Artiste: The Hammers of Misfortune
Nationality: American
Album: The August Engine
Year: 2003
Label: Cruz del Sur Music
Genre: Progressive Metal
Tracks:
The August Engine, Part 1
Rainfall
A room and a riddle
The August Engine, Part 2
Insect
Doomed parade
The trial and the grave
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Sounds like this may be an instrumental album, driven on guitar
Best track(s): Rainfall, Insect
Worst track(s): The trial and the grave
Comments: A big, powerful progressive instrumental opener to kick off, showcasing the fretwork of bandleader, creator and guitarist John Cobbett, then “Rainfall” introduces violin and cello, with vocals from guest singer Lorraine Rath, and something that sounds like timpani or vibes. Great vibrating acoustic guitar line running through this, the back to hard and heavy guitar for “A room and a riddle”, bringing in what I must admit are fu
cking fantastic vocals from Mike Scalzi, adding an extra layer to the sound.
“The August Engine Part 2” is a heavier affair, with a sort of dramatic vocal and an almost viking swing to it. Great soft instrumental in the middle that suddenly takes you by surprise by powering up into a real shredfest except ... well, no it doesn't. Slips back into a sort of relaxed --- no, no, wait: it's screaming along now. These guys sure know how to keep you hooked, that's for certain. Building up to a big climax now, and you would not expect a song called “Insect” to be a folky, 1969-Genesis-like ballad, but it is. And lovely to boot. Ah, but then they fire it up and we're off down another unexpected offramp, heading for parts unknown!
“Doomed parade” keeps everything rocking well, with a really over-the-top vocal and very Lizzy guitars, very powerful and the album then ends on thr epic, eleven-minute “The trial and the grave”, opening on a very power metal guitar intro, slow and stately but I have a feeling it won't remain that way for long Well, it has actually dropped to a sort of combined vocal now, almost a lament, with definite contribution from at least one female. Hmm. I see the bassist is a woman and I wonder if it's her and maybe Lorraine Rath again? If so, they're working very well together, and I think I hear Scalzi in there too. Slow, thumping drums adds to the overall doomy atmosphere of this track. We're now more than halfway through and a fine guitar solo from Cobbett takes the tune.
I have to say, though, I think it tries to be all things to all men, alternating between Doom, Gothic and power Metal over the course of its eleven-minute length, and while it works at some points, at others it really just gets too confusing and it's hard to know at the end whether it's a good closer or a bloated track that might have been better left off, or at least put somewhere else on the album. Some great guitar work by Cobbett comes very close to saving the song, but in the end it's a case of too little too late.
Overall impression: There's definitely talent there, and HoM have enough pluses going for them to ensure they're taken notice of, but whether or not I'd be interested in checking out more of their work is still a question I'm grappling with. When they're good, they're very good, but unfortunately it's not always the case.
Hum Factor: 4
Surprise Factor:: 7
Intention: Not sure at this point