Having clicked on the link for this review, the chances are pretty good you already know Hammers of Misfortune’s The August Engine. Likely you’ve even read a good selection of other reviews over the album’s seven years of life and you know that the majority have been dripping with critical acclaim, many to the point of fawning. So it certainly is not news that the San Francisco progressive metal troupe’s second platter is regarded by many to be a modern metal masterpiece. I’m not going to bother with a build-up here, is what I’m getting at. Rather, Metal Blade’s reissue of the Hammers of Misfortune catalog gives us an excellent opportunity to address and discuss the elements of what constitutes greatness in a heavy metal record through an examination of those that comprise this particular tour de force. A few aspects seem to be mandatory for any serious possibility of enduring prominence, while others are less necessary but nonetheless fairly ubiquitous in this circle.
So, riffs, right? And solos. Assuming that it’s heavy and it’s metal, the prime requisite has to be kickass guitar work. It doesn’t have to be groundbreaking or technically ambitious, just really fucking cool, and The August Engine is rife with riffs that are all of these things and more. Shit, there’s more blue-ribbon riffing in the title track alone than most bands can manage on an album. Add to this a bevy of truly incomparable dual leads (see the end minutes of “The August Engine Part 2” for a picture of lead guitar perfection), and the stalwart foundation is in place.
But even awesome fretplay works better when it’s characterized and accented by distinctive sound and between the just-off-kilter tuning of the trademark twin guitars and the inimitable vocals of Mike Scalzi and Janis Tanaka, The August Engine clearly has this covered. Even with obvious draws on some of the greats of heavy music, from Megadeth through Iron Maiden to Thin Lizzy, John Cobbett has assembled and augmented these pieces in such a way as to create an equally loyal and instantly recognizable sound, unique even among the band’s own recordings.
Of course, killer sound rings hollow unless it sticks, so the tunes have to be memorable. Master of an endless wellspring of ideas and never beholden to convention, Cobbett is known for taking liberties with his melodies, so it can take a few listens for his songs to reveal their hooks. Once they do, though, they’re irresistible. Much of what makes his songs so compelling is a natural predilection to diversity in songwriting, often the key to getting an album over the hump from catchy, sing-along headbanger to one that uses these tools to tap emotion by exploiting the brain’s natural favor for unpredictability within sound musical structure.
No mere mish-mash of ideas, though, gets the job done, so many great albums capitalize on a strong thematic approach. Now bands make concept albums all the time and many of these misfire wildly, but Hammers of Misfortune is known for doing it right with absurd consistency. There’s been a bit of mild debate over whether The August Engine is a concept album per se, mostly because it lacks the developed storyline of The Bastard or the clear socio-political allegory of their most recent works. Even so, lyrically, it is consistent in coursing through various incarnations of life’s mysterious dooms and dreads. Lyrics aside, the mind-blowing array of musical thematic devices found throughout firmly settles the issue. Riffs, rhythms and melodies return frequently during the record’s play, sometimes obviously and often in the form of some twisted mutation of one or the other, endowing The August Engine with an undeniably natural cohesiveness. Nowhere is this more evident than in Cobbett’s uncanny ability to match the mood of his music to his lyrics. Whether exquisitely gifted Lorraine Rath’s quiet contemplation of “Rainfall”, the white-hot sardonic disdain of “Insect”, or the bones-deep crippling pain of the album’s doom-drenched closer, “The Trial and the Grave”, every utterance, vocal and instrumental, is critical to the evocation of the underlying sentiment.
Finally, inspired compositions get a little bit of extra kick when they’re just a little bit weird. Hammers’ essence is so steeped in this notion that discussion of the band seems always to struggle for just one more synonym to explain them (quirky, bizarre). It’s a vain effort, because Hammers of Misfortune is of that exceedingly rare breed that can be accurately described only by its very name. And that, as the outward expression of its inner richness, is the indelible mark of this peerless record.
So there you have it. Much more than a mere piecing together of what works, The August Engine is an example of what happens when it’s all done ridiculously right. And, testament to its blatant disregard for propriety, Hammers’ second LP sounds and feels every bit as rebelliously avant-garde seven years after its original release. If you haven’t yet availed yourself of this incredible band’s creative pinnacle, count yourself, the discerning metal fan, fortunate for the opportunity to embrace The August Engine for the first time. I certainly envy you that.
