HAMMERFALL – Hammer Of Dawn

March 1, 2022 Bryce Van Patten Album Reviews, Reviews 0
HAMMERFALL - Hammer Of Dawn
  • 10/10
    HAMMERFALL - Hammer of Dawn - 10/10
10/10

Summary

Label: Napalm Records
Release date: January 25, 2022

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User Review
7.75/10 (6 votes)

Bringing the Hammer Down

It seems like all of the down time from touring due to the pandemic has given a lot of bands a little more time to work on new material, giving Heavy Metal fans a lot of great music to make up for it. With their 12th studio album Hammer of Dawn, Swedish Metal masters HammerFall have gone above and beyond, creating a new masterpiece for the year 2022. Bandleaders vocalist Joacim Cans (ex-Warlord, ex-Highlander) and guitarist Oscar Dronjak (Ceremonial Oath, ex-Crystal Age) continue to work their magic with longtime bassist Fredrik Larsson (ex-Evergrey), guitarist Pontus Norgren (Pänzer, ex-The Ring) and newest member of 8 years drummer David Wallin (Blacksmith, Stormwind).

Pure Swedish Power

The new album was expertly mixed and mastered by Fredrik Nordström (Dream Evil, Arch Enemy, In Flames, Opeth), who also recorded the drums. The vocals for Hammer Of Dawn were produced by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat), while guitars were recorded and produced by Pontus Norgren, with co-producers Oscar Dronjak and Fredrik Nordström. From the awesome opener ““Brotherhood”, to the title track “Hammer of Dawn”, the album jumps out to a blazing start with the trademark vocals and brilliant guitars that HammerFall is known for. The haunting “Venerate Me” features some vocal work by King Diamond that adds an eeriness, as well as a new milestone for the band.

Final Notes

HammerFall – Hammer of Dawn is 10 great Heavy Metal tunes that prove the band has gotten better with age, with this album sounding as fresh and strong as their first record. With Fredrik Nordström’s always excellent production and mixing, the sound quality is over the top. For this reviewer, the album has no low points, and scores a perfect 10 out of 10. Sure to be in the 2022 top 11, Hammer of Dawn is one album that has to be in every Metal head’s collection.

Hammerfall band photo.
Photo: Sandra Myhrberg (CameraLucida)

Lineup

Oscar Dronjak – guitars
Fredrik Larsson – bass
Joacim Cans – vocals
Pontus Norgren – guitars
David Wallin – drums

Hammer of Dawn – Tracklist

01. Brotherhood
02. Hammer of Dawn
03. No Son of Odin
04. Venerate Me
05. Reveries
06. Too Old to Die Young
07. Not Today
08. Live Free or Die
09. State of the W.I.L.D.
10. No Mercy

Author

  • Bryce Van Patten

    Bryce is an audio engineer and a graphic designer here at Metal Express Radio. From the day he purchased his first album (Machine Head by Deep Purple), he has had a passion for heavy music, which has influenced his whole life. Bryce is from the great Pacific Northwest in USA, and has played in metal bands like Babylon, Holy Terror, The Wild Dogs, Warhead and Egypt through the 80s. He had his first interview for the Portland, Oregon publication The Rock Rag with guitarist Paul Gilbert in his Racer X days. Then he was honored to get to have drinks, and talk for an hour with the legendary Dan McCafferty of Nazareth for his second interview. In 2013, he spent an amazing hour talking to Andi Deris of Helloween, which was the high point of his heavy metal journalism.   In the year 2001, he formed Man in Black Music Publishing. They released recordings by several local bands, and in the spirit of the old Metal Massacre compilations, he created a 2-album series called The Defenders of Metal. The albums featured classic styled Metal bands from all around the world, with bands from Australia to England, and from Argentina to Russia. Currently, he is the producer/creator/vocalist of the Metal band The Black Tuesdays.

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