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The HammerFall
History - Chapter I
The Foundation
After quitting the death
metal act Ceremonial Oath in 1993, guitarist Oscar Dronjak formed
HammerFall and soon asked his friend Jesper Strцmblad to join
him. Since this idea had existed in Oscar's mind for a while, the
name, general direction and some music (such as the song "Steel
Meets Steel") were already there. It was decided that HammerFall
had to be forwarded on a project level, since both wanted to keep on
with their other, freshly started, bands, Crystal Age and In
Flames respectively. They enlisted the help of fellow metallers
Niklas Sundin (guitar) and Mikael Stanne (vocals) of Dark
Tranquillity, and Johan Larsson (bass guitar) from In Flames.
The formative years
The aim was to get together
a couple of times each year, rehearsing to particitpate in a local
music competition called "Rockslaget". Time went on, and Niklas and
Johan were replaced by Glenn Ljungstrцm (In Flames) and Fredrik
Larsson (Crystal Age). Apart from the HammerFall tunes
"Steel Meets Steel" and "HammerFall", the band performed the Pretty
Maids classic "Red, Hot And Heavy" as well as the Alice Cooper 1987
metal icon "Freedom".
The turning point
Fast forward to 1996. For
the first time, HammerFall advanced to the semi-finals of "Rockslaget"
with "Steel Meets Steel", "Unchained" and the Judas Priest anthem
"Breaking The Law". Amidst the celebration, it was discovered that
vocalist Mikael was going to be unavailable at the time of the
semi-finals. Hence, a new singer had to be brought in for this gig.
After a bit of research, the name Joacim Cans came up. A phone call
later, and they were in business. The cooperation with Joacim proved
to be a success, and he was immediately sworn in as a permanent
member of the HF clan. Though entering a strong performance in the
competition, HammerFall never reached the finals; the band
was edged out in the last minute by the judges, who perhaps feared
the imminent and unavoidable rise of Heavy Metal once again to
international prominence. However, a two-track live performance was
recorded and sent on videotape to Roel van Reijmersdal of the Dutch
label Vic Records. He marvelled over its contents and
immediately offered HammerFall a deal. Consequently, the
summer and fall of this, the Olympic year, was spent writing,
rehearsing and perfecting the soon-to-be debut album, already
entitled "Glory To The Brave".
The recording session
The songs recorded during
sixteen fabulous November days were: "The Metal Age", "Unchained", "HammerFall",
"Child Of The Damned", "Steel Meets Steel", "The Dragon Lies
Bleeding", "I Believe", "Stone Cold" and "Glory To The Brave". All
are original HammerFall tracks except "Child Of The Damned",
which was the band's tribute to the far too unnoticed metal masters
Warlord. The lyrics deal with topics ranging from sword wielding
warriors and the travelling of dimensions, to paying homage to Heavy
Metal and the losing of beloved ones. They are designed to
complement the music and at the same time tell a story; quite simply
to entertain the listener.
The rollercoaster ride
begins
In January 1997, Oscar and
Joacim decided that, in order to be able to give HammerFall
no less than 100 %, a few line-up changes were necessary. Jesper and
Glenn decided to continue full time with In Flames, and they were
replaced by Patrik Räfling (who actually
plays drums on the album) and Stefan Elmgren, both members of
Joacim's previous band Highlander. Oscar and Fredrik's Crystal Age
had ceased to exist a long time ago, but Fredrik also had another
commitment: the thrash metal group Beyond, now called None, which he
was reluctant to give up. He decided to stick around long enough for
HammerFall to find a replacement, though. Shortly thereafter,
the German label Nuclear Blast approached Vic Records and
HammerFall, showing great interest. This encounter resulted in a
licensed release of their debut CD and a four-album deal for the
band, starting with the next record.
Oscar Dronjak, guitarplayer
of Hammerfall about the early days:
'The early stages of
HammerFall now saw the dawn of light. Some friends and I had
just started rehearsing the first heavy metal song I had written in
four years, "Steel Meets Steel", when I broke my right arm playing
soccer. After I had recovered, a new death metal experience by the
name of Crystal Age was waiting for me. Taking off
immediately, including a mini-tour in Poland and an appearance on
the Metallica tribute album "Metal Militia", the band soon had a
record deal with Dutch label Vic Records. "Far Beyond Divine
Horizons", another concept album, was recorded in April of 1995 but
not released until the fall of 1996 due to reasons beyond our
control. By then, all interest among the members to continue had
waned, and Crystal Age dissolved.
Luckily, I had kept
HammerFall going as a way to keep the flame of heavy metal
alive. In May of 1996, Joacim had joined us as singer of the band,
and we got a record deal shortly thereafter. Again, Vic Records
was the one who believed. We recorded "Glory To The Brave" in
November, and the rest is, as they say, history...'
(Copyright
HammerFall, all
rights reserved)
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