Night of the Hammer

For those of you who are not familiar with this band, Dawnbringer is essentially the work of musician Chris Black. He has employed the help of various musicians throughout the band's existence, but Dawnbringer is solidly his creation. Previous efforts, particularly with Profound Lore Records, are fairly straightforward thrash albums with an extra helping of melody that is typically absent from music of that genre. Night of the Hammer (NOTH) easily surpasses the previous albums in studio production and creativity. While Nucleus and Into the Lair of the Sun God are quality metal albums, Black branches out musically on NOTH. The album's first three tracks are rockers that one would expect from Black, but with some subtle changes. The first difference that jumps out at the listener is the quality of the vocal mix. On previous albums, the vocals seemed almost pushed to the back of the mix. On NOTH, not only are they in the forefront, but they sound strong, crisp, and secure, with some nice harmonies. The music takes a drastic but enjoyable turn starting with "Xiphias" (the scientific term for a swordfish), a sea-chanty song with nice open fifths and a bouncy rhythm. The next track, "Hands of Death", is my personal favorite. After a 45 second introduction, Black chugs a monster riff and just pummels the ear for the rest of the song. Black seems to experiment (successfully) with black metal influences on the track "Not Your Night" with galloping blastbeats and a sinister growl replacing clean vocals. The next song, "Funeral Child", sounds much like a King Diamond recording, with stratosphere falsetto vocals hovering over the crunch of guitars playing in a minor key.While this is not the typical Dawnbringer album, it is a nice turn in musical direction for Chris Black and crew. Production is crisp and Ryan Massey's mix is just right. Yes, Mr. Black, heavy metal is indeed the law. Interesting side note - On all three of Dawnbringer's albums, there are images of hands on the compact disc. Connection or coincidence?

Once again, Chris Black delivers another true metal album. I've yet to be disappointed by Dawnbringer. I really thought that perhaps the peak had been reached with the last couple of albums, but Night of the Hammer exceeded my expectations. What I love about this band is Chris Black's ability to remain true to metal roots but never repeats himself. Every Dawnbringer album is a unique canvas of metal bliss and I say canvas because this album, like all the others, creates a visual journey along with what is heard. Metal should invoke a certain atmosphere and Hammer succeeds in spades. Equal parts nostalgia and originality can be found in each track. Dawnbringer is one of those bands for me that after I listen to a new album, I'm already looking forward to the next one.

Dawnbringer is simply an amazing band. Primarily the work of Chris Black (whose band High Spirits is also great!) with a collection of hired hands, Mr. Black creates great classic heavy metal. He's not reinventing the wheel, but the records don't come off as hokey nostalgia either. He has a wonderfully unique voice, and writes timeless songs. This is maybe not quite as good as 'Into the Lair of the Sun God' but it still should be an essential purchase for fans for traditional metal. He throws in a little black/death metal on one track here, and on another does a pretty convincing King Diamond, but other than that it's simply great riffs, great vocals and tons of good metal fun! Essential!

Ein schlichtes, aber dennoch geheimnisvolles und unheilschwangeres schwarz-weißes Cover-Artwork: Was verbirgt sich wohl dahinter? Es ist das neue Album von Dawnbringer, eine der zwei Hauptbands des Multiinstrumentalisten und Songwriters Chris Black. Es ist gar nicht so einfach, "Night Of The Hammer" in eine Schublade stecken zu wollen. Es ist ein Metal-Album, keine Frage. Darüber hinaus wird es schon schwieriger: Die Bestandteile sind Doom, klassischer Heavy Metal, hin und wieder eine Prise Folk, alle Songs sind ziemlich düster und rau. In "Not Your Night" kommt sogar ein ordentlicher Schuss Black Metal hinzu. Chris Black gelingt das Kunststück, aus meist recht simplen Songstrukturen Großes zu erschaffen. Das ganz einfach gestrickte "One-Eyed Sister" zum Beispiel besteht nur aus wenigen Akkorden und einem unkomplexen Rhythmus, klingt aber dennoch nicht zuletzt wegen seiner schönen Melodie wirklich opulent. Die anderen Lieder stehen dem in nichts nach. "Night Of The Hammer" ist kein Album, mit dem Chris Black die Charts erobern kann. Das will er aber zum Glück auch gar nicht. Er macht das, wonach ihm der Sinn steht, und dieses Herzblut hört man der Platte zu jeder Sekunde an. Verdiente volle Punktzahl!

Superb album by a superb band. One of the metal albums of the year. highly recomended