ALBUM REVIEW: WRATH OF THE HAMMER BY STORMHAMMER
Reviewed by Cecilia Pattison-Levi
Release date 17 July 2026
The German overlords of melodic metal, the Munich-based quintet StormHammer, have delivered a ten-song album, ‘Wrath Of The Hammer’, and it is pretty much everything you’d want from a metal record: a chanting, gothic start with symphonic depth, heavy, loud, with big guitars, power chords and songs full of drama!
‘Wrath Of The Hammer’ opens with a 1 minute and 36 second introduction, of ‘Beware’, that sets the scene to sing songs about war and mythology with conviction and authenticity. The band, M. Nox (vocals), Phil Meyer (guitar/backing vocals), Christos Efstathiou (guitar), Ashley Guest (drums) and Horst Tessmann (bass/backing vocals), have real conviction in the songs they are performing as they deliver their grand heavy metal vision throughout the album.
This becomes evident when the album moves into the title track, ‘Wrath Of The Hammer’, and the instrumentation underpinning the song is tight and dynamic, but it’s vocalist M. Nox who carries the melodic line, and his voice is in fine form, turning the ‘Wrath Of The Hammer’ into a widescreen cinematic affair. The guitars smash out power chords as ‘Ashes Of The Throne’ hits. The tale of the King ‘phoenixing’ out of the ashes as “he claims his right” sets the narrative.
Then it’s into “the great unknown” and “halfway to hell” as ‘Light In The Dark’ blazes with awesome guitar solos as the lyrics ask the listener to “stay awake”, and to “face the demons” and to “follow the light” as the “battle never ends/And now we know it's time to rise again”. ‘Wheels Of Eternity’ starts with orchestration of strings before those heavy metal guitars and huge drum blasts cut in, and the melodic vocals deliver the narrative story.
The song about the “soldiers” and saving “souls” is the story of ‘Guardians Of The Night’, and it’s a power metal fever dream with added guitar solos that are pure, and a drum solo before a melodic break brings in a soft finish. ‘Veil Of Fire’ is an album highlight as the “ancient demons” are “carved out”. The thrashing drums and huge guitar riffs are powerful, as are the vocals. The melody is terrific! ‘Scars Of The Abyss’ delivers crushing guitar riffs, soaring melodies and a gripping atmosphere.
The machine-gun drums underscore ‘Shattered Dominion’ as the moment of realisation dawns that “there is nothing wrong with me”. The guitar solos rage at the former betrayal as “the strong survive”. The album ends with the atmospheric ‘The Dune’, and it’s a great climax full of drum acrobatics as the guitars wail. It’s huge, melodic, as the symphonic metal “falls from the sky” and “into the fire”.
StormHammer deliver power, emotion and adventure in ‘Wrath Of The Hammer’, and it’s full of melodic power metal, traditional heavy metal guitar riffing and epic songwriting rooted in the European metal tradition.
