Sure it harkens back to the earlier days of metal, but the first song off Hammers of Misfortunes new album is much more aggressive than what I remember hearing from them in the past. The more prog moments haven't gone any where. The production sounds more organic and helps to give the guitar a rougher edge and a little grit to the otherwise smooth vocals. Joe Hutton who also sang on their "17th Street " album is manning the mic again. He sounds pretty strong and on the title the band continues to keep the chug alive as it falls somewhere between Deep Purple and Motley Crue's "Looks That Kill". 'Sea of Heros" retains the hard hitting guitar riffs this album has been dishing out, but the multi layered vocals compromise some of the edge.
The edge is then thrown out the window on in favor of organ heavy prog on "the Precipice". Weighed down by the jammy soloing, all of which is very Pink Floyd and well played the songwriting doesn't have the glue of the previous songs. The lunatics continue to laugh in the strawberry fields of "Here Comes the Sky" which is more relaxed and psychedelic. It builds into a very "in the Court of the Crimson King" like crescendo. They continue to wear their influences on their sleeves, this time it's Rainbow on "Flying Alone". The most original song on the album is the folk metal shanty "the Days of 49" .
This is another fine album by these guys and I might like it better than their previous work so I will round it up to a 9, though I am unsure how much actual play time I will get out of it myself, but if you are already a fan of the band then you find it a must. If you just like prog rock that is heavy on the retro then this is also worth your time. If you have likewise pined for these guys to be more of a metal band you have also gotten your wish, if your definition of metal includes bands from the 70s.
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