If the cold and dark winter is getting it's hold on you, and everything seems just a little more gray, I have found the perfect cure: It is called something as cheesy as
Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken and it can provide tons of quality riffs, blistering guitarwork, divine vocals and catchy hooks, guaranteed to put a smile on every Power Metal lover's face. That is at least what it does for me!
Okay, so it's not groundbreaking, it's easily digested, and it's a little in the light sphere of the Heavy Metal universe, but it is like that with HammerFall, you know exactly what you get, and if you like the style, you can be almost sure that these guys are the real deal, and deliver the goods. Good, old straight-ahead Metal without too many annoying gimmicks!
The opener,
Secrets, is one of the best songs on the album, very catchy and melodic in the true
Hammerfall tradition, while it is easy to see why
Blood Bound was chosen as the single; what a great crunchy sing-a-long tune.
All the way through the album the songs are simple, but then again they just have these few surprises or unexpected turns, that makes them so enjoyable to spin again and again!
The cheesy title aside,
Hammer Of Justice is a real monster of a song, one of my favorites on the album! A groovy feeling, great melody, memorable chorus and a great melodic solo are some of the ingredients used.
I'm not the world's biggest ballad fan to say the least, but I must admit that I'm a sucker for
Hammerfall ballads. Well, just go ahead and laugh if you want, I finally admitted it! :) I don't know why, but I always felt like
Hammerfall had a special ability to convey real emotions and a sort of true romance in their touching ballads. Well, to my taste
Never Ever is no exception. A sweet song crowned with amazing and emotional vocals, this is just like candy to my ears! But a lot of Metallers will probably find this candy a bit too honey dripping and choke on the sugar!
Born To Rule is one of the few weak spots on the album. Too uninspired and repetitive, this song is just not very interesting.
The Templar Flame is the one highlight of the album. Now, that's melodic Power Metal! HammerFall just have a major talent for melodies that both grab you by the heart and make you bang your head. This chorus seems almost otherworldly, huge and bombastic. The guitar playing once again is great!
Well, HammerFall obviously had to try their skills with writing a longer, more epic sort of song, like the current fashion dictates in this sort of music. Everybody does it, but not all should!
Knights Of The 21st Century is the albums biggest flaw. Having a simple and direct approach to their material is what a lot of people have come to love about this band, and where their real talents lie. There is not enough meat on this track for a running time of 12:19 minutes. It appears like ideas for two or three songs have been mixed together randomly. The chorus is pretty good, and if all the ideas of the song had been put into a 3-4 minutes track it would have been great. Now, it is just plain boring. Having
Cronos (
Venom) growling some evil words and singing a little duet with Mr.
Cans in the beginning make the song feel a little comic, and all in all this is just not a good track!
This song is the albums' Achilles' heel, but other than that, there's not much to criticize.
The performances on here are great!
Joachim Cans is always a delight to listen to, with his clear and beautiful voice and complete range, just amazing!
Stefan Elmgren must be mentioned as well. A true, old-fashioned guitar hero he is, his playing is just top notch and reeks of energy and emotion.
Another strong force of Chapter V is the excellent production. Super producer
Charlie Bauerfeind (Blind Guardian, a.m.o.) has made an amazing, crunchy and powerful but detailed sound, which perfects
Hammerfall's vision, and makes the album a delight to the ear.
Chapter V is highly recommendable for all lovers of melodic Metal, pure ear candy!
Written by
Nina Thursday, November 10, 2005
Show all reviews by NinaRatingsNina: 7.5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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