HammerFall Return To Nuclear Blast Records

HammerFall have officially returned to Nuclear Blast Records. With this news, the band have also revealed that they are planning to release a platinum edition of “Crimson Thunder” with bonus material in 2023.

The band commented:

“We were part of building the label back in the day, starting with our first album. For a long time, we were along for the ride as Nuclear Blast evolved into the immense powerhouse it is today. Although we did leave for three studio albums, and we are pleased with those albums and thank everyone who worked with us on them, we are very excited to be back where we belong: with Nuclear Blast. It truly feels like we’ve come home.”

Marcus Hammer, managing director at Nuclear Blast, added:

“In the darkest days of the ’90s of death and black metal HammerFall spearheaded a glorious revival of classic melodic metal and they are now bigger than ever before. It’s an impressive career of creative power and we are more than happy to welcome them back at the label where they started. Over the past few years, we always stayed in good contact working on their massive back catalog and it’s a pleasure to continue the relationship for new albums in the near future. Thanks to HammerFall, their management and amazing crew!”

HammerFall Announce Headlining North American Dates

HammerFall have booked some headlining shows around their upcoming tour with Helloween. Here’s the dates:

05/12 Houston, TX – Wharehouse Live
05/15 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
05/19 Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts
05/22 Montreal, QC – Théâtre Fairmount
05/25 Columbus, OH – The King Of Clubs
05/28 Lawrence, KS – The Granada
05/31 Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall
06/04 Roseville, CA – Goldfield Trading Post Roseville

Helloween And HammerFall Announce 2023 North American Tour

Helloween have announced a headlining North American tour. HammerFall will serve as support.

Tour Dates:

05/13 Dallas, TX – The Factory
05/16 St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live
05/18 Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
05/20 New York, NY – Terminal 5
05/21 Worcester, MA – The Palladium
05/23 Toronto, ON – History
05/24 Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Hall
05/26 Chicago, IL – The Riviera
05/27 Minneapolis, MN – The Fillmore
05/30 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
06/01 Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl
06/02 Los Angeles, CA – YouTube Theater
06/03 San Francisco, CA – The Warfield

Helloween commented:

“We can’t wait to be back and celebrate our new album with our fans in the U.S. and Canada!”

HammerFall added:

“HammerFall will accompany Helloween on their North American tour next year! The highly successful ‘United Forces’ tour will continue across the ocean in May and June, serving as the perfect prelude to the summer. You asked for it so here we go!”

HammerFall Premiere “Brotherhood” Music Video

HammerFall have premiered a new video for their new song “Brotherhood.” This track is from the band’s new album “Hammer Of Dawn,” which will be released on February 25.

Joacim Cans commented:

“A fantastic musical piece and album opener in honor of the greatest fans in the whole world: The Templars of Steel! We wouldn’t be here without you!

The video for the song includes both ‘The Metal Dads’ and the ‘HF Teens’ and really shows how much fun we are having together both on and off the stage.”

Oscar Dronjak added:

“The singles released so far have been a good measuring stick but ‘Brotherhood’ encompasses everything that has made us into what we are today. Fast and furious, melodic and riveting, 100% classic HammerFall heavy metal!”

HammerFall Premiere New Song “Venerate Me” Featuring King Diamond

HammerFall have premiered a new song titled “Venerate Me.” This track features King Diamond and it will appear on the band’s new album “Hammer Of Dawn,” which is set to be released on February 25.

Oscar Dronjak commented:

“The second single is here, and I’m very, very proud of it. The music was written during the darkest, most uninspiring days of the pandemic and still came out as one of the strongest on the whole album. Joacim’s [Cans] fantastic lyric idea makes this track really stand out, and the special guest appearance towards the end really pushes it over the edge.”

Joacim Cans added:

“The song is overloaded with enchanting melodies and a very catchy chorus. Lyrically one of my greatest efforts dealing with the fact that we die twice. First when we take our last breath and second when someone says your name for the last time. Say my name and I will never die.”

HammerFall Premiere “Hammer Of Dawn” Music Video

HammerFall have premiered a new video for the title track of their new album “Hammer Of Dawn.” That effort will be released on February 25.

Oscar Dronjak and Joacim Cans had the following to say about the new song:

Dronjak:

“The song itself was initially conceived in Germany during the ‘World Dominion’ tour, with the rest of the work being done at home. I immediately knew this had the potential to be something important, and when Joacim added his vocal melodies, we both felt it would be the perfect single. One with substance and power but also one you can’t stop singing when the music fades out.”

Cans:

“We already had the idea to shoot a video at legendary amusement park Liseberg 20 years ago. But like any good bottle of champagne, this idea needed to rest and mature before taken into action. And FUCK I am happy we waited! Together with director Patric Ullaeus we have created something unique and astonishing that totally blows me away every time I watch it. You can really tell that we haven’t played together for almost two long and never-ending years. We are as energetic as a pack of hungry wolves in the video ready to shred and deliver the heavy metal gospel!”

They also added the following about the new record:

Cans:

“It’s hard to describe in words how extremely happy and proud I am about the outcome of ‘Hammer Of Dawn’. It was a struggle, for sure, but in the end we pulled it off and delivered a solid, vital and positive new album. Everyone is on top of his game and together we have created yet another milestone in HAMMERFALL history. Can’t wait to sing these songs live together with my sisters and brothers, The Templars of Steel!”

Dronjak:

“We spent a long time creating the songs for this album, mainly due to the coronavirus but also because we began working on the material very early. That’s definitely evident in the result, the attention to detail is very big. Another thing that is quite palpable is the energy level, and that can be contributed to the extreme and forced downtime we all had to endure during the pandemic. The atmosphere in the studio was relaxed and laid back and the lack of stress created the perfect working environment for turning up the heat when the red light came on. It was easy to peak when you had to since there was no outside distractions or immediate deadlines. This album is a product of the pandemic in some ways, but more importantly it’s a strong statement that we are experiencing the high point in our creativity at the moment. I’ve said it before: HammerFall has never sounded better than we do right now.”

“Hammer Of Dawn” Track Listing:

01. “Brotherhood”
02. “Hammer Of Dawn”
03. “No Son Of Odin”
04. “Venerate Me”
05. “Reveries”
06. “Too Old To Die Young”
07. “Not Today”
08. “Live Free Or Die”
09. “State Of The W.I.L.D.”
10. “No Mercy”

HammerFall Finish New Album

HammerFall have officially finished their new album. A music video for the effort’s first single, “Hammer Of Dawn,” will be released on December 1.

Guitarist Oscar Dronjak said the following about the new record during a recent episode of “HammerFall TV”:

“COVID obviously fucked up life for a lot of us. We have tried to stay as healthy and as happy as possible, and one thing that we could do that by was working on a new album, which is what we have done since March this year, I think. Obviously, we started writing songs a lot sooner than that. I actually started writing songs… Some parts of this album are older, but I started writing songs during the vocal recordings for ‘Dominion’; when Joacim [Cans] was recording his vocals for the previous album, ‘Dominion’, I set up my stuff and I just started… I caught the creativity bug when it happened, basically. A couple of songs were even older than that. Two songs were ready already for ‘Dominion’, for that session, but I decided to hold them back because we felt that they needed more spotlight than they would have gotten if they came at the tail end of the ‘Dominion’ recordings. So we pulled them back and we brought them out for this one. And I’m really glad we did. I can tell you guys that you will be really glad we did too, once you hear everything.”

[via Blabbermouth]

Helloween And HammerFall Announce 2022 European/UK Tour

Helloween and HammerFall have announced a European/UK tour. The trek is scheduled to take place in spring 2022.

Tour Dates:

03/25 Oslo, Norway – Sentrum Scene
03/26 Gothenburg, Sweden – Partille Arena
03/28 Helsinki, Finland – Black Box
03/29 Talinn, Estonia – Noblessneri Valukoda
04/01 Bamberg, Germany – Brose Arena
04/02 Hamburg, Germany – Sporthalle
04/03 Berlin, Germany – Verti Music Hall
04/04 Regensburg, Germany – Donau Arena
04/08 Madrid, Spain – Wizink Center
04/09 Barcelona, Spain – St. Jordi Club
04/11 Milan, Italy – Lorenzini District
04/12 Kempten, Germany – Black Box
04/13 Zurich, Switzerland – Samsung Hall
04/15 Luxembourg, Luxembourg – Rockhal
04/16 Tilburg, Netherlands – 013
04/18 Katovice, Poland – MCK
04/20 Sofia, Bulgaria – Arena Armeec
04/22 Vienna, Austria – Gasometer
04/23 Prague, Czech Republic – O2
04/24 Zvolen, Slovakia – Ice Stadium
04/26 Budapest, Hungary – Papp Laszlo Sportarena
04/29 Bochum, Germany – Ruhrcongress
04/30 Stuttgart, Germany – Schleyerhalle
05/01 Frankfurt, Germany – Jahrhunderthalle
05/04 Manchester, UK – Manchester Academy
05/05 London, UK – Brixton Academy
05/19 St. Petersburg, Russia – A2 (no HammerFall)
05/21 Moscow, Russia – Adrenaline-Stadium (no HammerFall)
05/23 Lyon, France – Transbordeur (no HammerFall)
05/25 Paris France, – Olympia (no HammerFall)

HammerFall Share “Any Means Necessary” Live Video From “Live! Against The World”

HammerFall have shared a new live video for their song “Any Means Necessary.” The footage is taken from the band’s new live album/film “Live! Against The World,” which was released today (October 23). That effort was filmed on February 15 at the MHP Arena in Ludwigsburg, Germany. Guitarist Oscar Dronjak commented:

“’Any Means Necessary’ has been a staple of our repertoire since it came out. This video shows really well why, it’s one of these songs that gets both audience and band going no matter what.”

HammerFall Share “Keep The Flame Burning” Live Video From “Live! Against The World”

HammerFall have shared a new live video for their song “Keep The Flame Burning.” The footage is taken from the band’s new live album/film “Live! Against The World,” which will be released on October 23. That effort was filmed on February 15 at the MHP Arena in Ludwigsburg, Germany.