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Hammerfall - Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken
  
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RELEASED: April 5th, 2005
PRODUCER:Charlie Bauerfeind
LABEL:Nuclear Blast
BAND:Joacim Cans
Oscar Dronjak
Stefan Elmgren
Magnus Rosen
Anders Johansson |
+
Great guitar work, Huge production, Old-school vibe
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Slow songs bog down, Sounds very calculated |
TRACKS:
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 9.Take The Black 10.Knights of the 21st Century (feat. Cronos of Venom)
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OVERVIEW
I find it kind of amusing that whenever someone reviews a Hammerfall album, or any power metal album, for that matter, most of them feel like they have to make a big deal about whether they’re a power metal fan or not. Either you get someone who spouts off about how great Helloween and Blind Guardian are, about the “epic” compositions and brilliant musicianship and how Hansi Kursch is the Messiah and all that crap, or you get someone who makes a “sounds like he’s got his balls in a vice!” joke or a lame Dungeons and Dragons reference every 2 sentences, like it’s the most original punchline since “who’s on first?”.
I’m not going to do either. We’re here to talk about Hammerfall, and while this is arguably a by-the-numbers power metal record (and, more importantly for their fans, a by-the-numbers Hammerfall record), Hammerfall can throw those numbers down like very few bands out there today can. They’re not here to push the musical innovation envelope, they’re not here to capitulate to the latest whatever-core trends, they’re just going to play good old-fashioned Euro-style power metal. What you see is exactly what you get, and since it’s done well here, it’s all good in my book.
SONGS
Hammerfall kick off “Chapter V…” in style with the ominous, creepy opening to “Secrets”, a great mid-tempo anthem with a guitar break to die for. “Blood Bound” features an absurdly catchy gang-vocal chorus, and “Fury of the Wild” is easily my favorite song on the whole album, helium vocals and all. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Hammerfall album without a chance to chant gratuitous self-references, and “Hammer of Justice” fits the bill nicely. “Never, Ever” is cheesy even by power metal ballad standards, but “Born to Rule” brings back the brawn with some seriously crunchy guitar work and more war-cry choruses, just like Dio did back in the day. “The Templar Flame” is kind of weak, and “Imperial” is a brief classical-esque guitar interlude that might leave you scratching your head, but it just heightens the anticipation for “Take the Black”, which sets things off with riffing straight out of the Iron Maiden playbook and works brilliantly, and the solo is just pinch-harmonic heaven. This takes us to the mammoth (12:19) final track, which is really well-composed for such a long song. The only catch is that when Cronos makes his first appearance, it seriously sounds like he’s on the john after eating nothing but Taco Bell for a week. Cracks me up every time.
CONCLUSION
Here’s the deal: Hammerfall isn’t going to change their game plan anytime soon, but as far as their style goes, they’re about as good as it gets. This album might not have shaken up the metal world the same way “Glory to the Brave” did, but this is definitely a worthy addition to any metal fan’s library. Very few bands do this genre justice today, but Hammerfall pulls it off. Again.
Review
by Matt Rewinski
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