Originally a side project when they began in 1993, Hammerfall quickly became an overnight sensation with their debut album Glory to the Brave.  They followed it up with arguably their best album in their career with Legacy of Kings. Say what you will about Hammerfall and their reputation since the beginning of the last decade, but they’re still standing.  Entering a new decade, Hammerfall breaks it in with a new album in Infected, which still has some predictable moments, but also some new wrinkles.

The album begins with a post-apocalyptic sounding track in “Patient Zero”, complete with a cheesy “code red” intro.  Then there’s the requisite metal anthem that seems to pop up on every Hammerfall album in “Bang Your Head.”  “One More Time” is an atypical Hammerfall track in that it’s not something that the longtime fan is used to hearing, yet in a sense, there is enough of a timed rhythm to stay inside the listener’s head for a while.  A slower, more atypical approach is found on “I Refuse,” which shows that the band is willing to expand, even if it’s a little at a time and past the point in which they should have tried experimenting with the sound.  The piped in “audience cheers” kicking off “Let’s Get it On” adds to the cheese factor that seems to be somewhat toned down on the album.  For the most part, Infected is almost everything you expect from Hammerfall, only with fewer group singing moments (with “Immortalized” being at the forefront of this idea).  The album ends with a slower track in “Redemption,” which is possibly the band’s most balanced song on the album in that while it maintains the elements that Hammerfall is known for, they also seem more willing to stretch themselves out more, especially given that the song is seven minutes long.   Infected is still too close to middle of the road status to truly say Hammerfall is back in its glory, but it certainly shows that the band still has signs of life.

Hammerfall has not only survived over the years, but they also seem to have thrived.  No matter how down things are (as No Sacrifice, No Victory was), Hammerfall has it in them to come back stronger than ever.  No, Infected is not Hammerfall’s best album, but a passable effort is all one needs to start the momentum in the right direction again, and Hammerfall has found that with Infected.

TRACK LISTING

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*Comments:

1.  Patient Zero
2.  Bang Your Head
3.  One More Time
4.  The Outlaw
5.  Send Me a Sign
6.  Dia de los Muertos
7.  I Refuse
8.  666 – The Enemy Within
9.  Immortalized
10.  Let’s Get it On
11.  Redemption

Total playing time:  51:18

Release Date: May 20, 2011
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Hammerfall - Infected

Reviewer: Peter

May 23, 2011