Fátima Natthammer (ex – Mandragora), decides to form her own project at the beginning of 2018, under the name of Natthammer oriented towards a hard rock / heavy metal style.

The first self-titled album was produced by Fátima Natthammer who worked with the musician César Gonzáles Salaverry (Mauser). It was recorded at LCR Studio, Peru with the participation of Cesar in the guitars and choris and session musicians invited in the bass and drums.

Likewise, in 2023, Natthammer published a cover of the song “Sin Ataduras” by the Violadores of Argentina, for the Peruvian compilation ‘We are the best because we are the worst’.

That same year, the release of the singles “Evil Nightmare”, “Guardian Of Light”, “Steel Warrior” and, finally, “Don’t Burn The Witch”, songs from Natthammer’s new album, began. The band shared the stage with bands like Visions (Colombia) and Condenados (Chile).

‘The Hammer Of The Witch’ contains 7 heavy metal songs inspired by the most traditional side of the genre.

The exclusive edition of this album will be available in 12” Vinyl format, on CD in Europe and Peru and on all digital platforms.

LINE-UP
Fátima “Natthammer”- Vocals/Lyrics
Álvaro Fontana- Bass
Diego Porturas- Drums
Pedro Bernales- Guitars
Aquiles Solar- Guitars

REVIEW

NATTHAMMER erupts from Peru, a South American country that while consistently churning out great metal bands, does not do so on the volume of many of its neighbors (or so it appears). They’ve knocked it out of the park with an excellently designed logo that evokes power and speed. The layout of the cover is one of that I’ve always found myself oddly fond of, for reasons I cannot explain.

“Don’t Burn the Witch” opened us up with a highly catchy track, and while it took a little bit for it to really grab me, once it had done so it never let go. A perfect mix of speed and heavy metal rolled into a nice package, and one that never felt overlong or drab.

“Steel Warrior” flowed nicely in line with the opening track, the right amount of catchy and heavy. However, I couldn’t help but feel that it may have been a tad too similar to that opener. Despite that, it was still a solid song that I never wanted to skip past.

“Evil Nightmare” was our third track, and longest of the entire album. It was like the band heard my critique of the last track, as this one was a whole different beast. The eponymous Natthammer really showcased her versatility and melodies on this one with her vocals, and the more mid-tempo affair made this whole track stand out. Throw in a real banger of a guitar solo, with some gnarly sustains aplenty, and this was easily the MOAB (Mother of All Bangers) thus far.

“Guardian of Light” closed out what I’ll call the first half of the album, and it definitely had that single feel to it. It was simpler than the previous track, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Despite that, it was still chock full of moments for everyone in NATTHAMMER to show off their stuff.

“The Traitor with Lizard Eyes” was one that I couldn’t quite get into, despite the band trying with all of their might to get me to do so. Everything was done well, and there was even a borderline symphonic nature to the track at points, but something wasn’t clicking for me. I’m not ready to write this one off just yet though, I think it’ll grow on me with a few more listens.

“Queen of Acid Skies” had the catchiness of the first half of the album, and featured Natthammer hitting a hell of a note at one point. But I still felt like something was holding it back, though I couldn’t for the life of me say what it was. Like the previous track, I’m not ready to call it a day on this one just yet.

“Visionary” was a slower affair that I’d say fell squarely into power ballad territory, and I think this is where NATTHAMMER really shines, and it’s where the titular Natthammer gets to show off her awesome set of pipes. It felt like everything came together for this one, and that propelled it up the pecking order for me. The militaristic drums to fade out were a wonderful touch as well.

CONCLUSION

And so we close the book on NATTHAMMER’s “The Hammer of the Witch”, and I must admit something. This was actually my second full listen to this album. I first checked it out shortly after its release and it didn’t hit with me, but upon taking another look at it, I’m very pleased to say that there’s a lot of good here. Sure the record might be a bit uneven, but that could come down to my personal taste and no record is perfect anyway.

TheNWOTHM Score: 7.5/10

NATTHAMMER’s “The Hammer of the Witch” released on 30 April, 2024
>>>>ORDER HERE<<<<

NATTHAMMER
Bandcamp
Facebook
Instagram
Metal Archives