★★
Roaring out of Gothenburg since the early ’90s, credit where credit is due for HammerFall’s ceaseless energy and seemingly never-ending stream of releases – but unfortunately,Built To Lastis a laughable addition to their discography.
No, really. With tracks like ‘Dethrone And Defy’ and ‘Twilight Princess’ all centred around stereotypically Swedish metal themes of sword-wielding, fire-breathing dragons and unobtainable damsels, you can’t help but giggle as you listen. ‘Hammer High’ in particular conjures up cheesy imagery of black-clad, blue-eyed warriors, not helped by some very basic riffs and cringe-inducing falsetto vocals. Nevertheless, it’s still got a fist-pumping anthemic edge that will surely appeal to all the mead-swilling swarms out there.
Now, I love metal as much as the next metalhead, but I really couldn’t take this seriously. It’s a fun little gimmick of a record – a little cheese, a little hook, adept performances across the band – and it’s great HammerFall are still going strong. Indeed, with a defiant title like Built To Last, maybe HammerFall are trying to tell us they’re not going anywhere.
But could they maybe come back when they’ve recorded something that reinstates them as leaders of Nordic metal, and not mere followers?
HammerFall’sBuilt To Lastis out now via Napalm/Rocket.
