Nuclear Blast
2011
1. Patient Zero
2. Bang Your Head
3. One More Time
4. The Outlaw
5. Send Me A Sign (Pokolgep Cover)
6. Dia De Los Muertos
7. I Refuse
8. 666 - The Enemy Within
9. Immortalized
10. Let's Get It On
11. Redemption
HammerFall are, for the most part, a band that has only gotten moderate interest from me through the bulk of their career. Their first couple were decent if not exactly remarkable fluff power metal and from there on it became mostly derivative. Every so often a release surprises you and hits out of nowhere though and that's exactly what No Sacrifice, No Victory did. That album, while not exactly a big stylistic change or anything of the sort came up with a strikingly good series of anthemic metal songs. With that in mind I had some interest going into this one. The big question for me had to be which HammerFall was going to show up here. Was the last a fluke or a reawakening for the band?
It's not often that an album title, lyrics, and album art give me immediate pause, but this is one such case. A seeming dark theme & cover art with some zombie imagery... weird to say the least for this band. Didn't seem like anything they could pull off with their sound in the past just looking at the packaging.
Well, my skepticism seems to be warranted after listening to this. Songs like Patient Zero and One More Time fall completely flat for me. HammerFall just doesn't have much business trying to make a darker song or one with these sorts of lyrical themes. Quite frankly the band doesn't have the ability to craft these sorts of atmospheres or heaviness.
There are some bright spots of sorts to be found here though. The Outlaw is one instance of an energetic anthem that finds a way to shine in this somewhat misguided concept. A nice catchy rhythm and energetic flow make for a pleasing and catchy number. This track is by far the best the album has to offer. I refuse is also worth noting as it has a good creeping bass groove and is a pretty decent rocker as well. Also worth mentioning as one of the better, if maybe not spectacular, tracks is Bang Your Head which sounds like typical old HammerFall pretty much. Not great, but better than some of the 'zombie' tracks here.
Overall, this album seems flawed from the start in picking a concept the band couldn't really carry. HammerFall seems to try to reach outside their comfort zone here, which is admirable in a way, but the end result isn't so good. This isn't an awful release, but it is a fairly missable one. While I didn't hate listening to this, it never comes even close to No Sacrifice, No Victory in terms of song quality.
Highlights: The Outlaw, I Refuse
Rating - 3.0/5
2. Bang Your Head
3. One More Time
4. The Outlaw
5. Send Me A Sign (Pokolgep Cover)
6. Dia De Los Muertos
7. I Refuse
8. 666 - The Enemy Within
9. Immortalized
10. Let's Get It On
11. Redemption
HammerFall are, for the most part, a band that has only gotten moderate interest from me through the bulk of their career. Their first couple were decent if not exactly remarkable fluff power metal and from there on it became mostly derivative. Every so often a release surprises you and hits out of nowhere though and that's exactly what No Sacrifice, No Victory did. That album, while not exactly a big stylistic change or anything of the sort came up with a strikingly good series of anthemic metal songs. With that in mind I had some interest going into this one. The big question for me had to be which HammerFall was going to show up here. Was the last a fluke or a reawakening for the band?
It's not often that an album title, lyrics, and album art give me immediate pause, but this is one such case. A seeming dark theme & cover art with some zombie imagery... weird to say the least for this band. Didn't seem like anything they could pull off with their sound in the past just looking at the packaging.
Well, my skepticism seems to be warranted after listening to this. Songs like Patient Zero and One More Time fall completely flat for me. HammerFall just doesn't have much business trying to make a darker song or one with these sorts of lyrical themes. Quite frankly the band doesn't have the ability to craft these sorts of atmospheres or heaviness.
There are some bright spots of sorts to be found here though. The Outlaw is one instance of an energetic anthem that finds a way to shine in this somewhat misguided concept. A nice catchy rhythm and energetic flow make for a pleasing and catchy number. This track is by far the best the album has to offer. I refuse is also worth noting as it has a good creeping bass groove and is a pretty decent rocker as well. Also worth mentioning as one of the better, if maybe not spectacular, tracks is Bang Your Head which sounds like typical old HammerFall pretty much. Not great, but better than some of the 'zombie' tracks here.
Overall, this album seems flawed from the start in picking a concept the band couldn't really carry. HammerFall seems to try to reach outside their comfort zone here, which is admirable in a way, but the end result isn't so good. This isn't an awful release, but it is a fairly missable one. While I didn't hate listening to this, it never comes even close to No Sacrifice, No Victory in terms of song quality.
Highlights: The Outlaw, I Refuse
Rating - 3.0/5
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