Hammill, Peter

»From the Trees« is the kind of album we sort of expected from Mr. Hammill in the autumn of his career: a deeply reflective, personal record with a remarkably mature stamp, but on the other hand not nearly as thrilling, let alone…

»The Fall of the House of Usher« is a gloomy prog rock opera made to Hammill's own particular art rock recipe, but when it came out in 1991 it didn't, for one reason or another, reflect the artist's final vision.

Over his vast and incredibly varied musical career, Peter Hammill has proven time and again that he needs no outside help to pull off ambitious studio projects, and »...All That Might Have Been...« is no exception.

"Enter K" was yet another superb Hammill studio achievement, one that still shakes you to the core today with its extraordinary emotional power and enviable atmospheric depth.

Even after his run-in with Gary Lucas on »Other World«, fans of Hammill's solo career will find plenty to be happy about while listening to this joint project.

You could say that »Sitting Targets« is a almost thoroughly classic Peter Hammill solo album, meaning that, apart from a minimal touch of new wave, the sound and production tech of the eighties barely laid a finger on it.

»A Black Box« was a crystal-clear demonstration that Peter Hammill couldn't have cared less about practically every musical trend of the day, delivering yet another superb, thoroughly dark and experimental studio document where, as usual,…

As befits a musician of his caliber, "ph7" was yet another stylistically wildly variable album, sailing successfully between the white and the black of Hammill's ambient palette while also serving as a mighty farewell to Charisma Records,…

"Consequences" is the first-class treat we were all expecting, made for every fan of prog-rock eclecticism and high-tension ambient intensity of the kind only an old-school music legend can deliver.

Master Hamilll completely blew us away once again, proving that he may be the only singer on the entire planet who can create such an intense atmosphere with nothing but the power of his voice that you don't miss a backing band even a…

»The Future Now« is experimental from head to toe, packed with unexpected atmospheric twists. At the same time, it once again stands as a total one-off next to the master's earlier studio gems.

The masterpiece "Over", another superb entry in Hammill's solo legacy, presents the legendary herald of the post-apocalypse in an unusual role for him: a disillusioned poet with a heart that hasn't gone stale.

"Nadir's Big Chance," a wild fusion of prog rock and proto-punk, is one of the most important and colorful achievements of Hammill's career, bringing together a staggering range of styles.

"In Camera" is one of Hammill's darkest and, for that very reason, best solo records, with such a hellish atmosphere that walking on hot coals feels like child's play.

"Thin Air" is another gem in the collection of Hammill's solo masterpieces. Over the years, the charismatic musical visionary hasn't let up for a second when it comes to conjuring gut-wrenching emotional states and probing the dark corners…

"The Silent Corner And The Empty Stage" has all the key ingredients that still have prog rock connoisseurs bowing down to Hammill's genius.

"Chamelon in the Shadow of the Night" is a superb album on which Hammill matured into a confident solo artist and made it clear for the first time that he had no intention of staying in the shadow of his parent band.

"Fool's Mate" is a solid debut that successfully embodies Hammill's musical roots. With its sacred simplicity and likable, pastoral affability, it's of course light-years away from his later solo and VDGG masterpieces.

Peter Hammill, musical visionary, indestructible doctor of post-apocalyptic poetics and one of the greatest vocal oddballs of our time, spent most of 2005 busy with the newly reformed prog rock legends Van Der Graaf Generator