Like the mythos surrounding the Knights Templar, the birth and rise of Sweden’s Hammerfall is a story for metal’s history books. Dedicated to the noble cause of ensuring the genre of traditional heavy metal gets passed along for generations to come, Hammerfall’s every album is at once a classic re-telling of David vs. Goliath battles against scene trends and a bold proclamation to all metal fans of the omnipotent roots of traditional metal.

Imagine a young metal fan growing up in Sweden picking up his first guitar at the impressionable age of 14 and then christening his first band The Hippie Killers. Oscar Dronjak graduated from playing heavy metal cover tunes to writing his own music in 1989 with his death metal band Desecrator (later Ceremonial Oath). Yet in 1993, Dronjak grew tired of death metal and often looked back to the music from his formative years for inspiration. Inviting his friend and co-Ceremonial Oath member – drummer Jesper Strömblad of In Flames – to join him in his new effort, Hammerfall, the line-up was completed by a veritable who’s who of Swedish metal: Niklas Sundin (Dark Tranquillity) on guitar, Mikael Stanne (also of Dark Tranquillity) on vocals, and Johan Larsson (In Flames) on bass.

Determined to create the ultimate traditional heavy metal band by paying homage to some of the genre’s most influential bands (among them Judas Priest), Hammerfall drank deeply from the well of high-octane twin-guitar work, clean vocal stylings, and time-honored stage wardrobe, using the epic storytelling tradition to tell tales of honor & victory for the way of life lived by fans of traditional metal. While Hammerfall’s immediate goal was as innocent as joining an annual local music competition (“Rockslaget”), they knew little of the surprising success that awaited them. The band added second guitarist Glenn Ljungström (In Flames / Dimension Zero) and new bassist Fredrik Larsson three years later and advanced to the Rockslaget semi-finals. When it was discovered that Stanne would be unable to perform, the band sought out Highlander singer Joacim Cans, who was about to retire from singing. A live videotape of their performance was sent to Dutch label Vic Records and got them signed. Soon Hammerfall found themselves at Studio Fredman in late 1996 working with producer Fredrik Nordström on Glory To The Brave, which was recorded in a record sixteen days. After Strömblad and Ljungström left to concentrate on In Flames, drummer Patrik Räfling (ex-Highlander) and guitarist Stefan Elmgren (ex-Highlander) stepped in as replacements. Impressed with the band’s career potential, Nuclear Blast approached Vic Records to license the debut album and ultimately signed Hammerfall to a multi-album deal in the process.

In a retrospective article on power metal, Guitar World Magazine cited Glory To The Brave as “the disc that proved a young generation could gleefully deliver the power metal goods to a new, fantasy-starved audience.” Graced with artwork by Andreas Marschall (Blind Guardian, In Flames, Immolation), Glory To The Brave was awarded Album of the Month in Germany’s Rock Hard and Heavy Oder Was? magazines, entered the German music charts at number 38, and went on to sell over 100,000 copies worldwide, resulting in a debut performance at Germany’s esteemed Wacken Open Air Festival and a Swedish Grammy nomination in the Best Hard Rock Act category. Considering the rising popularity of death metal on the worldwide scene, Glory To The Brave’s success proved to be a rally cry for European metal bands to proudly display their traditional roots. As if things could not get any better, seasoned bassist Magnus Rosén joined Hammerfall in May, 1997, and in early 1998, the band embarked on their “Glory To Everything Louder” tour with Raven and Tank, and later, went out with Gamma Ray & Jag Panzer on the “Tour Of The Brave.”

1998’s Legacy Of Kings continued to ride the wave of success. Recorded at Studio Fredman in 40 days and once again produced by Fredrik Nordström with artwork provided by Andreas Marschall, the album’s first single, “Heeding The Call,” entered the German Singles Chart at number 48. In addition to performances at Holland’s Dynamo Open Air, Germany’s Rock Hard and With Full Force, and Italy’s Monsters Of Rock festivals, Hammerfall also opened two shows for Deep Purple in Denmark and Sweden and toured through Germany, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, and Holland with Labyrinth, Pegazus, and Primal Fear. Topping it all off was a five-week U.S. tour with Death, which ended in Atlanta, Georgia capped by a performance by Chuck Shuldiner and Joacim Cans’ tour-inspired side project, “The Waffleheads.” The band would then undergo one more line-up change before evolving into its current incarnation: drummer Patrick Räfling was replaced with Magnus’ good friend Anders Johansson (former drummer for Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force, son to famous Swedish jazz pianist Jan Johansson and brother to Stratovarius’ Jens Johansson), whose recording credits amount to over 100 albums. The brotherhood of the Templars of Steel was now complete.

Traveling to Nashville, Tennessee’s WireWorld Studios to spend eight weeks to record Renegade in 2000 with producer by Michael Wagener (Ozzy Osbourne, Accept, Skid Row), the album (showcasing more artwork
by Andreas Marschall) beat out both Madonna and Eminem on the Swedish album charts and achieved gold status. The band were also offered the opportunity to tour through South America and México for the first time, playing to throngs of rabidly enthusiastic fans in fourteen different cities.

Working with produced Charlie Bauerfeind (Blind Guardian, Helloween, Angra) Hammerfall recorded their fourth studio album, Crimson Thunder, at multiple locations in 2002: Wisseloord Studios in Holland, Twilight Studios in Germany, and Mi Sueño Studios in the Canary Islands. Promotion for the album was launched with the release of the “Hearts On Fire” single (now a staple in Hammerfall’s live set). With all album artwork now in the hands of Blizzard Entertainment’s art director Samwise Didier (Diablo, WarCraft), a worldwide “Name The Warrior” contest was held to crown the renegade knight appearing on every album with his own name: “Hector.” Crimson Thunder debuted at Number 13 on the German album charts and paved the way for Hammerfall to be selected as the support act for the Dio & King’s X tour in North America. The band later toured through Europe with Masterplan, Nostradameus, Dream Evil, Nocturnal Rites, and Poisonblack, played Japan for the first time, performed at the Bang Your Head, Masters Of Rock, and Metal Mania festivals, then returned to South America. Dedicated trailblazers, Hammerfall’s momentum continued to build. To document the meteoric success of their crusade, the band’s DVD, One Crimson Night, was recorded live in their hometown of Gothenberg on February 20th, 2003 in front of 4,000 fans.

Sadly, Hammerfall’s plan to tour more and play their second-ever show in England suffered a setback when a motorcycle accident and a broken arm sidelined guitarist Oscar Dronjak. A veritable blessing in disguise (considering the band had been on the road for the past ten months), a much-needed break was imposed on the band in order to assure Dronjak’s full recovery, as he was determined to regain his ability to play guitar via physical therapy sessions (which he subsequently accomplished). In the interim, Stefan pursued a pilot’s license while Magnus and Anders scheduled recording projects.

Two years after the imposed hiatus, Hammerfall returned with 2005’s Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken – which featured a special guest vocal appearance by Cronos of Venom on the track “Knights Of The 21st Century.” Recorded at Lundgård Studios in Denmark with producer Charlie Bauerfeind and once again sporting artwork by Samwise Didier, Metal Maniacs praised the band for being "one of the few bands that have triumphed in creating metal inspired by '80s traditions that still sound new and fresh." "Sweden's lords of power strike again,” wrote Kerrang!, while Metal Edge boasted: "Few do heroic, epic, unabashed heavy metal as well as these guys.” Judging from the audience responses in Japan, México, South America, and throughout Europe and North America (where the band toured with Edguy), the unbent, unbowed, and unbroken spirit that embodies these modern day musical warriors continued to capture the imaginations of metal fans the world over.

With their fifth studio album, Threshold, Hammerfall will recruit even more followers into their novae militae, their new knighthood. True to the doctrine of the Templars of Gothenburg clearly outlined by the anthemic new song “Genocide,” the brotherhood forged in steel continue to stand for everything powerful, majestic, and melodic in metal. Returning to Lundgård Studios in Denmark to work once again with producer Charlie Bauerfeind, and donning more artwork from Samwise Didier, Threshold is meant to be played at maximum volume. From the commanding valor inherent in “The Fire Burns Forever,” the intriguing storyline in “Natural High,” the head-on drive of the instrumental “Reign Of The Hammer,” and the audience participation prospects of “Titan,” Hammerfall urges all fans of traditional metal to hold their heads high, feeding them the strength to follow the way of the warrior, and above all, to relish the power of their freedom to live a life worth fighting for.