Hammerfall

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HammerFall is a Swedish heavy metal band that formed in 1993

HammerFall began when guitarist Oscar Dronjak quit Ceremonial Oath and invited Jesper Strömblad (from In Flames, also originally a member of Ceremonial Oath) to join him on a new musical project which he had been idealising for some time. Dronjak had already composed the song "Steel Meets Steel", which was later included on HammerFall's debut album. They were later joined by guitarist Niklas Sundin, bassist Johann Larsson and vocalist Mikael Stanne (from Dark Tranquillity). When Niklas Sundin and Johann Larsson quit HammerFall the following year, Glenn Ljungström (ex-In Flames) and Fredrik Larsson (the bassist of the former Swedish death metal band Dispatched) replaced them.

Both Dronjak and Strömblad took part in other bands at the time: the relatively unsuccessful Crystal Age from Dronjak and the band which to a great extent influenced Swedish melodic death metal, In Flames, from Strömblad. Thus, HammerFall was relegated to being a side project of them both for several years. Their concerts were limited mostly to a local music contest named Rockslaget. HammerFall had few songs of their own and played mostly covers from bands such as Pretty Maids, Judas Priest and Alice Cooper.

To give more exposure to their work and try for a professional recording deal, a short live performance was recorded and sent to the Dutch label, Vic Records. The musicians soon received a deal and spent the whole of the following year writing the album Glory to the Brave. The album was initially released in the Netherlands and obtained positive feedback; it is also worthy of notice that HammerFall's mascot, the knight Hector, first appeared on the cover of this album.

As HammerFall grew in popularity, the time available for members of the band to dedicate to other projects became limited. Jesper and Glenn were committed to In Flames and Fredrik was committed to the thrash metal band Beyond. Thus, the HammerFall's line-up soon underwent changes. Stefan Elmgren assumed the lead guitar and Patrik Räfling assumed the drums (they joined the HammerFall in the end of 1997 after the release of Glory to the Brave album) and Fredrik decided to remain in the HammerFall until a suitable replacement for him was found. This happened in May - 1998, when bassist Magnus Rosén joined the HammerFall. Stefan Elmgren played some of the guitars on the Glory to the Brave album (like the acoustic guitars on "I Believe") but only as a guest performer, not a member of HammerFall.

In early 1997, German label Nuclear Blast approached HammerFall with a contract for a European release deal, which included four albums. The deal was accepted and HammerFall proceeded to record their first two music videos — "HammerFall" and "Glory to the Brave". After the release of a promotional single, Glory to the Brave was released throughout Europe. The results were quite unexpected, even after the intense marketing campaign made by Nuclear Blast. The album reached position number 38 on the German Music Chart on the week of its release, something which had never before been achieved by a debut heavy metal music album.

In February of 1998, the recording of Legacy of Kings began. This album was once more written by Joacim, Oscar, and Jesper, who despite having quit HammerFall still took part in the process in order to keep the same general mood of their first release. The album was produced by Fredrik Nordström (from Dream Evil) and Oscar, with the help of Joacim. HammerFall spent a total of one and a half months in the studio recording this album.

HammerFall made some expressive concerts before the release of Legacy of Kings, playing in festivals together with bands such as Alice Cooper, Rammstein, Deep Purple, Dream Theater, Saxon and Stratovarius.

HammerFall's first world tour took place in October of 1998. During the shows in Sweden, Joacim Cans caught a serious throat infection which made it impossible for him to sing. Shortly afterwards, Magnus Rosén was afflicted with the same disease, and after him the whole of HammerFall's support crew became sick. The members of HammerFall  played for as long as possible and then were forced to postpone or cancel a few dates. During their passage through South America, HammerFall took a short break to visit the Brazilian beaches, but they soon resumed their tour.

By the end of that tour, drummer Patrik Räfling left HammerFall, and Anders Johansson, a friend of Magnus Rosén, joined as a touring musician. In the beginning of 1999 he was made a permanent member of HammerFall. Anders had previously worked with guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen on Rising Force and on a number of other projects; he is the brother of Jens Johansson from Stratovarius.

After a long series of concerts, HammerFall returned to Sweden in order to spend time with their families and begin writing songs for their next album. HammerFall made arrangements for this album to be recorded by Michael Wagener, who had previously produced bands such as Accept, Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne. The recording took eight weeks, and the album was entitled Renegade. The switch from producer Fredrik Nordström to Wagener was met with skepticism from the media in general. However, after the release, critics were mostly positive, even though there was a consensus that HammerFall's sound was remarkably different. A music video was created for the song "Renegade" and reached the top of the Swedish parade; the same soon happened with the album itself, which reached gold status with over forty thousand copies sold.

HammerFall's second world tour began in January of 2001. Concerts from this tour counted with a replica version of the album's cover on stage. It was set up as a castle in ruins from which the musicians entered the stage. In total, the tour included almost sixty shows.

HammerFall then released a DVD entitled The Templar Renegade Crusades, which included video footage from recording sessions, live concerts, tour backstages, and encounters with fans. The footage ranged from the recording sessions of Legacy of Kings to the gold album party which took place in November of 2001.

HammerFall then proceeded to record their fourth album — Crimson Thunder. Arrangements were made for recording sessions to take place in both JM Studios: from Charlie Bauerfeind, in studio Wisseloord — in the Netherlands, and studio Blind Guardian — in Germany, for the bass.


The recording of a music video for the song "Hearts on Fire" was scheduled for August of that year. HammerFall's plans, however, had to be held back for a week due to an incident that occurred one night. While Joacim was drinking with his girlfriend in a rock club he had been frequenting for over a decade, he was attacked by an unidentified person who hit him in the head with a beer glass and hastily escaped. Joacim instantly lost consciousness and had to be taken to a hospital, in which he underwent plastic surgery and rested for a couple of days. As soon as it became medically possible, he joined HammerFall to record the music video.

In order to promote the release of HammerFall's album in North America, touring with Dio ensued during November and December of 2002. Subsequently, the manager of HammerFall disappeared, taking the entirety of the tour's revenue with him. The tour, however, was very successful, and proceeded to Europe. Changes were made to HammerFall's stage setting, and many investments were made on fireworks and on the presence of the mascot Hector on stage. The scenery on the cover of the single Hearts on Fire was also reproduced and added to the performances. The tour progressed to Japan and then to South America. HammerFall was present on festivals in Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic, playing with bands such as Iron Maiden, Slayer, Twisted Sister, U.D.O. and Stratovarius.

HammerFall's tour was brought to a sudden end when Oscar Dronjak suffered a motorcycle accident, breaking his left arm and sustaining several minor injuries.

The live album and DVD One Crimson Night was released in February of 2003. After two years of hiatus HammerFall  released Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken, which was followed by a European and South American tour.


Their most recent album, titled Threshold, was released on October 20, 2006 and it went directly to a number 1 position on the Swedish charts.

from Wikipedia licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.