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HAMMERFALL Hammer Of Dawn By Terry Martinson, Contributor Tuesday, March 22, 2022 @ 11:54 AM
As I mentioned, my familiarity with HAMMERFALL is fleeting, cursory and the only real recollection is their absence on Ronnie James Dio's Killing The Dragon tour in Seattle, Washington where they were touted on the bill only to be a no show as the curtain rose. A bummer at the time but with the mighty KING'S X and of course Dio (RIP) destroying the night, sadness was fleeting. Wonder what happened to them?
The mythos does not sway for the albums runtime and certainly continues on high with the title track with its keyboard tease of an intro into the staple gang vocals and galloping chug chug of the verse.
"No Son Of Odin", begins with an "Against The Empire" walk in that progresses into what is apparent as a staple SAXON-esque hard rock riff verse chorus verse that again is heavily influenced by that lost metal band MALICE. "Venerate Me" is a slower, mid tempo power metaller with a nice stunning solo, again heavily Hoffman influenced and guest vocals by none other than the KING DIAMOND, which are an obvious inclusion during the later parts of the song and the 'aaaaah ah ahhh's'.
"Reveries" begins with a choral gang vocal, and then about floored me with the intro riff that is slathered with power and sleazy as all get out and when you hear it you'll be smitten and pleading for more, but then the song abandons this crushing lick for some standard mid tempo power metal, until it touches greatness again twice on the 2nd guitar solo intro and then teases us once more with this lick of licks in that solo's outtro. The verse rhythm after the 1st solo is rather crushing as well and I wish the band would have stuck with these 2 parts and abandoned for a moment the standard, maybe a re-edit for me is in the future gentlemen? "Too Old To Die" is another galloping power metaller with a monster nod to LIZZY BORDEN's "American Metal" in the verse and then the chorus, albeit still within the epic power HAMMERFALL is known for, we see a touch of an almost MOR vibe. The use of palm muted guitar trickery is abundant in the pre-solo (very well done) and the solo, albeit short, is very on point.
I must say that HAMMERFALL is a very solid band and Hammer Of Dawn is a real good record. I very much appreciate the musicianship, proficiency in its presentation, the songwriting and the influences the band brandishes without hesitation. Definitely a band worthy of their pedigree and your appreciation.
3.8 Out Of 5.0
https://www.facebook.com/hammerfall
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