A number of you may recall one Professor Black from the long-lived but sadly defunct Metal Maniacs publication. This regular contributor to those pages was, is, and continues to be a very busy and almost abnormally prolific musician. Chris Black, now based in Chicago, Illinois, has piloted, assisted with, contributed to, and worked behind the scenes for more quality musical outfits than there are fingers on a hand. The multi-instrumentalist who plays bass in Superchrist, drums in Pharaoh, sings vocals in High Spirits and Aktor, and has written lyrics/arrangements for Nachtmystium, is perhaps best known for his work in a band called Dawnbringer. In existence since the mid-nineties, Dawnbringer released three gritty, punk-cum-early NWOBHM inspired albums before catching a lot more attention and acclaim with 2010's Nucleus and 2012's Into the Lair of the Sun God. Masterpieces both, the time has come for a new album from Chris Black and company. (Dawnbringer consists of Chris handling studio drums, keys, bass, and lead vocals, with Bill Palko, Mat Johnsen, and Scott Hoffman all on guitars). Their third release on the sterling Profound Lore Records, Night of the Hammer hits the market on the 28th of October, 2014. Will it come and go quietly, or will it send journalists scurrying to rewrite their end of the year best-of lists?
There is one thing you as a metal connoisseur must know. About once a day, Chris Black sneezes and a good song immediately shoots out of his nose into the soft white confines of a folded Kleenex. It is rare – almost nonexistent, in fact – to experience this kind of a gift for writing good music for so many different outfits. Most of our beloved musicians simply cannot stretch themselves this far. For those on board with Dawnbringer, my humble review might be good for little more than an assurance that the sun still rises in the east, and yes, the new album is just as awesome as those before it. For those outside the choir to whom I preach, to those uninitiated, let us examine Night of the Hammer more closely.
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Built upon a template of almost classic rock arrangements, the music comes at a slower pace than that found on Dawnbringer releases of yore. Each of the ten compositions which bedeck Night of the Hammer fulfill a simple promise of honest, down-to-earth heavy metal music played with conviction, integrity, and the uttermost disregard for trends, scenes, and the confines of time. An album as comfortable in 1988 as it is in 2014, one can immerse oneself in the riffs, the bass lines, and the clean vocal delivery of the lyrics without fear of being let down. Think of that feeling you got when you discovered this kind of music. Dawnbringer encapsulates this feeling like they own it. But no nostalgia trip awaits you here. The echoes of old permeate, yet listen to 'The Burning of Home,' with its '80's stadium rock vocals and killer NWOBHM guitar work and solos, and despite the nods to these styles, one cannot help but be transfixed with the delivery. This is heavy metal distilled from all the quirks, idiosyncrasies, and stylistic shifts the genre as experienced through all of its many seasons. Instead it hits you right between the eyes with the very zeitgeist of what attracted you to metal in the first place. You have the bardic storytelling cadence in 'Xiphias' and the superb 'One-eyed Sister,' calling to mind the ingenious works of such disparate entities as Slough Feg and Jethro Tull. Then there is the tougher riffs of album opener 'Alien,' with its trade off of rhythm and lead guitar, led by Black's soothing, yet powerful pipes to steer this hard rockin' ship where it needs to go. 'Nowhere to Go' will have fists pounding the air, with its very Gates of Slumber-esque doom-laden, repeated riffs and doom-influenced vocals.
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The ride through Night of the Hammer suddenly hits overdrive when 'Not Your Night' kicks in toward the end of the album. A blasting beat and gravelly vocals inject even more versatility into an album that features a far more introspective, yet still breathable batch of peerless heavy metal anthems. The mood remains darkened on the mid-paced 'Funeral Child,' where Chris Black does a wonderful King Diamond impression. The album then comes to its conclusion with the maudlin tones of 'Crawling off to Die.'
The vast majority of metal fans out there concern themselves with a lot of glitzy, hyperbolic and overly trendy acts whose music very often does not stand the test of time. For a brand of storytelling, honest, no frills heavy metal that marries the singer to his song and bonds the glorious riff to the immemorial cadence of music of the highest quality, look no further than Dawnbringer and Night of the Hammer. Chris Black may be a name known to relatively few, but rest assured he is one of the most important figures in heavy metal today. Do not let this album pass you by.
