HammerFall - Infected

Power Metal
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

HammerFall - No Sacrifice, No Victory

Power Metal
Nuclear Blast

2009

1. Any Means Necessary
2. Life Is Now
3. Punish And Enslave
4. Legion
5. Between Two Worlds
6. Hallowed Be My Name
7. Something For The Ages
8. No Sacrifice, No Victory
9. Bring The Hammer Down
10. One Of A Kind
11. My Sharona (cover)

HammerFall are a band often mocked in the metal scene and I wouldn't really count myself as an exception. I liked this band's first three albums, but after that I stopped paying much attention. HammerFall have basically settled into a huge rut of fairly cheeseball and generic power metal. With that said, they still have some name value in metal if nothing else so I check out and review their releases.

Well allow to me register some surprise and tell you this album is actually pretty good. It was kind of hard to put my finger on exactly why at first but after repeated listens I noticed many of the songs just have more energy and anthemic qualities that work than the past few. Album opener Any Means Necessary is a good representation as it just has a nice rolling gallop to it coupled with some well placed chanting background vocals and a relatively heavy guitar sound. Also featured is a nice melodic, if not technically amazing solo that is well placed. This just sounds like cool warrior kind of metal and got my head moving. It's been awhile since any HammerFall song has done that for me so I felt it worth noting and expanding on. Legion is a nice surprise as well as it blazes ahead with a good amount of speed and reminds of their earlier albums. Other tracks I'd say are more Renegade style in that they have some groove to them, but almost every track on this album seems to work pretty well. Actually, this is probably the most rock solid thing HammerFall has released.

There's only one track on here that was best never recorded and that's a horribly out of place cover of My Sharona that thankfully comes at the end of the album. I recommend you just turn this off after One Of A Kind and forget this cover snuck onto the ass end of the album. Their albums do tend to have at least one song I don't like at all, but usually it's the ballad.

Surprisingly though this is not the case with Between Two Worlds which is more subdued than usual and doesn't drown itself in cheese. This song actually has a good mellow acoustic vibe to it and works pretty well. One more surprise worth nothing is a HammerFall instrumental called Something For The Ages which rips with speed and energy. Really cool and a rare instance where I'm going to list an instrumental track as a highlight.

I don't think there will ever be a time when I list HammerFall among the top tier of power metal or call them original, but you know what? This was a good listen and it got my head moving more than once. There is a good anthemic epic vibe in this album and the songs are just full of energy. I can see myself driving to No Sacrifice, No Victory and enjoying it and that is worth something. Credit has to be given where credit is due and this is an enjoyable release that surprised the hell out of me. This may just be the best album they've released to date.

Highlights: Any Means Necessary, Legion, Something for the Ages, Punish And Enslave

Rating - 4.0/5

HammerFall - Threshold

Power Metal
Nuclear Blast

2006

1. Threshold
2. The Fire Burns Forever
3. Rebel Inside
4. Natural High
5. Dark Wings, Dark Words
6. Howlin' With The 'Pac
7. Shadow Empire
8. Carved In Stone
9. Reign Of The Hammer
10. Genocide
11. Titan

HammerFall... A band that has introduced many to power metal... and a band which many have moved on from. There's no way around it folks... HammerFall jump started the power scene but other bands have been far more original and interesting since. They're like the Walmart of Power Metal. Easy to find but of somewhat questionable quality.

Well it's only been a year since Chapter V and since they've never had an original idea anyways you wouldn't think this one would be the album to change it. And nope... it's not. This pretty well lingers on like most HammerFall albums with generic happiness directly lifted from Helloween, vocals that don't change ever, and mostly mid-paced and sometimes speedy songs which fail to leave any sort of lasting impression. There's not a hell of a lot more to say. This band is not vocally nor instrumentally impressive and you pretty much get the same HammerFall album every time since Renegade.

I think this one is less annoying than the past couple as it doesn't have any gay Hearts On Fire repeated 40 million times shit, but it's certainly nothing I'd recommend. There's just better power metal out there and I recommend you go find that instead if you're still hanging onto this generic band. If for some reason you liked the last couple HammerFall albums though, this one is really no different so I guess you'll like this too.

Highlights: Threshold, Natural High

Rating - 2.5/5

HammerFall - Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken

Power Metal
Nuclear Blast

2005

1. Secrets
2. Blood Bound
3. Fury of the Wild
4. Hammer of Justice
5. Never, Ever
6. Born to Rule
7. The Templar Flame
8. Imperial (instrumental)
9. Take the Black
10. Knights of the 21st Century

With a HammerFall release most people know pretty well what to expect. Well what you expect is just about what you get here... anthemic tunes loaded with cheese. Over the years the band has slowed down their sound a bit though and incorporated more paced tracks as compared to their first two speedier albums... a change which alienated some of their fanbase. This one starts off fast and reminds of their glory days for a few tracks, but then basically settles into their Renegade style mid-pace and pretty much gos on like that. I do like it a bit more then the last two as I think the songs here are just stronger, but it's not likely to bring back the fans who miss the speedier style really. Nothing groundbreaking here, but then again HammerFall never have been. Still some pretty good songwriting for what it is.

Highlights: Blood Bound, Secrets

Rating - 3.0/5