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Hammerfall - Crimson Thunder
2002 Nuclear Blast
Track
Listing:
1. Riders
Of The Storm
2. Hearts On Fire
3. On The Edge Of Honour
4. Crimson Thunder
5. Lord Of The Arcane
6. Trailblazers
7. Dreams Come True
8. Angel Of Mercy
9. The Unforgiving Blade
10. In Memoriam
11. Hero's Return
12. Bonus Track
Line-Up:
Vocals:
Joacim Cans
Guitars: Oscar Dronjak,
Stefan Elmgren
Bass: Magnus Rosen
Drums: Anders
Johansson
Website: www.hammerfall.net
Horatio's Rating: C-
Average Album Rating: C-
Also be sure to read:
Hammerfall
- Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken by Horatio
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Horatio's Review:
Remember the 1998-2000 period when Hammerfall
were touted as the next big thing in metal? I vaguely do, but it's
becoming a blur with every passing year. Hammerfall's first
two albums 'Glory To The Brave' and 'Legacy Of Kings' had
traditional metal enthusiasts in delerium as they sensed the return of old
fashioned metal once pioneered by the stale likes of Maiden, Priest
and Manowar. I admit to staying up late one evening listening
to a now defunct metal show on the promise of a track from the band to see
if they met expectations. They didn't and it appears the band is in
freefall, and rightly so, realistically nothing more than another boring
European act indistinguishable from hundreds of others.
2000's 'Renegade' wasn't the breakout
hit expected and for 'Crimson Thunder' it was back to the drawing
board I assume. It didn't matter as this sounds exactly like the three
previous albums, proving the lack of depth in songwriting and musical
abilities. What is it about Euro metal I despise? The amateurish
vocals which struggle with English? The worn out riffs and uniform
backing harmonies? The token ballads? The obligatory fast tracks
and forced true metal posturing? Am I describing Helloween?
Or Thunderstone? Tad Morose? Symphorce?
That said 'Heart's On Fire' contains a melodic chorus while 'On
The Edge Of Honour' is decent rapid fire metal. But that's
it. There's no need for tired ballads like 'Dreams Come True',
with it's acoustic nature and a track titled 'The Unforgiving Blade'
even with it's vintage title going nowhere, meandering at half speed.
Yes, Hammerfall stick to their metal ideals, but in a way that is
insufferable. It's phony, contrived. Trying too hard to convince
the audience they're staunch idealists, much like that turkey Boetz.
If this doesn't have you asleep by 'Trailblazers' you may be a sick
man.
Song summaries include...
- Riders Of The
Storm - If Hammerfall had arrived in the 1995 to '96
years I suspect I would have welcomed them more openly than I
do. But even when compared to 'Fear Of
The Dark' Maiden this is weak. One element I
tire of is the massive backing chants during the main hook, much in
the way Accept did on their best albums. Melodically this
sounds like seven hundred other songs I've heard. C
- Hearts On Fire
- If this had been a cover of the John Cafferty track from the Rocky
IV soundtrack we may have been in business. But it's a
deliberate attempt at 80's metal anyway, with the 'fire-desire'
combo. I think Hammerfall do this on purpose. When
a band like Kiss used that word combo fifty times it was was a
true indication of how they wrote songs. Hammerfall in
all their metal worship of the legends probably thought it would be
cool to use that rhyme so they could sit alongside their idols.
They did it knowingly. 'Hey look at us, metal renegades with no regard
for anything except 80's themes and beliefs.' B
- On The Edge Of
Honour - Starts out promisingly, very fast with acceptable
riffs, but deteriorates when the horrific vocals kick in, as well as
the power metal chorus which I can't stomach. Last year I was
sent dozens of Euro power metal CDs, all of which I listened to once,
reviewed and discarded immediately. That scene has to be one of
the most bland since grunge's heyday. 'But wait man, it's metal,
are you turning your back on it?' Yeah I am. I usually do
with unlistenable crap. B
- Crimson Thunder
- Hopefully there's no one reading this hoping for an in depth
discussion of the band's lineup and their various changes over the
years. I couldn't tell you who's currently in the band and does
it matter? The new album will sound like this even if the band
is an all star lineup of Chris Barnes, Dennis Stratton, Ian Hill and
Simon Wright. This track is a rip off of Sabbath's 'Sign
Of The Southern Cross' and one section is a replica of the Crüe's
'Shout At The Devil'. D
- Lord Of The
Arcane - Hackneyed instrumental with symphonic metal
backing, a true Manowar clone. D-
- Trailblazers
- Wow this is what I call metal! Fast with tremendous lyrics
like 'we wont surrender, we will carry on!', it's a stunning as
modern day metal gets, the sound of Maiden revisited!
It's too good to be true isn't it? And they said metal was
dead! F
- Dreams Come
True - This album is already a wash out, so why not top it
off with a sensitive ballad? Are they trying to show they're not
one dimensional? 'We're not all about metal, we have a soft
side, look we don't want to be classified exclusively as Priest
copyists. We're branching out'. I hate this album and this
band. F
- Angel Of Mercy
- How about an obscure cover of an old, forgotten Chastain track from
1986's 'Ruler Of The Wasteland'? It must have been a weak
original if this dreary bollocks is anything to go by. This was
included to stun metal fans just how deep Hammerfall's
extensive knowledge of metal goes. All it sounds like is modern
day Maiden, and far worse. D
- The Unforgiving
Blade - How about the unforgiving media who have forgotten
this band exists? A song so unoriginal it took perhaps an hour
to conjure up. Who listens to and worships this bunch of
frauds? Suddenly the NWOBHM seems appetizing. D
- In Memoriam
- More uplifting ballad tripe, this time an instrumental and a eulogy
to the bands career. F
- Hero's Return
- Steve Harris has taken the band to court for defamation as you
read. F
- Bonus Track
- I have no idea of the title, but yet another faceless burn up with
no identity and almost as if Europe or Malmsteen added a track
of their own. C
Horatio's Rating: C-
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