Hammerfall
Legacy of Kings (Nuclear Blast)
by Scott Hefflon
There’s something magical about Hammerfall. They’re pretty much spearheading the new powermetal movement, a real “movement” if you know what I mean. While many of their peers are either stuck in the ’80s sound or just plain suck, Hammerfall shines like a diamond in shit. Lyrics about brothers in metal, united we stand, and all that happy horseshit lone suburban metal kids need to hear while sitting in their bedrooms, dreading the next day at school when all the jocks’ll tease them for being a long-haired hippie freak. Like Judas Priest in their heyday and Manowar, Hammerfall capture the lone-gunner passion, the undeniable melodic aspect that transcends genre classification and trend, yet have the good sense to have tight, crisp, heavy, very late-’90s Euro-metal production.
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