Hammers Of Misfortune: 17th Street – new video

 

 

We live to learn and vice versa and on this glorious day, dear children, we discover another metal sub-genre here (AllMusic), namely “Celtic fantasy metal” through the tune and its video ‘17th Street’, “filmed by Aaron Cobbett on location in San Francisco on the very street for which the song was named” – as revealed to us by Metal Blade Records. ‘17th Street’ is the title track from HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE's fifth studio album, issued through Metal Blade in 2011. ‘17th Street’ and the rest of HOM stuff is still available here (Metal Blade):

“Led by guitarist/lyricist John Cobbett, ‘17th Street’ juggles power metal clichés, classic rock melodies, and doom metal breakdowns with equal aplomb, managing to circumvent any kind of eye rolling through sheer determination and earnestness. … Eclectic? Absolutely, but it never feels contrived, and when all of the disparate parts successfully align, as they do on the breathtaking BIG COUNTRY-meets-IRON MAIDEN-inspired single ‘The Grain’, it’s like randomly spinning the dial on the radio and landing on your favorite song,” [answered all the frequently asked questions James Christopher Monger, AllMusic – read the rest here]

“It’s about loss, and endings,” [Cobbett added his] “The songs each deal with this in one way or another. It could be the loss of a loved one, a relationship, a way of life, one's home or livelihood, or one's innocence. It could be about any number of these things at the same time. It’s not uncommon for me to write lyrics about several different things at the same time. I feel that this makes it easier for the listener to get whatever meaning he or she needs from the song:”

The Grain – courtesy of HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE

Formed in the mid-1990s in San Francisco by guitarist John Cobbett and drummer Chewy Marzolo, HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE were first known as “Unholy Cadaver” and as such they released the band's debut three-track demo titled ‘Demo #1’, while the rest of the material recorded during the band's first years remained unreleased until 2011, when Shadow Kingdom Recordings issued the ‘Unholy Cadaver’ LP. Listen to the track ‘Hammers Of Misfortune’ off the recording below or here (BandCamp):

UNHOLY CADAVER: Hammers Of Misfortune

Known as HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE from 2000 on, the band that included Cobbett, Marzolo as well as bassist and vocalist Janis Tanaka and guitarist Mike Scalzi, recorded the debut album, ‘The Bastard’, on eight-track recorder in their rehearsal space and released it in 2001 on Tumult Records. ‘The Bastard’ was described as “ambitious piece of work” by William York, AllMusic (more here):

You Should Have Slain Me – courtesy of HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE

HOM signed with Cruz Del Sur Music and released their second long-player, ‘The August Engine’, in 2003. The album featured guest musicians vocalist Lorraine Rath, violinist Kris Force and cellist Sitara Kapoor on the track ‘Rainfall’, and was referred to as “quirky and original enough” by Eduardo Rivadavia, AllMusic (more here):

Doomed Parade – courtesy of HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE

After ‘The August Engine’, bassist and vocalist Tanaka left the band (to tour the world with pop star P!NK), and was replaced by Sigrid Sheie (keyboards, flute and backing vocals) and bassist Jamie Myers. This lineup recorded ‘The Locust Years’, which was released in 2006:

“ ‘The Locust Years’ is the third musical opus released by the fiercely self-sufficient group, and, although it’s almost surely their most challenging upon first listen, it still doesn’t take too long to fall in love with its idiosyncratic blend of twin guitar wizardry, neo-classical metal orchestrations, and trademark alternating of male and female vocals,” [complimented Eduardo Rivadavia, AllMusic – more here:]

Trot Out The Dead – courtesy of HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE

Following, guitarist Scalzi was replaced by Patrick Goodwin, and Jesse Quattro replaced Myers on vocals while bassist Ron Nichols filled in on four strings. This new lineup recorded the double album ‘Fields / Church Of Broken Glass’ which was issued on Profound Lore Records in 2008. Alas, Quattro, Nichols and Goodwin parted ways with the band in 2010, the year HOM signed with Metal Blade Records. The label has since re-issued HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE's entire album catalog.

HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE features: John Cobbett – guitar, Joe Hutton -  lead vocals, Leila Abdul-Rauf – guitar and vocals, Sigrid Sheie - piano, keyboards and backing vocals, Max Barnett - bass and Chewy Marzolo – drums