HammerFall

HammerFall are a Swadish heavy metal/pouer metal baund frae Gothenburg, Swaden.

HammerFall
HammerFall at Masters of Rock in 2007.
Background information
Oreigin	Gothenburg, Swaden
Genres	Pouer metal, hivy metal
Years active	1993–2003, 2005–present
Labels	Nuclear Blast
Associate acts	Dionysus, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Ceremonial Oath, Cans, Full Force, Lost Horizon, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force
Wabsteid	Offeecial wabsteid
Members	Joacim Cans Oscar Dronjak Pontus Norgren Fredrik Larsson Anders Johansson
Past members	Johan Larsson Niklas Sundin Jesper Strömblad Mikael Stanne Glenn Ljungström Patrik Räfling Magnus Rosén Stefan Elmgren

History

Eirlie Days

HammerFall's storie stairts in 1993, whan guitarist Oscar Dronjak quat daith metal baund Ceremonial Oath an speired Jesper Strömblad, the drummer frae In Flames (wha wis an umwhile member o Ceremonial Oath) tae jyn wi him on a new muisical projeck whilk he haed been ettlin tae dae fer sum time. Syne baith the main members o HammerFall wer in ithir baunds whilk thay teuk mair seriouslie nor HammerFall at the tyme ( Crystal Age fer Dronjak an In Flames fer Strömblad) the baund wis mair or less pit on the bak burner an wis really a side projeck fer aw involvit. This chynged in 1996 whan the baund won tae the semi-finals o a local muisic competeetion cryed Rockslaget. Lilter Mikael Stanne wisnae able tae perform, sae wi the help o sum freins, thay teuk in Joacim Cans, wha sang wi thaim that nicht. Tho thay didnae mak it tae the finals, the shaw wis a success fer HammerFall, wha teuk Cans in as a fou time abund member an stairted tae tak thair prospecks mair seriouslie.

Glory to the Brave

Lilter Joacim Cans

Thay signed tae Vic Records, a record label frae the Netherlands, in 1996, an the neist year pit oot thair first album, Glory to the Brave whilk haes been seen bi monie as the aizle fer the mid/late 90s pouer metal reawaukenin. The gleg-shair feedbak the album wis gettin in the Netherlands drew the attention o muckle German metal label Nuclear Blast wha pit Glory to the Brave oot aw ower Europe, tae a wheen o success, includin sellin mair nor a hunner thoosan copies, a tap fowerty spot in the German chairts in its first week (whilk haed no been duin bi a metal baund afore) an a nomination fer a Swedish Grammy. Thay played at Wacken Open Air, the mucklemaist metal festival in the wurld.

The baund went throu a wheen o line-up chynges efter the album wis pittin oot. Strömblad quat the baund an wis replacit bi Patrik Räfling, guitarist Glenn Ljungström left an wis replacit bi Stefan Elmgen (wha haed appeared on Glory to the Brave as a gest muisicker), an bass player Fredrik Larsson wis replacit bi Magnus Rosén.

Legacy of Kings

Guitarist Oscar Dronjak

Wi the neu line-up reidy an new sangs screivin (wi the help o Jesper Strömblad; even tho he haed left the baund he helped wi writin), HammerFall set tae recordin thair seicont album, cryed Legacy of Kings in 1998. The album teuk ane an a hauf month tae record, an wis much the same vein as Glory to the Brave leericaly, tho muisically is wis less influenced bi thrash metal an wis better produced.

Efter the album wis pittin oot, HammerFall stairtit oot on thair first wurld tour. Wanachanclike, lilter Joacim Cans teuk a gey bad smit tae his thrapple, meanin he cuid liltna ava. No lang efter, Magnus Rosén wis struik doun wi the same pest, an efter him the haill o the baund’s roadcrew wer taen ill wi it an aw. The baund played on fer as lang as possible, bot haed tae aff-pit the tour an sum shaws wer cryed aff awthegither. Efter the tour haed endit, drummer Patrik Räfling quat the baund an wis replacit bi Anders Johansson, a frien o Magnus Rosén.

Renegade

Efter the lang tour tae support Legacy of Kings wis ower, the baund went bak tae Swaden tae spend time wi thair families an stairt scrievin sangs fer the neist record. The album, cryed Renegade soonded deeferent tae the twa bygane albums, mainly acause it wis producit bi Michael Wagener. The wale o Wagener wisnae liked muckle bi the muisic press fer ordinar, tho efter the album wis pit oot in 2000, maist creetics war positive anent it. The album an its single (cryed Renegade) tappit the Swadish chairts; the album wis certified tae hae reached gowd status.

Almaist saxtie shaws wer played in the baund’s seicond warld tour, whilk featurt a ruckled castle as a stage set. Efter the tour wis ower, the baund pit oot a DVD cryed The Templar Renegade Crusades whilk includit live fitage, bakstage at shaws an recordin sessions frae the time o Legacy of Kings bein recordit up tae the gowd album pairty fer Renegade in November 2001.

Crimson Thunder

Album nummer fower, Crimson Thunder pit oot in 2002, kept verra much wi the HammerFall template, tho maist fans an creetics see it as bein mair better nor Renegade. Its single, Hearts on Fire bydit at the tap o the chairts o several European kintras fer sum weeks, tho the shootin o the promotional video wis hauden bak fer a week efter Cans wis glessed in a nichtclub

The tour tae support the album wis a success, despite sum unchancies that teuk place. Efter the North Americaen leg o the tour, the baund’s mainager saunted wi aw the siller frae the tour. Later on Oscar Dronjak wis in a motorcylce wanachance, brakin his left airm, meanin he wis unable tae play an the tour haed tae be pit-aff. Despite this the baund pit oot a live album an DVD frae the tour cryed One Crimson Night, recordtit in Gothenburg.

Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken

Efter a brak o twa year, the baund pit oot Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken, whilk wis followit bi a European an Sooth Americaen tour. Fer ordinar, the album winsae recieved weil my maist creetics, wha saw in it ainlie a tait innovation, tho fer aw that it wisnae dinged bi thaim aither; maist saw it as average. The album featurt a gest appearance bi Cronos, lilter o Venom, ane o the first black metal baunds.

The wis a rumour at the time o this album that HammerFall wad be playin in the Eurovision Sang Contest, tho this wis refutit bi the baund an nevir came tae be.

Threshold

The baund’s maist recent album, Threshold wis pit oot in October 2006 an gaed intae nummer ane o the Swadish chairts. The tour fer this album featurt the baund’s first shaw in Scotland. Efter the tour wis ower, lang staundin bassist Magnus Rosén lat it be kent that he wis quattin HammerFall tae focus on his ithir projecks. The reason fer this wis that he haed grawn sair tired o the semple bass playin he haed tae dae in HammerFall, which he jaloused wis albow his skeels, an didnae allou him tae be as creative as he wantit. No lang efter it wis lat kent that his replacement wis tae be Fredrik Larsson, wha played bass on the Glory to the Brave album.

The Future

HammerFall hae announcit that a “Best O” compilation will be pittin oot in October 2007 tae merk the tent year o the baund as a recordin curn. It will hae aroond 25 sangs, includin three neu recordins (ane o whilk is a re-recordin o the sang HammerFall frae the first album). The record will be cryed Steel Meets Steel- Ten Years of Glory.

Muisical chairacteristics

• Mid tempo sangs ar common.
• Harmonised lead guitar is efter uised in brigs etc.
• Muckle, ruisin owerwirds (aften gaing up ae key fer last ane).
• Takkin tift frae metal frae the auchties.
• Leerics anent fantasy relatit themes; battles, templars an siclike.

Line-up

Current members

• Joacim Cans – Vocals
• Oscar Dronjak – Guitar an backin vocals
• Stefan Elmgren – Guitar an backin vocals
• Fredrik Larsson – Bass an backin vocals
• Anders Johansson – Drums

Umwhile members

• Johann Larsson – Bass
• Niklas Sundin – Guitar
• Mikael Stanne – Vocals
• Jesper Strömblad – Drums
• Glenn Ljungström – Guitar
• Patrik Räfling – Drums
• Magnus Rosén – Bass

Discography

Albums

• Glory to the Brave (1997)
• Legacy of Kings (1998)
• Renegade (2000)
• Crimson Thunder (2002)
• One Crimson Night (2003, live album)
• Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken (2005)
• Threshold (2006)
• Steel Meets Steel - Ten Years Of Glory ("Best O" compilation) (2007)
• No Sacrifice, No Victory (2009)
• Infected (2011)

Singles

• Glory to the Brave (1997)
• Heeding the Call (1998)
• I Want Out (1999)
• Renegade (2000)
• Always Will Be (2001)
• Hearts on Fire (2002)
• Blood Bound (2005)
• Natural High (2006)

DVDs

• The First Crusade (1999)
• The Templar Renegade Crusades (2002)
• Hearts On Fire (2002)
• One Crimson Night (2003)

Ootside Airtins

• HammerFall - Offeecial Wabstaid
• Nuclear Blast - Offeecial Wabstaid