Long after the tide of traditional heavy metal had surged out to sea, U.S metal band Hittman too had drifted off on a liferaft containing remnants of the late 80’s scene.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Hittman
ALBUM: Vivas Machina
LABEL: SPV
SERIAL: SPV 084-76552
YEAR: 1993
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Dirk Kennedy – lead and backing vocals, piano, keyboards * Jim Bachi – guitars, backing vocals * John Kristen – guitars, backing vocals * Michael Buccell – bass * Mark Jenkins – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Radio Waves * 02 Listen * 03 Say A Prayer For Me * 04 Words * 05 If You Can’t Dance To It * 06 Answer My Prayer * 07 Partners In Crime * 08 Renegade Man * 09 Ballad Of Jackson Heights * 10 Walk That Walk * 11 Mercy
WEBLINKS: FB Page
Background
Long after the tide of traditional heavy metal had surged out to sea, U.S metal band Hittman too had drifted off on a liferaft containing remnants of the late 80’s scene. Surprise to many that they re-emerged in 1993 with a new album ‘Vivas Machina’, but losing most of the elements which made them popular during the mid to late 80’s.
To my ears, Hittman still have a definite Queensryche sound in evidence, but not as much as previously. Plus, they seemed to have bolted on a Bon Jovi component too. One track in particular takes on a wild west persona, hence the comparison. While I’m at it, there’s a hint of funkiness a la Extreme and Sunshine Jive/In The Pink. Still signed to SPV, the band made just the one change, drummer Chuck Kory replaced by Mark Jenkins.
The Songs
Getting past the 1940’s musical intro for ‘Radio Waves’, the band fire off into their trademark sound. The solo section moves in the same direction as Fifth Angel, plus there are some strange blowpipe synth parts in there too.
‘Listen’ is full of funky bass lines but still remains true to form, with the dual guitars of Kristen and Bachi dominating. Church organ parts introduce ‘Say A Prayer For Me’, but not for long, as the song surges into a melodic rock romp. ‘Words’ is the band’s power-ballad moment, while ‘If You Can’t Dance To It’ is a fun-time excursion a la Mr Big and Extreme. I believe the song is a piss-take on the music trends of 1993. Yes, it really was that bad!
‘Answer My Prayer’ is a deep dive expedition, and I’m sure it will be easy to compare to Queensryche, or maybe even a band like Enchant. ‘Partners In Crime’ is another tune that is comparable to Extreme. Even the wah-wah guitar parts are of a funky nature. ‘Renegade Man’ is Hittman’s take on a Western ballad. Maybe an ode to Billy The Kid? If so the Hittman tag is appropriate. Hard to ignore the Jon Bon Jovi comparison on this one.
‘Ballad Of Jackson Heights’ refers to the neighbourhood in the Queens precinct of New York City, but the song itself is one of young love. ‘Walk That Walk’ leans more toward melodic hard rock, and is certainly lighter than previous Hittman material. The funky bass lines come alive on ‘Mercy’, but then it changes pace and becomes much more orchestrated with huge piano influences amid a Queen like delivery. It’s quite long too, well over 8 minutes.
In Summary
After listening to this, I’ll admit this is not as heavy as their first album. Still, it’s likeable enough, despite the change-up styles to be found here. There was a whole bunch of dialog over on the Heavy Harmonies website with Dirk Kennedy around the year 2003. Dirk mentioned that he was working on a solo album with a different style to that of Hittman. Unfortunately his website is no longer online and the album never saw the light of day. Somehow I feel the final rites have not yet been cast upon this band, and they may come back to life. Here’s hoping. SPV/Steamhammer? Get to work.
Video
Say A Prayer For Me
Answer My Prayer
