Review Summary: A Symphony Ensnaring Everyone
Hammers of Misfortune’s seventh full-length and first in six years offers an interesting mix of old and new. The shift to a more tech-thrash sound is certainly new to the point that bandleader/guitarist John Cobbett admitted to being unsure whether the material would be a better fit for this project or the more extreme-leaning Vhol (Relatable). However, the band’s theatrical prog metal style has always had a hyperactive streak and the return of vocalist Jamie Myers and the guesting Mike Scalzi among other contributors helps acclimate Undertaker to the Hammers banner.
Sure enough, the musicianship fulfills that thrashy promise. The pacing is consistently furious with the drums maintaining near constant blasts, the guitars offering a slew of tremolo runs and flamboyant shredding, and the vocals offering a nastier snarl compared to Myers’s early 2000s performances. The album also maintains the band’s theatrical side as seventies-style keyboards remain prominent no matter how harsh things get, the vocals dip into spookier layers, and there are very occasional spots to breathe sprinkled throughout. It plays like a cross between Voivod and Sigh, channeling the former’s mechanical precision and off-the-wall chord choices with the latter’s disorienting spectacle.
But with that said, the presentation can be a little too dense at times and it can be tricky to feel out individual songs. The band has always had a knack for writing tracks that play into a greater whole and none of the instruments are undermined thanks to the decently balanced production. However, a combination of rather alien melodies and the nonstop speed makes the songs come off as interchangeable. I find myself wishing the slower parts of songs like “Don’t Follow the Lights” and “Orbweaver” went on a little longer and the sharp mid-tempo swing riff that defines the closing “Aggressive Perfection” is almost a relief after the preceding onslaughts.
Overall, Overtaker is the sort of album that I can acknowledge as fantastically made but find myself wanting to enjoy more than I honestly do. The ensemble’s musicianship is dexterous enough to make the shift to tech-thrash work with immaculate playing abound, and nothing out of place. It just lacks the catchiness that normally allows me to see the method in the band’s madness, not off-putting so much as leaving me a little cold as a listener. It’s got undeniable growing potential and I can certainly see the appeal to it, especially for more technically minded listeners. Hammers of Misfortune is a fantastic band whose discography is one of the most adventurous yet consistent in heavy metal, this one just isn’t for me.
