, I highly recommend you check out the closing full length opus (not the outro called 'Holy') 'King of Kings'. Personally, this is a perfect epic to be picked as the closing chapter from this episode of the Hammer King and quite strangely the narrator at the beginning sounds like the legendary Christopher Lee has come back to life to record his spoken words - it just absolutely fits magically and this positively needs to be checked out for any fan of this particular genre as soon as possible.

Track List:
1. Awaken the Thunder
2. Baptized by the Hammer
3. Onward to Victory
4. Hammerschlag
5. Atlantis (Epilogue)
6. We Are the Kingdom
7. Into the Storm
8. Ashes to Ashes
9. In the Name of the Hammer
10. King of Kings
11. Holy (Outro)

Added: July 4th 2021
Reviewer: James Mannion
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 871
Language: english

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