Hammers of Misfortune

Hammers of Misfortune is a progressive heavy metal band from San Francisco, California. The band's style has varied from album to album, at times incorporating different elements of folk metal, doom metal, NWOBHM, black metal, 1970s rock, and thrash metal. It is the brainchild of guitarist John Cobbett, who serves as the band's producer and primary songwriter.[1]

Hammers of Misfortune
Also known asUnholy Cadaver
OriginSan Francisco, United States
GenresHeavy metal, progressive metal, folk metal, doom metal, power metal
Years active2000-present
LabelstUMULt, Cruz Del Sur, Profound Lore, Shadow Kingdom, Metal Blade
Associated actsSlough Feg, Ludicra, VHÖL
MembersJohn Cobbett
Joe Hutton
Leila Abdul-Rauf
Sigrid Sheie
Max Barnett
Chewy Marzolo
Past membersJanis Tanaka
Mike Scalzi
Jamie Myers
Patrick Goodwin
Jesse Quattro
Ron Nichols

History

Hammers of Misfortune was formed in the mid-1990s under the name Unholy Cadaver. At the time, the only members were guitarist John Cobbett and drummer Chewy Marzolo, both of whom shared vocal duties. Enlisting the help of other musicians, among them Mike Scalzi of The Lord Weird Slough Feg, they recorded a full album's worth of material in their rehearsal space. However, only three of these nine tracks were included on the band's aptly titled Demo No. 1, and the majority of the material remained unreleased until 2011, when Shadow Kingdom Records released the entire recording as the Unholy Cadaver LP. Unholy Cadaver's output laid the groundwork for what would become Hammers of Misfortune's signature style, but it also contained elements of death metal (mainly in John Cobbett's vocals) that would be phased out in future recordings.[2]

In 2000, the band changed its name to Hammers of Misfortune, taking its moniker from a track on the Unholy Cadaver demo. Recruiting Scalzi and Janis Tanaka (formerly of Fireball Ministry and L7), the band released its 2001 concept album The Bastard on Tumult Records. The Bastard received many positive reviews in the metal community, including several "best of 2001" awards from magazines such as Terrorizer and Lamentations Of The Flame Princess.[3]

In 2003 the band signed a deal with Cruz Del Sur Music, releasing their second album The August Engine by the end of the same year. This album was also well received by the metal community, getting a 10/10 review from Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles magazine[4] among other acclamations. After The August Engine, Janis Tanaka left the band and was replaced by Jamie Myers.[5]

After The Locust Years, there was a large lineup change. Mike Scalzi left the band, in order to focus on his main band, The Lord Weird Slough Feg, and Jamie Myers left the band in order to raise a family. Scalzi was replaced by Patrick Goodwin, and Jesse Quattro replaced Myers. The original drummer, Chewy, left and rejoined the band.[5] With this new lineup, the band recorded the double album, Fields/Church of Broken Glass, in 2008. However, this lineup was not to last, as Quattro and Goodwin parted ways with the band in 2010. Cobbett subsequently recruited guitarist/vocalist Leila Abdul-Rauf and lead vocalist Joe Hutton.[6]

In March 2010, Hammers of Misfortune announced that they had signed a record deal with Metal Blade Records. Since then, Metal Blade has re-released The Bastard, The August Engine, The Locust Years, and Fields/Church of Broken Glass.[7] In October 2011, the band produced their fifth studio album, 17th Street,[8] which was well-received by critics, with positive reviews from Pitchfork,[9] AllMusic,[10] The Quietus,[11] and PopMatters.[12]

The band's sixth album, Dead Revolution, was released in the summer of 2016 following a long hiatus, during which Cobbett and keyboardist Sigrid Sheie had a child and Hutton recovered from a motorcycle accident while other band members were involved with various side projects.[13] Cobbett mentioned "technology and gentrification" as two of the subjects he thought about during the writing of the album.[14]

Albums discography

Line-up

Current

Former
  • Janis Tanaka - Bass, Vocals
  • Mike Scalzi - Guitars, Vocals
  • Jamie Myers - Bass, Vocals
  • Ron Nichols - Bass
  • Patrick Goodwin - Guitar, Vocals
  • Jesse Quattro - Vocals
  • Max Barnett - Bass
  • Chewy Marzolo - Drums

References
  1. "Interview with John Cobbett, guitarist and producer for Hammers of Misfortune". The Midlands Rocks. 2011-10-29. Archived from the original on 2012-04-06. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  2. "[ U ] titles at Aquarius Records". Aquariusrecords.org. Archived from the original on 2011-11-04. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-10-26. Retrieved 2007-10-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Reviews". Bravewords.com. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  5. "Hammers of Misfortune | Biography, Albums, & Streaming Radio". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2011-11-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE signs to Metal Blade Records". idiomag. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-07-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Hammers of Misfortune: 17th Street". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  10. "17th Street - Hammers of Misfortune | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  11. "The Quietus | Reviews | Hammers of Misfortune". The Quietus. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  12. "Hammers of Misfortune: 17th Street". PopMatters. 2011-11-01. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  13. "Hammers of Misfortune". www.metalblade.com. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  14. Artwork, Heavy Music (2016-07-15). "Hammers of Misfortune". Heavy Music Artwork. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
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