GLASS HAMMER

Skallagrim – Into The Breach GLASSHAMMER.COM

Chattanooga’s prog veterans scale new heights.

When Glass Hammer released their 20th studio album, Dreaming City, last year, it might as well have arrived adorned with a giant neon sign reading ‘milestone’. After a quarter of a century of active service, Steve Babb and Fred Schendel were well established as purveyors of a versatile but primarily traditional strain of symphonic prog. Keyboard-heavy and proudly indebted to the prog greats, albums like Chronomotree (2000) and If (2010) (featuring Yes’ Jon Davison on vocals) suggested that the duo’s vision, while malleable, was essentially set in stone.

Dreaming City changed all that, with its thunderous, proto-metal riffing, gleefully nerd-friendly conceptual narrative and, for the first time, a sense that Glass Hammer were focused as much on rocking out as they were on the finer details of their always intricate music. Most importantly, Dreaming City was a riot: big, bombastic and full of fresh ideas. The follow-up repeats the trick, but with everything cranked up to 11.

Skallagrim – Into The Breach continues the tale of its titular protagonist, as he goes to war against the forces of evil. Fittingly, this is a much heavier and more action-packed album than its predecessor, with a great deal more of the exuberant, revved-up progressive metal vibes that Glass Hammer embraced last time out. Meanwhile, new vocalist Hannah Pryor sings lead on the majority of these songs, her bright, punchy voice adding several new colours to the mix.

Whether buoyed by another line-up change or simply excited by the joyous thunder of their updated sound, Glass Hammer are audibly having an absolutely fantastic time throughout Skallagrim – Into The Breach, and that collective high is matched by the quality of the music itself. Opener Anthem To Andorath and the edgy strut of The Writing On

The Wall are all strident riffing and rippling Hammond; Steel and The Ogre Of Archon are uproarious hard rock monoliths, brimming with invention; the sparkling sprawl of The Forlorn Hope gently emits echoes of both Led Zeppelin and Genesis, with bonus spiralling Moog and lashings of twinkly 12-string.

Even more startling are three consecutive instrumental tracks – A Spell Upon His Mind, Moon Pool and The Dark – which harness everything from jazz fusion to horror flick soundtracks; while climactic behemoth Hyperborea gives a sharp salute to the first few Rush albums, cramming an absurd number of elegant and explosive ideas into its stormy 10-minute duration.

Another milestone, then. Nearly three decades in, Glass Hammer are on blistering, celebratory form.

THEY’RE AUDIBLY HAVING AN ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC TIME.