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HAMMERFALL
"Crimson Thunder" is the highly anticipated
2002 release from Europe's self proclaimed templars of heavy
metal. Graced with fabulous medievil style cover artwork and
high gloss booklet, this is definitely a well polished package.
The polish carries over into the music, an album packed with
12 tracks (including the incredible bonus cover track 'RISING
FORCE', a masterful Yngwie Malmsteen re-make) that
definitely delivers the typical melodic power metal we've
come to expect from HAMMERFALL.
The song writing style and music hasn't
changed much from past albums [it's on the same level as:
Renegade (2000) and Legacy
of Kings (1998) - NUCLEAR BLAST]. There's
still the intricate speedy guitar rhythms and solos (courtesy
of Oscar Dronjak and Stefan
Elmgren), pounding bass and drum beats (via Magnus
Rosen and Anders Johansson)
as well as the powerful vocals of Joacim
Cans.
Overall Crimson
Thunder is a very, very solid album, with a good
mix of tempos and feel. Some tracks like 'On
the Edge of Honour' and 'Trailblazer'
really show off the bands speed and aggressiveness...with
blazing guitar riffs, super fist-banging material! Other songs
like 'Riders of the Storm' and
'The Unforgiving Blade' chug
along at a steady pace with a nice crunchy feel and anthemic
chanting (more on the chanting later). There's even a beautifully
constructed instrumental track 'In Memorium'
that captures the wonderful emotion and feel of the band (minus
Joacim). Crimson Thunder will
certainly delight the hardcore Hammerfall
fans.
The album in my opinion is well above
average and grows on you the more you listen to it, but it
is not flawless...there are a few chinks in the Hammerfall
armor. 'Lore of the Arcane'
is a short symphonic choir like track that is a space filler
and would have been better left off the album. The featured
ballad track on the album, 'Dreams Come
True' is pretty weak compared to past Hammerfall
ballads. It's not very overpowering or catchy...in fact
it's pretty sappy. Nothing about the track ever really grabs
your attention and it comes off very generic and feeble sounding.
Even some of the other heavier anthemic tracks come up a bit
short. The crunchiness is there, but the catchiness is missing
at times. Tracks like 'Riders of the
Storm', 'Hearts on Fire'
and 'Cimson Thunder' having chanting
choruses that are eerily similar. The funniest thing is that
they sound extremely close to the chants of Accept's
"Russian Roulette".
Of course I'm being overly critical, but if you know the chants
in "Russian Roulette"
then you know what I'm talking about.
Though most of Crimson
Thunder is predictable and is nothing extrememly
ground breaking, the album is very likeable and the bonus
track alone ('Rising Force')
is well worth the listen. Hammerfall
continues to churn out well written and performed power
metal albums. Not every track is a winner, but there is enough
great material in Crimson Thunder
to keep it in your CD player for quite a while!
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