Band: Ukko's Hammer
From: Denver, Colorado
Their formation story:
(Zach, vocals): "The whole concept/first demo started off as my solo project. It was the middle of quarantine and I was starting to write some 'metal adjacent' riffs and eventually record a handful songs with the help of my drum machine. The demo is a result of all of that and is the first, and last, release as a solo project. After the world started to open back up a bit, I hit up some friends I’ve known from different corners of music (from hardcore, to electronic, to noise, etc,) to put a live band together, which has made this one of the most fun bands I've been in.
"The lineup has stayed relatively stable since then, minus swapping out drummers and going from two guitarists to one. I still write riffs and parts of songs with my drum machine and pitch it to the band as part of the pre-production process, but it’s awesome having everyone’s input when writing, everyone brings ideas/riffs/parts to the table, drawing from a variety of influences."
Their sound in their own words:
"It’s a little bit all over the place; but to put it simply it’s crossover. A bit like the traditional notion of the term; blending thrash metal and hardcore, but also in a bit of a non-conventional way by adding some Industrial, noise, and doom into the mix. A lot of the lyrical content is a mix of old labor movement songs mixed with Finnish mythology, reinterpreting the mythology to fit within some sort of syndicalist perspective.
"So, it truly is the crossover of a wide range of ideas and sounds into something that is The Hammer. Some of our influences are early Sepultura, Godflesh, Kaaos, Suicidal Tendencies, Entombed, Death, Cold Sweat, and the Buzzcocks."
Latest release info:
"Our original drummer, Anton, moved to Los Angeles recently, so before he left we wanted to get some new material out there sort of as a send off. We wanted to have the tape have a bit more of a cohesive sound than the previous tape, so we experimented with a different recording process and I’m really happy with how it turned out.
"This tape leans a bit harder into those thrash influences, but we also wanted to mess around with some slower, heavier sounds and see how that all would work together. Things like putting a gabber kick over a doom part, that don’t sound like they’d work on paper but actually compliment each other really well."
Future plans:
"We have plans to record again with our new drummer, Seth, this summer. Working on practicing a lot and going into the studio and recording everything we got live, and compiling it all into an LP. Other than that, just playing as much as we can, possibly some out of town gigs if we can swing it. Maybe play a fest if someone wants to have us? Just rolling with it and trying to have fun, we ain't getting any younger [laughs]."
What other bands from their region should we check out?
"Sewerslide, Merry, Asbestos, Smear Campaign, and Polish."
Ukko's Hammer on social media: Instagram
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