Times Of Grace

The Hymn Of A Broken Man

Written by: AP on 20/07/2011 23:20:43

Perfect timing is what you might call the collaboration between Adam Dutkiewicz and Jesse Leach, the former the musical mastermind behind Killswitch Engage; the latter its original vocalist and founding member. Killswitch Engage are currently taking a short break, but for a creative mastermind and Berklee graduate such a thing as a break does not exist - hence the fulfillment of Dutkiewicz's long-standing vision to unite with Leach and release a full-length album, "The Hymn of a Broken Man", under the moniker Times of Grace.

But any hardened Killswitch fan knows that despite his accomplishments as a musician and producer, Adam Dutkiewicz is a one trick pony when it comes to writing music. As such it should come as no surprise that "The Hymn of a Broken Man" is awash with riffs, leads and drums that, while played with undeniable virtuosity, bring little fresh to the table. In fact, had this album been released under the guise of anonymity, most people would probably have placed their bets on it being a collection of previously unreleased Killswitch Engage songs from the "Alive or Just Breathing" era. Cases in point: the title track and "Hope Remains" both sound like signature Killswitch tracks with their bludgeoning gallop, melodic edge, and clean interludes.

On the other hand, this might just be Leach's best vocal performance yet, his frustrating resorts to spoken word passages, which so plagued his other project The Empire Shall Fall, omitted almost completely, leaving plenty of room for his magnificently soaring and impassioned clean singing not heard from the man since "My Last Serenade". His growls and hardcore influenced shouts, too, have significantly improved, to the extent that it is tempting to call his overall achievement here damn near flawless, especially when complemented by Dutkiewicz's soothing backing vocals. Songs like "Where the Spirit Leads Me", "Until the End of Days" and "Live in Love" speak for themselves.

Fans of "Alive or Just Breathing" era Killswitch will undoubtedly rub their hands together at the prospect of "The Hymn of a Broken Man" sounding exactly like it, but even for them the effect must surely wear off during the excessive 13 songs on offer here. It would be a disgrace to dub this effort a failure, or even mediocre, but the fact still remains that "The Hymn of a Broken Man" is summarily exactly what you would expect from this particular duo; too safe and predictable to be considered a work of true esteem, and yet too impeccably executed to be labeled a dud. Paradoxically, it is both hugely disappointing (in being an anti-climax) and tremendously rewarding.

7

Download: Where the Spirit Leads Me, Until the End of Days, Live in Love, Hymn of a Broken Man, Hope Remains
For the fans of: All That Remains, The Empire Shall Fall, Killswitch Engage
Listen: Website

Release date 18.01.2011
Roadrunner Records

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.