There’s been an outcry from Hammer King.
To mark their tenth anniversary, the German band consisting of Titan Fox V (vocals/guitar), Gino Wilde (guitar/backing vocals), Günt von Schratenau (bass), and Count Shandorian (drums) has signed with Reaper Entertainment for the release of their seventh album, Make Metal Royal Again.
The band kicks off with King For A Day, an inspiring opening track with energetic unifying riffs, eventually joined by powerful vocals accompanied by backing vocals on the easily singable choruses. The lead parts add a more heady touch to the rhythm before Make Metal Royal Again softens the atmosphere with its gentle introduction, followed by a return to aggression. The break allows for a moment of respite before the solo kicks in at full speed, then the band follows up with Schlaf Kaiser schlaf, a track with a mysterious, sampled intro, which switches the language to German. They welcome Steffi Stuber (Mission In Black) for a few passages, but the song ends fairly quickly and is followed by Hammerschlacht, which picks up speed after a very soft introduction, creating an interesting contrast in the form of a power ballad with muscular passages. This is followed by For Crown And Kingdom, which wastes no time in revealing its soothing and haunting melodies while the rhythm section strikes, supported by backing vocals, and then the majestic Kneel Before The Throne, which is a little more imposing at first before releasing its aggression. Major Domus follows suit, offering a fairly simple and catchy rhythm, making the mix of languages interesting before moving on to Hoheitsgebiet, which immediately darkens the atmosphere before simply making it mysterious. The track is short and quickly gives way to Hell Awaits The King, which begins with an unsettling sample, but quickly picks up speed and unleashes hypnotic harmonics before letting the long and almost religious The Last Kingdom offer the last riffs of the album, mixing the rage of Heavy Metal with the epic sounds of Power Metal, notably those passages with numerous choirs that make us want to go on a crusade before the almost solemn finale.
If you like Metal and its chivalrous influences, Hammer King is definitely the band you need to listen to in 2025. Between Power and Heavy Metal, Make Metal Royal Again is going to get heads banging!
75/100
