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Track Listing: Strength In Numbers Fight For Life Willing Where The Spirit Leads Me Until The End Of Days Live In Love In The Arms Of Mercy Hymn Of A Broken Man The Forgotten One Hope Remains The End Of Eternity Worlds Apart Fall From Grace

Times Of Grace is a collaboration between Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz and original KsE vocalist Jesse Leach, and now the duo is ready to release its inaugural effort, "The Hymn Of A Broken Man". The story behind this album intrigues me to no end. The album was written by Adam D, from a hospital bed, when he was sidelined from touring with Killswitch Engage due to severe back problems and subsequent surgery, a little over three years ago. This was a time when Adam thought his playing days were over, and the songs on this record are like a journey through that experience of his. He has single handedly composed the music here and has performed the role of guitarist, drummer, songwriter and producer. Jesse has come in with his intense lyrics and powerful vocals to add further oomph to the project.

"Strength In Numbers" opens up the 13-track album and straightaway the music is dark, melodic and powerful. The lyrics revolve around "One love, one truth, one destiny" and couldn't be more suited to the musical atmosphere created by the song. "Fight For Life" offers a follow-up that's much more lyric-oriented, but still has some well crafted music to go with it. A deeply melodic and entrancing "Willing" comes next, showcasing the astounding ease with which Adam and Jesse gel together as musicians. "Where The Spirit Leads Me" is hugely diverse within itself and the musical passages on it ensure that it's heavy and melodic at the same time, making it one of the most enjoyable songs on the record.

After that sequence of four beautifully composed tracks, "Until The End Of Days" keeps up with the overall ambience of the album as it's interspersed with some beautiful guitar melodies that combine extremely well with the heavier, death metal type parts. It's a slow track, but when it comes to music of this nature, that's a good thing. "Live In Love" comes next, and even though it starts off with a pretty generic guitar riff, it settles down into the richest composition on the album, giving the listener a taste of just about every musical ingredient that forms Times Of Grace's debut. A track worth hitting the repeat button for, this one is sure to go down as an instant classic. "In The Arms Of Mercy" serves as a beautiful, quiet little interlude as it leads into the title track "Hymn Of A Broken Man". Musically it's similar to the rest of the album but the lyrics make it as powerful as any other track.

"The Forgotten One" is decorated by some immensely delightful acoustic guitar music. I've always been a sucker for the acoustic guitar sound, and without a doubt this is my favorite song on this album. It's followed by "Hope Remains", which starts off as more of the kind of tune a hardcore Killswitch Engage fan would appreciate, but then turns out to be of the kind that typifies this record. The last segment of the album consists of the tracks "The End Of Eternity", "Worlds Apart" and "Fall From Grace", all three of which are enjoyable in their own different ways.

This is a "record" in the truest sense. The music is a record of that period of Adam Dutkiewicz's life, and the title couldn't have been more apt as he was certainly broken physically and mentally at the time of writing these set of tunes. Honestly, it's been a pleasant surprise for me to listen to Adam's deeply intricate and beautifully composed effort, and he has gained new levels of respect as a musician in my eyes.

Not to undermine Jesse's effort, as all Killswitch fans will be delighted to get another taste of what he can achieve with one of his original band mates. The chemistry between the two is quite evident, and whether they present this music with a full live band, or continue this as an in-studio project, or even just call it a one-off effort remains to be seen.

If you're the kind of person who looks for catchy lyrics or breakneck speed in your music, this is definitely not your cup of tea. On the other hand if you appreciate darkness and melody in your music, you are going to love "The Hymn Of A Broken Man".

An astonishingly beautiful and powerful effort.