Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: HammerFall
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release: 2014
Runtime: 49:11
Rating: 3/5
The new HammerFall is trying to patch up the impression left by its predecessor »Infected« (2011), where they tweaked their trademark musical path a bit. Infected delivered a rougher production, but the album was also plagued by a weaker batch of songs than we’re used to (or used to be) from the veterans of the European power metal revival out of Gothenburg. The decision to bring producer Fredrik Nordström back on board, for the first time since the second studio album “Legacy of Kings” (1998), is therefore no surprise. Neither is the fact that the cover for the new album came from legendary illustrator Andreas Marschall, who last drew a HammerFall cover for the album “Renegade” (2000). Andreas Marschall is, after all, the very man who created the band’s mascot Hector.
»(r)Evolution« goes back to classic sounds and arrangements. That means it delivers a product that’s supposed to light up the band’s followers every time, while also winning back the trust of those who especially value the band’s early albums. And there are quite a few of them. The band knows it and tries to “patch the holes” with its routine, know-how and experience.
The album opener Hector’s Hymn alone, with its opening riff, would land on the band’s first or second studio release without any drastic shake-ups, which instantly answers the question of what the new HammerFall album sounds like. Typical again, but without highlights. The guys played it more than safe and once more clung to the tried-and-tested formulas from their musical recipe book. The most ironic realization is that the last track Wildfire and the aforementioned opener Hector’s Hymn are extremely similar and, of all the songs on the album, lean hardest toward early HammerFall. As compositions, they stand as the most convincing moments of the new album. It’s unfair to demand recycling from a band, but this time HammerFall, who know the principle of recycling very well, pull it off less effectively than you’d expect.
And that’s the root of the mixed feelings about the new HammerFall release. Recycling. Never mind that the songs try to impress with melodic catchiness that the listener’s receptors adopt in no time, HammerFall breathe life into them with a bit of predictability, reusing guitar phrases that have been tested and repackaged countless times, plus generic clichés, to the point where you can no longer tell which of their studio records a given song belongs to.
On top of all that, more than ever before in the band’s career you can hear that Joacim Cans’s voice has gotten lower and (a touch) thicker. The guys are tuned lower, which means this is also an adaptation to the vocalist’s abilities, so that he can hold up through the grueling schedule of live shows coming in the next year when they hit the road. Then there’s the ballad Winter is Coming, which tries to capture the evergreen quality of the ballad Glory to the Brave from the debut. Yes. Winter is Coming tries to deliver something similar, but only until you realize it doesn’t actually have a polished chorus, which is its minus, since its expression stays “colorless”. The hook in the chorus of Tainted Metal suspiciously veers toward Metal Health – the unforgettable evergreen by Quiet Riot, with the fundamental difference that it’s played at a much faster tempo.
Whatever, the new HammerFall album is here. Those of you who like the band’s career will be happy with it. There are no departures from the proven formula. In fact, it brings an attempt at returning to the “pre-Infected” era of albums, with the important realization that »(r)Evolution« is considerably less inspired and weaker in ideas than, say, »No Sacrifice, No Victiory« (2009), which at its strongest moments drew credible parallels with the classic »Crimson Thunder« (2002).
Lineup
Joacim Cans – vocals, backing vocals
Oscar Dronjak – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Pontus Norgren – guitar, backing vocals
Fredrik Larsson – bass guitar, backing vocals
Anders Johansson – drums
Production
Fredrik Nordström, James Michael & HammerFall
Tracklist
01. Hector’s Hymn
02. (r)Evolution
03. Bushido
04. Live Life Loud
05. Ex Inferis
06. We Won’t Back Down
07. Winter Is Coming
08. Origins
09. Tainted Metal
10. Evil Incarnate
11. Wildfire
