Hammers of Misfortune - The August Engine (#5217)

metalgod · **Joined:** Thu Sep 16, 2004 12:50 am **Posts:** 5515

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Hammers of Misfortune - The August Engine
Progressive Heavy Metal
Quoted: 97 / 100

Click here to see the review.

Ness · **Posted:** Tue Mar 31, 2009 1:44 am

I need to delve deeper into this bands catalouge. I absolutley love Fields/Church of Broken Glass.

traptunderice · **Posted:** Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:50 am

Never did I understand this album till I read this review. Props to you Adam.

noodles · **Posted:** Wed Apr 01, 2009 4:19 am

i love this album so much. i still remember the first time i heard it i was like "omg this is so awesome," but still slightly nervous in case the vocals sucked. then "Rainfall" came on and i was deeper in love. then when i heard Mike Scalzi's voice i think i might have shouted "YES!" it's funny that you described a similar thing in your review

also i don't think Jon Cobbett really "recycles" riffs; the first part of the title track is an overture that has a bunch of riffs and melodies that show up later in the album. they're called leitmotifs!!

Adam · **Posted:** Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:23 am

noodles wrote:

i love this album so much. i still remember the first time i heard it i was like "omg this is so awesome," but still slightly nervous in case the vocals sucked. then "Rainfall" came on and i was deeper in love. then when i heard Mike Scalzi's voice i think i might have shouted "YES!" it's funny that you described a similar thing in your review

also i don't think Jon Cobbett really "recycles" riffs; the first part of the title track is an overture that has a bunch of riffs and melodies that show up later in the album. they're called leitmotifs!!

Yeah, that's pretty much exactly the same reactions I had the first time I listened. Scalzi was so perfect for the music, I was both floored, and grateful that he didn't screw up the momentum the album created for me prior to his vocals coming in.

Never heard of leitmotifs (not much of a music theory scholar I guess), but I don't think its inaccurate to say the riffs are recycled. For the novice listener, hearing the exact same riff from track 1 repeated in track 5, I wouldn't know what else to call that but recycling or reusing it. Not that its a problem for me or anything, since John is so amazing at making it still sound fresh, which was the point I was attempting to make. :wink:

noodles · **Posted:** Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:53 am

i only know what leitmotif means because it's the name of a Dredg album. i think what Jon Cobbett is doing is introducing a bunch of ideas at the start of the album and then bringing them back later. i know operas are a big influence on HoM and they do that too. i guess recycling describes that although it has a bit of a negative or maybe unintentional connotation to it.

Adam · **Posted:** Wed Apr 01, 2009 1:22 pm

noodles wrote:

i only know what leitmotif means because it's the name of a Dredg album. i think what Jon Cobbett is doing is introducing a bunch of ideas at the start of the album and then bringing them back later. i know operas are a big influence on HoM and they do that too. i guess recycling describes that although it has a bit of a negative or maybe unintentional connotation to it.

OK, makes sense. I certainly didn't mean for a negative connotation, but I know there are some people that roll their eyes when a riff is repeated in a separate track. My point was that even those people would have trouble complaining with the way Cobbett does it.