Times Of Grace in many ways is the realization of a Killswitch Engage fans wet dream. A musical reunion of original KSE frontman Jesse Leach and the bands multi-talented lynchpin, Adam Dutkiewicz, the prospect of “The Hymn Of A Broken Man” sure sounds interesting on paper.
Written during, ahem, ‘times’ of turmoil and struggle while Leach battled his own demons and Dutkiewicz recuperated from debilitating injuries, there is a continual thread of desperate aggression and bleak faith running throughout the effort that gives it a discernable weight on a lyrical and emotional level.
As such it is a bit underwhelming then that the album tends to falter when it comes to individual diversity between songs and overall structuring. To be blunt, much of the material could have been easily shoehorned into a Killswitch Engage release.
Sure Leach takes a different stylistic approach than current KSE frontman Howard Jones; but the album itself doesn’t necessarily feel like a departure or sonic revelation for either of the principal parties involved.
Rather, much of it merely comes off as a slightly provoked blend of the brutish New England metalcore KSE helped to define earlier in their career mixed with atmospheric flourishes. Truly it’s not a great sign when an albums only twist comes in the form of an acoustically strummed ballad – In this case, “The Forgotten One“, a Bon Jovi-reminiscent number which itself is packs about as much glossy punch as a Stone Sour radio single.
Diehard KSE fans will have little to complain about and there are a handful of darker instances on this outing that may even throw them for a loop. But as a whole “The Hymn Of A Broken Man” feels far too compressed and familiar to establish Times Of Grace as their own entity; with songs often blurring into each other and only faint glimpses of unchecked emotion standing out.
