Hammerfall
Built To Last
(Napalm Records)
You know them, you love them. They’ve had their good moments, as well as their arguable missteps. They’re Sweden’s mighty Hammerfall and they’re back with what I’d consider to be one of their finest releases since the glory days. As a matter of fact, Built To Last actually makes me think of their classic discs like Glory To The Brave, Legacy Of Kings and Renegade. Now maybe the disc’s opener “Bring It” didn’t really bring that feeling of classic Hammerfall and almost came as a bit of a turn-off, but “Hammer High” certainly comes off as a rather strong note, especially with the added choir and clean production value. What’s more is that we get several songs in this classic vein, which almost sees Built To Last as a return to their early days as a whole. “Sacred Vow” is a cut that could have easily been on Crimson Thunder which was always a favorite of mine, regardless of the middle of the road score that appears for it on Metal Archives. “Dethrone and Defy” populates with some rather potent guitar nodes, particularly in the heavily melodic solo number which nearly spells out classic Hammerfall for me. “Twilight Princess” serves as the ballad here, which almost sees Joacim Cans attempting a little bit of Freddie Mercury. As far as ballads are concerned, this is actually a rather catchy one and I find myself nearly enraptured by it. I just keep wondering… is this loosely based on the Zelda title of the same name? Putting that aside, we have that once-again classic style utilized in “Stormbreaker” which again brings to mind classic Hammerfall.
I must say, if you’re looking for classic Hammerfall and classic power metal in general, I would recommend that you check this record out for sure, especially for the title cut alone – but at the same time, I feel that there’s something I need to stress deeply. There’s not much on Built To Last that Hammerfall haven’t done before. It’s not the kind of record that I’d consider overly groundbreaking and might to some seem like a step backwards. Many of the riffs that these songs were built on seem a bit recycled from the band’s earlier eras, but I almost think that’s the the point. Problem is, they’re starting to pave over material that they’ve already paved over for quite a good while now and that’s not so great. Hammerfall have already split up twice throughout their career, so I’m not so sure how much that says here about a record with such a strong statement made within it’s moniker. It’s not that songs like “The Star Of Home” and “Sacred Vow” aren’t great pieces, as the former might just be one of the best cuts they’ve ever written. Though if we look at the rest of it, the band seem to have taken an “if it ain’t broke” mentality to the recording and some people might be upset about what may seem a very safe release. To others though, this will be just what the doctor ordered and they’ll be more than happy with a performance that offers a veritable basket of member berries, err… memories that will remind them of just why it is that they loved the band in the first place. Compared to other power metal acts, Hammerfall seem to get a lot of flack, so I guess it doesn’t really matter as to what kind of album they make anymore. As far as I’m concerned, Built To Last captures these gentlemen doing what they do best and what they’ve been doing for decades now. Let’s be thankful that we still have them here to hold their hammers high, as they hopefully rock us right into the next generation.
