hammerfall infected

Released: 20 May 2011 Label: Nuclear Blast

Swedish band HammerFall's latest album, Infected, is so chock-full of tried and trusted power metal riffage, that you will swear you have heard this album already, and in a first for me, they even manage to make a song out of entire lines of lyrics that I've heard before, on the clichéd but entertaining ode to metal, Bang your Head.

However, this isn't meant to be high art, and while some bands try to push the boundaries of rock and metal, and explore new musical territory, HammerFall embrace their genre limitations and stick rigidly to the blueprint of metal laid down by Black Sabbath circa 1971.

After an atmospheric intro, Patient Zero, goes for the full-on old skool metal stomp, until the bridge, when, as expected, they shift gears into a more urgent riff; Just as Sabbath did with Snowblind all those years ago.

Criticism aside, it's quite a fun, if unchallenging, album. Bang Your Head, in particular is a thrashy romp, full of very silly lyrics and galloping 80's riffs. I'm constantly amazed by the number of bands who still actually write songs about headbanging itself, as surely, there's not a lot to explore lyrically with such a subject matter, and they barely touch on the neck ache you get the following morning.

One More Time is a fairly catchy number and will be the first single from the album, with a zombie themed video, and I Refuse, is an anthemic stomping track, but both lack the catchy chorus hooks of their previous albums.

Send Me a Sign is the obligatory power ballad, and to be fair they refrain from unleashing the distorted guitars until the very last chorus.

The coolest part of the album though is on Dia Los Muertos, a predominantly fast song, until a slowed-down brutal chug takes over for the bridge, allowing guitarist Oscar Dronjak to let loose with a frenzied solo, before the song returns to that slow, doomy chug again.

The best riff comes at the start of 666 - The Enemy Within, a staccato beat with a soaring keyboard motif over the top, but they don't develop it, and it only makes brief appearances again in the song. A wasted opportunity I thought.

The final track Redemption, is by far the best thing on the album; seven minutes of old skool power metal, combining acoustic moments with hard riffing, and a lengthy instrumental break for the lead guitars to hold sway. They even throw in some harpsichord at the end for good measure.

Overall, Infected is quite a catchy, if pedestrian album. The best thing about it is the noisiness of the production, from veteran James Michael, who has previously overseen the likes of Mötley Crüe, and The Scorpions, as even though the guitars aren't exactly brutal, they work well when bolstered by the meaty drum sound.

With Infected, HammerFall continue to deliver competent slabs of 80's tinged formulaic power metal, and if you are already a fan, then there's plenty of scope for head banging, fist punching and even the odd moment of lighter waving going on here.

by Steven Hargraves