Bastard

Hammers of Misfortune spent several years writing this, the band's debut CD, and that work becomes more and more evident with each listen. Nothing less than a three-act heavy metal opera with role-playing vocals sung by the band members, the album draws on a whole range of metal influences -- from Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden to Mercyful Fate and Opeth -- and ties them together with some Celtic folk touches to create a sound that, while it does feel a little '80s nostalgic, is actually pretty original. (The plot, by the way, has to do with a child who grows up amidst the forest and later slays his father to become king, but it's a lot more complicated than that.) The vocals are a three-way arsenal of black metal rasps, operatic female singing, and deep-voiced male singing, respectively, and they're well done, but the group's real strength is in its songwriting and specifically its harmonized dual-guitar riffing. The riffs aren't just strung together; they flow smoothly within each song a