HAMMERHEAD – Lords of the sun

High Roller Records, black vinyl, ltd 300, insert, Cumbria’s Hammerhead were one of the most talented outfits to evolve from the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal movement of the late 1970s. They came together at the turn of the decade after the demise of various small-time acts such as Judas, Bitter Harvest and 8 Hertz. After a few tentative appearances on the regional club scene in the early days, the group first came to public attention via a well-received demo tape. Although their signature tune “Time Will Tell” gathered some very encouraging local response, labels like Neat, Heavy Metal Records or Guardian never got in contact with the band. Instead Hammerhead opted to issue a self-financed 7” single on their own Linden Sounds label in 1981, pairing the already popular “Time Will Tell” with the more restrained “Lonely Man” on the flipside. However, not being able to secure that illusive record deal, the original band split up around 1986. When Hammerhead reformed in 2005, they quickly issued their first studio album »Headonizm«, followed by the critically acclaimed »The Sin Eater« in 2015. The same line-up of Tony Steel on drums and percussion, Steven Woods on vocals, Steve Archer on bass, plus Brian Hodgson and Buzz Elliott on guitars has now recorded the brand new album »Lords Of The Sun« (with the 24 minute long title track being the centrepiece of the record). “It has been a long time in the making,” comments founding member Buzz Elliott, “and there are a number of reasons for that. We began writing some of the material soon after the release of »The Sin Eater« in 2015. The new album was recorded over several sporadic visits to ’Linden Studio’, which is run by our producer Guy Forrester.” “I’ve talked this through with Steve Archer and we both agree that this album is more of a team effort,” is how Buzz Elliott describes the main difference between »The Sin Eater« and »Lords Of The Sun«. “Everyone has contributed more and given their best. There were some good songs which we are very proud of on »The Sin Eater«, the title track and ‘Angels Fall’ for example, but on »Lords Of The Sun« we have tried to keep the bar high throughout with no weak spots. Others may not agree but we think that this time we have achieved our goal and we are more than happy with the results. We have tried our hardest to make this album as good as it can be and not to include any ‘album filler’ tracks on this one, each track being worthy of its place. Also because it could be our last one, we wanted to maintain a high standard in both the song writing and also the production values.” Depending on the public’s reactions and the band’s fitness level, »Lords Of The Sun« may or may not be Hammerhead’s farewell album. So get it while you can. MATTHIAS MADER