Before I commence with this review proper, I do think it is worth bearing in mind a few things concerning Hammerfall. Right here and now in 2011, they may to many of you come across as little more than a leather-clad, limp-wristed joke of a band content to churn out meat ‘n’ potatoes boneheaded power metal seemingly designed to appeal to the drunkest people known to man (or Wacken audiences as they are otherwise called). And you’d be right. However, back in ’96-97, they were for a brief period one of the most exciting things to emerge from the continent.
This was at the height of the ‘Nu-Metal’ horror, at the pinnacle of black metal’s ‘experimental’ phase and when death metal was all but dead. Classic metal & power metal were all but unheard of quantities here in the UK and old-school fist-banging stuff was like contraband. Then Hammerfall’s debut ‘Glory to the Brave’ landed in a whirlwind of Nuclear Blast hype and suddenly, songs of swords, sorcery and dragons were cool again. It was genuinely exciting and the soundtrack to a carefree summer for many of us. Never mind that the record was actually a bit guff, it paved the way (for better or for worse) for the rejuvenation of ‘true’ metal in the eyes of many.
After a few months, it had already worn thin and I barely passed interest in the ‘Legacy of Kings’ follow-up that arrived a year or so later. By this time, Blind Guardian, Rhapsody and the like had entered the fold with their multi-layered, developed epics and Hammerfall’s ‘paint by numbers’ chuggers seemed positively childish in comparison. You can’t argue with their tenacity though and they’ve clearly got a dedicated following, an ever-expanding back catalogue giving testimony that to band leaders Oscar Dronjak and Joacim Cans, Hammerfall are here to stay.
‘Infected’ is the first full album I’ve heard by the band since ‘Legacy of Kings’ (unless you count the ‘Hearts on Fire’ track they recorded for the Swedish National Curling team – yes, really) but to all intents and purposes, they could easily have written this ten years ago and I would have been none the wiser. Absolutely NOTHING has changed from their low-ambition approach i.e. utterly simplistic ‘Heavy Metal’ of the most wearisome kind. Basically, the band have three ideas – the classic ‘power metal’ double-kick gallop (inevitably overlaid with irksome major-key vocal wailings), a low-slung, stompy chug and a soaring mid-paced passage laced with vocal overdubs (this is almost ALWAYS the chorus). That’s it. Each track on ‘Infected’ is a permutation of two or more of these ideas. ‘Bang Your Head’ has a chuggy verse and a ‘big’ chorus; ‘666 – The Enemy Within’, admittedly one of the best tracks here, has the power metal gallop practically all the way through; and ‘Immortalised’ swings between all three.
Attempts to deviate from the formula invariably result in disaster. Opener ‘Patient Zero’ is staggeringly poor, a misguided, lumpy mess of a song with dismal lyrics, lurching wildly from Sabbathy riffage to awkward key changes at the drop of a hat. ‘Get it On’ meanwhile would have Iron Maiden fans wincing such is it’s slavish attempt to sonically photocopy the mid-80s ‘twin guitar & gallop’ Maiden approach. It could quite literally have been lifted from a collection of Piece of Mind B-sides it is that blatant.
All this is immaterial I guess. Hamerfall are practically an institution these days and we know this record will likely sell in droves regardless of how much I sneer at it. To any prospective purchaser, I leave you with this endorsement - if a wimpy European version of Saxon without the songwriting flair sounds like your cup of tea then by all means, run out and buy ‘Infected’ at the earliest opportunity.
http://www.hammerfall.net
