About Hammerhedd

Hammerhedd was formed in 2012 when brothers Henry, Eli, and Abe Ismert took after their Dad & uncles and started jamming in the basement. They each naturally gravitated towards their current respective instruments (Henry to guitar, Eli to drums, and Abe to bass & keys, although he initially tried to steal the drumset from Eli). Initially influenced by mainly Metallica, Led Zeppelin, and Rush, the brothers started playing for hours every day after school. In 2013, the band had its first gig at their grade school’s talent show, and soon after played more gigs wherever they were tolerated. Local coffee shops, pool parties, on the street, etc. were all they could get for the first 3-4 years. 

In 2016, the band caught a bit of traction when a recording of the band’s set on the street at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, MO went viral. At the time, the band didn’t have any social media, management, or knowledge of how to handle the situation, so although many offers came their way, very little came of it. What did come of it, however, was opening slots for bands that came to town, which gave the band opportunities to finally play on ‘real’ stages for the first time. 

From 2016-2020 the band played as many gigs as they could while in school and put out two releases; the first was their 2018 debut E.P. ‘Essence of Iron’, and the second was their 2020 debut album “Grand Currents’. In 2022, the band put out two new singles, Tunnel & Fruition, and went on their first short tour opening for Swedish metal legends In Flames. They then released their second full length album titled ‘Nonetheless’ on February 23rd, 2023. That summer, they embarked on their first full length tour with Denver thrash metal band Havok. 

Exactly one year after the release of Nonetheless, the band released their third full-length album, ‘Not Important’. It was a change of pace from their previous albums; the band looks to continue experimenting with new sounds on their next releases.