The Hammer - Demo 2014

It's hammer time! I'm not sorry for the pun either. I have drunken memories of seeing Swedish hardcore band The Hammer playing with Agent Attitude in Harrogate earlier this year. It was a hot day and I was drinking scrumpy, which looking back was a pretty bad idea. They played at a matinee show along with Clocked Out, Dog Eggs and newish local band Mother Culture, which was really good fun.

I picked up their three-track demo from Headless Guru Records, who were responsible for it's release. The tape is now sold out. The Hammer only formed at the back end of last year, but thankfully had enough material to fill a reasonable live set. They've got a 7" coming out at some point too.

Tracklist:-

1. Intro/Is This Life?
2. Comprehension
3. Born To Lose

This is fast, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it punk. Demo opener Intro/Is This Life? doesn’t even reach a minute. It’s not until the final twenty-seconds of the song that The Hammer's punk kicks in. After that, it’s full steam ahead.

Comprehension is raw and The Hammer’s old-school leanings are more obvious. They kick out fast hardcore mixed with moments of mid-paced thrash-laden punk. There’s no pretence or modern trickery here, just honest noise.

Born To Lose closes out the demo in typical infectious fashion. It’s hard to write a lot about a demo that barely reaches four-minutes, but to be honest, demos shouldn’t be too long or they lose their impact. The Hammer make a short-sharp impression that leaves a definite imprint. 

You can stream the demo and grab it as a name-you-price-download from The Hammer's bandcamp page below:-



The Hammer Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/hammerhc
Headless Guru Records Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HeadlessGuruRecords