Hammerfall – Built to Last

Label: Napalm Records  Playing Time: 43 min  Release: 4th November 2016

In their 22^nd year of existence, Hammerfall are now releasing their 10^th studio album. After this “experiment” called “Infected”, they are continuing the line of their last album “(r)Evolution”. Which means, the album contains classic Heavy Metal in the style of Judas Priest or Accept (just listen to the opner ‘Bring It’! The riff could be made by Accept.). So far, so typical for Hammerfall. One part of the continuation are also much smaller arrangements and production. Less keys, less choirs and everything much more basic. The typical bombast factor of albums like “Renegade” or “Crimson Thunder” seems to dissipate soon. Those elements can only be found in songs like ‘Hammer High’ and ‘Sacred Vow’ and the title track. Those songs are also the ones which are the catchiest and the best. Also the final ‘Second to None’ has a really nice arrangement which sounds great. But about the rest of the songs, about those I have to say the same as I said 2 years ago about “(r)Evolution”: All in all, it sounds incomplete, not yet finished. This is a matter of the basic instrumentation: hardly any guitar leads, hardly any choirs and orchestration. Therefore everything is not bad, but actually not good enough to go crazy about.

www.hammerfall.net