Ten songs and a pointless cover of The Knack’s ‘My Sharona’ (left till the end) from the resurrectors of power metal. Is it an endless stream of double bass driven numbers ala “Glory To The Brave”/”Legacy Of Kings”? No, but it is a more aggressive, dirty sounding disc, albeit mostly delivered at mid-tempo (exceptions noted below).

The first single, ‘Any Means Necessary’ kicks the disc off in fine fashion, one of the overall better tracks. A grand pipe organ introduces ‘Between Two Worlds’, the lone ballad, while ‘Legion’ begins with a blackened/modulated voiceover. New guitarist Pontius Norgren (ex-Poodles) adds his voice to ‘Hallowed Be My Name’, a virtual duet. On the other hand, in the voiceless category, there’s the raging ‘One For The Ages’ instrumental. The titular piece makes clever use of previous song titles within its lyrics. The speedy begun ‘One Of A Kind’ was co-written by former guitarist Jesper Stromblad (currently of In Flames), a dynamic workout of soft and loud. Throughout the disc there seems to be an onus on showing off guitar breaks/solos, a welcome development (‘Bring The Hammer Down’). A step (back) in the right direction!

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Reviewed By: Rich Catino

Rating: 8/10

Hammerfall’s last studio album, “Threshold”, I thought (unfortunately) was a do it by numbers effort and not one of my favs from the guys.  The arrangements felt as if I heard all the songs even before each had a chance to finish playing.  

For “No Sacrifice No Victory”, original bassist Fredrik Larsson has returned and joined by new guitarist Pontus Norgren (of The Poodles) to add some creative spark and edge to the Hammerfall formula.  

First single/video “Any Means Necessary” opens with a hard edged crunchy riff and an arrangement idea that is rather predictable (which is ok) for one of their singles.  My one issue tho… is in the chorus.  Occasionally, Hammerfall will include one that is sung at a lower register than what Joacim has sung the verse in.  Sometimes it works, others it doesn’t, case in point with “Any Means Necessary”, which I think would have had a much better impact keeping consistent with or close to the verse.  In contrast, “Hallowed Be My Name” is one of Hammerfall’s strongest and heaviest.  Really it should have been the albums first single/video and with these types of songs it always brings me closer to believe Hammerfall to be one of the top contenders to the Accept throne. 

“Punish and Enslave” and the title track both have that traditional Hammerfall anthemic riff, rhythm and chorus, and inspired lead work by Pontus with “Something for the Ages” being an ass kicking instrumental electrified by guitar harmonies, spirit and grace. 

A nice return guys.