Killswitch Engage mastermind Adam D. grouped together with former KSE singer Jesse Leach to record this album which will also be supported by a small tour, incidentally with KSE guitarist Joel Stroetzel.
This comes of course on the heels of KSE vocalist Howard Jones leaving the tour last year due to undisclosed problems and KSE have been quite mum about their plans, helping promote Times of Grace instead. So let’s leave that aside and dive into Hymn of a Broken Man which some previews hailed as the next big thing.
The sound is definitely similar to Killswitch Engage which shouldn’t come as a surprise. However, for a couple of songs Adam D. pulls out an acoustic guitar. The Forgotten One not only sounds great but also reminds me a bit of older times, like the early 90s. There are quicker rhythm changes at times with the drums playing closer to the guitar and the chorus’s usually are a bit slower with focus on the melody. However, most tracks’ hooklines seem to grow even slower than some KSE songs, at least until the final quarter of the album. So far, after four run-throughs this is not the next big thing for me. But I won’t give up on it just yet.