HammerFall – Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken

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impulse buy

Nuclear Blast
Produced by Charlie Bauerfeind

This really easy to sum up. It’s the best HammerFall album so far. This is superb. Existing HammerFall fans need read no further. Likewise anyone who already doesn’t like HammerFall, quit now. Everyone else unfamiliar with them this far, continue.

The lineup remains unchanged; Joacim Cans (vocals), Oscar Dronjak (guitars), Stefen Elmgren (guitars), Magnus Rosen (bass) and Anders Johansson (drums) have reached new heights in 2005. This is the longest serving lineup for the band with Rosen joining for the second studio effort Legacy of Kings and Johansson joining one album later for Renegade. Stefen Elmgren has been involved since the start, but was only a guest guitar player on debut album Glory To The Brave, not becoming a fully-fledged member until Legacy…. Now, with Chapter V… HammerFall have surpassed previous best-selling studio effort Crimson Thunder, and then some.

Many people in metal criticise HammerFall for always singing about knights and templars and crusades and other such medieval themes, with the band dressing the part very often, they have become the butt of countless homosexual jokes and so forth. And, those people will undoubtedly be unsurprised to learn, that this hasn’t changed with their fifth record. Song titles such as Hammer of Justice, The Templar Flame, Fury of The Wild and first single Blood Bound say it all.

The songs are heavy, the solos rip, the vocals are soaring, the drums and bass are powerful, it’s pure metal from start to finish. How any metal fan can complain and still call themselves a metal fan is beyond explanation. HammerFall have put everything that makes metal what it is into this record. All topped off with an acoustic instrumental (Imperial) and a guest appearance from a legend of metal; one Conrad “Cronos” Lant of thrash/black metal titans Venom (on epic album closer Knights of The 21st Century).

Oh, one last thing, there’s a very special version coming soon (delayed due to manufacturing problems) that comes in a large box, containing the album, complete with exclusive bonus track, a scarf, 2 glasses and a certificate of authenticity. Release date: March 14th. Guess the existing fans should have stuck around after all.

“ pure metal from start to finish ”

Tracklist: Secrets / Blood Bound / Fury of The Wild / Hammer of Justice / Never, Ever / Born To Rule / The Templar Flame / Imperial / Take The Black / Knights of The 21st Century

Written by Andy Lye
More: Albums, Power Metal, HammerFall