Horns and Hammers

I initially liked Ignitor's last album (The Golden Age of Black Magick) and even though the bloom came off the rose after a short while, I still wanted to check out their next release, 2024's Horns and Hammers. On the surface, they play the kind of aggressive heavy metal I love, with pounding riffs and drums and plenty of speed. Singer Jason McMaster has a strong, powerful voice with Jon Oliva-like delivery and range, which should be another positive for Horns and Hammers and there are parts of the album I like, such as the hooky riffs on "Cyber Crush," one of the more accessible cuts. Most of the album, however, I find grating, whether it is screamy vocals or the sharpness of the playing that pushes the melodies aside and simply hammers away at the ear drums. Sitting though tracks like "Dark Horse" and "Chaos Maximus Eternal" is a chore. It is like Ignitor couldn't decide between an all-out thrash attack or a more melodic metal sound and decided that going all in with both might work, but little on the album gelled. I want to like Horns and Hammers more, but it is too frustratingly uneven.