The latest offering from Sweden’s Hammerfall is a continuation of form. Pure and simple. “Unbent, Unbowed…” has all the Euro/Scando metal ingredients, big riffs, in fact virtuoso guitar, soaring vocals and a blistering rhythm section. For the uninitiated, Hammerfall have a very loose connection to the “Dungeons and Dragons”, “Fight to Survive” metal scenario, musical storytellers and purveyors of majestic pieces of music. The band has seemed to combine a raw sound with a definite polish, vocal harmony with some sublime guitar playing. Album opener “Secrets” is just a belter, almost neo-classical in it’s feel and yet by contrast track 2 Blood Bound” has a more gritty, Judas Priest kind of crunch. A sort of “raise your fist and yell” vibe. Some of the intro riffs remind me of early Accept, that crunching Germanic feel and yet when the main songs kick they are lifted to a completely different level. “Fury Of The Wild” being a good example, a ballsy rocker with a hammering riff. 

“Never,Ever” is a masterpiece, an operatic ballad of huge proportions. And possibly the track of the album. I think it’s the depth of contrast within the whole album that makes you sit up and listen and then holds your attention throughout. A good case in point is the instrumental piece “Imperial”, an almost medieval influence which segues into the crushing riff of “Take The Black”. If there is a downside (and we’re getting into Judas Priest’s “Lochness” territory here) it would be the final track “Knights of the 21^st Century”. All twelve minutes and eighteen seconds of it. Musically there’s nothing to fault it, but it just seems a bit unnecessary, a touch self-indulgent. As I said in the Priest review, listen and make up your own mind. Hammerfall are at the cutting edge of intelligent, raw and semi operatic Metal and deserve every plaudit, roll on September and the band’s appearance at the Bloodstock 2005 fest.

Let us know your views on 'Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken'

Track List

Secrets
Blood Bound
Fury Of The Wild
Hammer Of Justice
Never Ever
Born To Rule
The Templar Flame
Imperial
Take The Black
Knights Of The 21st Century

Line Up

Joacim Cans - Vocals
Oscar Dronjak - Guitars
Stefan Elmgren - Guitars
Magnus Rosen - Bass
Anders Johansson - Drums