Hammer King: King is Rising

King is Rising is the second album from power metal act Hammer King, out now on Cruz Del Sur Music. Here is a hilarious little blurb from their Facebook page:

HAMMER KING – THE LEGEND RETURNS!
After a career-spanning hiatus HAMMER KING are back with their first ever album. Hand-picked by the KING himself, these Heavy Metal Feudalists will fulfill a legacy: To play the truest Heavy Metal in this and all other worlds – Heavy Metal in the tradition of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Pfalzgraf Luitpold.

Here they are:
Titan Fox
Gino Wilde
K.K. Basement
Dolph A. Macallan

Vocalist Titan Fox: "HAMMER KING is our best album since 'Painkiller'"

Andy Powell (Wishbone Ash): "I like to think there is a little bit of Metal in everything Wishbone Ash does. If I were to recommend one Heavy Metal band to listen to, it would be HAMMER KING"

Either these guys take themselves way too seriously or everything they do is meant to be taken with a serious helping of cheese. If you like your power metal with a European slant mixed with the classic metal vibe of Iron Maiden, you've come to the right place. With songs about kings, hammers, battles, wars, more kings and more hammers, it's not rocket science to figure out that Hammer King aren't out to tickle your brain with fascinating lyrical topics, and musically there's nothing unique here that hasn't been done before either. Plenty of tasty twin guitars however, along with a never ending supply of crunchy riffs on tunes such as "King is Rising", "Reichshammer", and "Warrior's Reign", the rhythms galloping along underneath in 'true metal' fashion. Fox's vocals are a mix of mid range bellows and the occasional high pitched falsetto, perfect for this style of music and again, helping the band deliver the cheese factor that often accompanies this type of power metal. Thankfully most of the songs are fairly brief in the 3-4 minute range and don't overstay their welcome, but after a while the non stop reliance on 'kings and hammers' gets a bit tedious, as does Fox's histrionic falsetto, which can grate on the nerves a little. Still, metal thumpers like "Battle Gorse" and "Battalions of War" gallop along nicely, so if you have a soft spot for upbeat, cheesy power metal, King is Rising is easy to recommend.

See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!

Track Listing

1. "King Is Rising"
2. "Last Hellriders"
3. "For God And The King"
4. "Warrior's Reign"
5. "Reichshammer"
6. "Kingbrother"
7. "Battle Gorse"
8. "Kill The Messenger"
9. "The Hammer Is The King"
10. "Viva 'La King"
11. "Battalions Of War"
12. "Eternal Tower Of Woe"
13. "Our Fathers' Fathers" (CD bonus track)

Added: December 11th 2016
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1449
Language: english

[ Printer Friendly Page ]
[ Send to a Friend ]