Hammers of Misfortune hammer out eight progressive rock protest songs in their album The Locust Years. Personally I can't say I ever listen to progressive rock music outside of the office; I just can't see any allure in it. The musicians are quite talented, but it reminds me too much of the acrobatics and performances of Stevie Vai, and I think Stevie Vai is the farthest thing from my mind when I need to listen to something settle my soul. The band is more like a traveling circus or a group of Shakespearean bards for the modern day; weaving tales of terror and catastrophe that will leave you riveted and on the edge of your seat when sky high flames are involved with flashing lights and swinging acrobats.



The group consists of six musicians each doing more than their part to conjure up an operatic and disastrous vision that is: *cue lightning* The Locust Years! The more I think about this idea of a traveling progressive rock band the more it appeals to me. I can just see their rusty wagon roll onto the busiest street or park in Toronto and then unfold with the musicians already beginning the clashing and crashing of their first song "The Locust Years". It would be the surprise that would really get you with this sight, and then you might be more than willing to follow with every strange encounter and occurrence described herein, much like Homer's Odyssey. Unfortunately, I highly doubt they present themselves in this way and so the music falls short of being exciting.



The album is somewhat like theatre in that it should be listened to in the order that it is presented in and then pieced together to create a whole picture. More often than not though what follows after their blazing introduction is visions of ghostly widows, skeletons and zombies marching and swaying, pestilence and famine dancing on horseback while plague shakes a tambourine behind, armies rushing with banners waving, and then final epic battles that amount to: some allusions to the current situation in the world. It's very interesting I must say and the capable stadium vocals of singers Jamie Myers and Mike Scalzi create the stories which allow the other musicians to illustrate. Though it never really hit's a nerve, it might even be too literate and intellectual. The rising scales and polished production don't penetrate in the same way that "Chimes of Freedom" or "Blowing In The Wind" still manage to do for me today. Protest is a great device but unless it is done right it becomes dated and flattens out to simple entertainment.



Sure, the cover with the eagle staring sideways, the all seeing eye around its neck, and its wings pulling the strings of the four horses all amount to Hammer's message, but it's all too garish and tacky. In all the rising scales and progressive melodies, I can't find a single heartfelt note that reaches inside of me and pulls something out that I forgot about or never knew existed. In my mind, when I listen to this, I can see too many colour-filled lights, too many streamers and flames, too much smoke, and way too much lightning. Even if you really dig progressive metal or rock, you won't find anything spectacularly new and innovating with Hammers of Misfortune's The Locust Years.



Track Listing

1 The Locust Years

2 We Are the Widows

3 Trot Out the Dead

4 Famine's Lamp

5 Chastity Rides

6 War Anthem

7 Election Day

8 Widow's Wall