Nuclear Blast – Out Now

Traditional Heavy Metal is a genre that is currently very popular with younger audiences, evidenced by the prominence of bands like Enforcer, Bullet and In Solitude in the hearts and…on the hard discs of many people. It is thus difficult to image that twenty years ago the genre was in terminal decline, with Grunge bands eager to put the last nail in its coffin.

That is when a bunch of Swedish extreme Metal musicians decided to invest in a classic sounding side project – a project that was given the name Hammerfall and which, against all odds, managed not only to help resurrect interest in Classic Heavy Metal but also become one of the most commercially successful bands in Metal.

The band opted to celebrate two decades of active service by recording an anniversary headline performance with the help of old band mates, local music legends and director Patrick Ullaeus – a man whose extensive CV includes names such as In Flames, Dimmu Borgir and Children Of Bodom.

“Gates Of Dalhalla” will be released in two different formats, a DVD/2CD and a Blu- ray/2CD and, sadly, my review is only really covering the audio part of the band’s performance – I say sadly because those of you who have attended a Hammerfall show in the past know very well that the visual aspects of the band’s performance are as important as the music itself.

With eight studio albums under their belts and much crowd-pleasing material the Gothenburg-based quintet presented its local audience with a varied and well balanced set list – one that consisted of twenty six tracks, whose duration exceeded the two hour mark and which, based on the recorded reaction of the crowd, managed to meet the band’s well-known high standards.

Hammerfall is a band whose musical character balances between classic riff-orientated Accept-influenced Heavy Metal and melodic Europower and while normally my alliances would be strictly with the former I have found myself in recent years becoming more and more tolerant of the latter! Even so, when it comes to choosing my favourite moments from the vast material on offer it is the hardest riff-based tracks like “B.Y.H”/“Last Man Standing”, the Running Wild sounding opus “Last Man Standing” and the head banging “Steel Meets Steel” that I would personally opt for.

But what about the people who travelled all the way to Rattvik on the 28^th of July 2012? What do they have to say about that? Based again on the audio files provided, it is the more melodic tunes such as “Crimson Thunder” and the sing along classics “Blood Bound”, “Hammerfall” and “Hearts Of Fire” that got the best reaction on the night – the latter being, also in my humble opinion, apart from a triumphant ending also the absolute highlight of the show.

Hammerfall have always been an acquired taste and if you never managed to connect with their music thus far, chances are that this will continue to be the case after listening to “Gates Of Dalhalla”. Though never a massive fan and hardly ever inclined to play any of the band’s albums at home, I have somehow always managed to enjoy Hammerfall in a live setting, so the idea of owing a copy of “Gates Of Dalhalla” is not so alien to me.

If you are already a Hammerfall fan you are in for a great treat with this release. If, on the other hand, you don’t know the band (are there such people out there?) and you like music which combines simple Dio-Accept sounding riffs with melodic/anthemic/sing-along choruses then this twenty six track live album might just be the best introduction to this band.

John Stefanis

Rating: **** (4.0/5.0)

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Next session: Sunday 1 December

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)