Dangerdog Music Reviews :: © 1999 - 2024 Craig S Hartranft :: All Rights Reserved
No part of this this website, including design and music reviews,
may be reproduced in any form or by any means without
the prior written permission of the publisher.
- New Music Reviews
- |
- Archives
- |
- News
- |
- Submissions
- |
- About
- |
- |
New Music Reviews, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, AOR, Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal
Recent Reviews
December 2024
- After Lapse: Pathways
- Illusion Force: Halfana
- Powell-Payne: Voilá
November 2024
- Sunstorm: Restless Fight
- Storace: Crossfire
- Voodoo Circle: Hail To The King
- Lionville: Supernatural
- Starchaser: Into The Great Unkown
- Empires Of Eden: Guardians Of Time
- Lonerider: Down In The Dust
- Seventh Crystal: Entity
- Neal Morse & The Resonance: No Hill For A Climber
- Beardfish: Songs For Beating Hearts
- Impellitteri: War Machine
- Brothers Of Metal: Fimbulvinter
October 2024
- Casandra's Crossing: Garden Of Earthly Delights
- DGM: Endless
- Daytona: Garder la Flamme
- Fate: Reconnect 'N Ignite
- Frost*: Life In The Wires
- Aries Descendant: From The Ashes Of Deceit
- Fans Of The Dark: Video
- Radioactive: Reset
- House Of Lords: Full Tilt Overdrive
- Cleanbreak: We Are The Fire
September 2024
- Sinner's Blood: Dark Horizons
- Serious Black: Rise Of Akhenaton
- Eclipse: Megalomanium II
- SteelCity: Reverence
- Hydra: ReHydrated
- Heartwind: III
- Gabrielle De Val and the Dragonlords: Tiger
- Find Me: Nightbound
- The Nail: The Nail
- Timeless Fairytale: A Story To Tell
- Stryper: When We Were Kings
- Phil Mogg: Moggs Motel
- Pure Reason Revolution: Coming Up To Consciousness
- Jordan Rudess: Permission To Fly
August 2024
- Siege Perilous: Creation's Call EP
- Paralydium: Universe Calls
- Mike Tramp: Songs Of White Lion Vol. II
- Bite The Bullet: Looking For Paradise
- All For Metal: Gods Of Metal (Year Of The Dragon)
- Hammerfall: Avenge The Fallen
- Jim Peterik & World Stage: Roots & Shoots Vol. 2
Hammer King: Kingdom of the Hammer King
Hammer King: Kingdom of the Hammer King
Melodic/Heavy/Power Metal
3.5/5.0
Website
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Cruz Del Sur Music
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 16.04.2015
Power metal: it's the heavy metal genre that will not lay down and die anytime soon, despite it's ongoing and immense cloud of detractors. So check your Manowar, Blind Guardian, and Hammerfall albums at the door, and welcome a new king of power metal, Hammer King and their debut album Kingdom of the Hammer King.
Hammer King
Now, if you think there's a theme here, you're right. There's a king, and he's got a hammer, a large one, I suspect, like Thor humongous. So, he's the Hammer King. But he also has a kingdom. What's it called, you ask. Slay you, heathen. The Kingdom of the Hammer King. The album has ten songs. Of the tens songs, five either have hammer, king, or both in the title. Kingdom of the Hammer King, I Am The King, I Am The Hammer King, We Are The Hammer and, of course, Glory to the Hammer King. Despite the obvious redundancy, it sure makes lyric writing pretty damn easy.
As for the music, the power metal style is self-evident. Galloping rhythm section. Twin guitar harmonies and leads. Generally melodic vocals, yet often with some choral vocal moments. Those give you whole medieval fantasy world feeling. While most songs come at a rushing pace, Hammer King will back down for more traditional heavy metal with Blood Angels and Chancellor of Glory, who admonishes you puny serfs to "listen to the king." Then there's Visions of a Healed World, a true melodic heavy metal album with a good groove, a powerful harmonious vocal arrangement, and more nice twin guitar leads. It's the best song here. The saying is, "There's nothing new under the sun." That could be said of Hammer King and this album. But for classic outrageous power metal, Kingdom of the Hammer King is a guilty indulgence. Recommended.
Hammer King - Kingdom of the Hammer King
Share This Review with Your Friends
Tweet
Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.
In Short
The saying is, "There's nothing new under the sun." That could be said of Hammer King and this album. But for classic outrageous power metal, Kingdom of the Hammer King is a guilty indulgence.
Find A Review
Alphabetical Index
New & Notable
The Powell Payne project, created in 2022 is the collaboration of Mark "Penfold Powell (ex-drummer of Psycho Kiss) and Adam Payne (former vocalist of Airrace). With guitarist Adam Davies and keyboard player ... [ Read More ]