Hammer & Chisel finds Milwaukee’s Altered Five Blues Band doing what they do best: serving up tough, original blues with the precision of a group that has spent 24 years sharpening its edge. Their eighth studio album is eleven tracks of fire, feel, and no-nonsense musicianship.

Recorded over four days in Nashville, Hammer & Chisel captures the band in full stride. Jeff Taylor delivers every line with grit and gravity, while Jeff Schroedl’s guitar work cuts clean and deep. The opener “I Got It Good” jumps in with a funky horn-driven surge, while introducing a record built on groove, punch, and airtight chemistry. From the cautionary rumble of “Who Can You Trust” to the resolute finale “The Will of Man,” Altered Five play like a band that knows exactly how to land a blow.

The group describes their journey as having been “hammering away, scraping and chiseling our way forward,” and the songs reflect that spirit. This is blues built on lived experience: the hopeful spark of “Lotta Love Left in Me,” the unwavering devotion of “Hell or High Water,” the swampy pull of “Dare Me to Do It,” the raw reckoning at the core of “Can’t Shake It.” The band moves from vulnerability to swagger with total conviction.

Produced by multi-Grammy winner Tom Hambridge, Hammer & Chisel packs the punch and immediacy of a live set with harmonica ace Jason Ricci adding extra voltage across three tracks. It’s the sound of five musicians who have spent decades refining their craft and still show up hungry.