When touring the UK with Killswitch Engage, guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz required emergency surgery on his back. While in the hospital recovering, he began writing new material which he later recorded and demoed at home. Dutkiewicz later contacted former Killswitch Engage bandmate and singer Jesse Leach about writing lyrics and recording vocals feeling that he " think the greatest vocalist and lyricist" and "wanted a little help in that department." Under the moniker Times of Grace, they began recording material in 2008 with Dutkiewicz stating on the group's Myspace that the songs were "an epic mix of Metal/Rock/Pop/Shoe gaze & Punk. All of your metal expectations will be incorrect, we are pushing genre boundaries". They hoped to release an album of finished material by the summer of 2009. After completing the recording of material in 2009, Times of Grace returned in 2010 to release their debut album. Dutkiewicz recorded vocals, guitars, bass and drums for the album with Leach providing lead vocals and lyrics. In September, they filmed a video for the single "Strength in Numbers", with debut album The Hymn of a Broken Man scheduled for release on November 9. However, the album's release was delayed with a new release date of January 18, 2011. The majority of songs on the album are played in Drop D tuning, although for the songs "Fight for Life", "Until the End of Days", "The End of Eternity" and "Fall From Grace" Adam uses a 7 string tuned to Drop A. A limited CD/DVD edition was also released, featuring 13 companion videos made by Agata Alexander which present a visual interpretation of the album.
Reception
Critical
The Hymn of a Broken Man received generally positive reviews, scoring a 69 out of 100 on Metacritic based on seven reviews. Allmusic reviewer Phil Freeman commented that "Anyone who thought Times of Grace was going to represent some radical departure is bound to be disappointed. Anybody who comes to it expecting melodic metal with hardcore crunch, occasional bits of post-rock guitar, and angsty yet ultimately life-affirming lyrics, on the other hand, will be pleased." Rick Florino of Artistdirect gave the album a perfect score of five out of five, commenting that "The Hymn of a Broken Man functions as a heavy, heartfelt journey through pain," and that "Times Of Grace are the future. Let another new age begin."
Commercial
Upon release, The Hymn of a Broken Man charted at number 44 on the Billboard 200, selling nearly 10,000 copies. It also debuted at number 2 on the Hard Rock charts and number 13 on the Rock album chart overall as well.
Track listing
Charts
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. Times of Grace
