Infected

The Swedish Power Metal juggernaut that is HAMMERFALL are back! INFECTED, the eighth studio album of the Templars, now marks the begin of a new time for the quintet: For the first time since the turn of the millennium and after roughly ten years of cooperation, Charlie Bauerfeind was NOT responsible for the production. The result After the opener 'Patient Zero', a highspeed hymn à la 'Painkiller'/Judas Priest, the programmatic as well as HammerFall-like Headbanger 'Bang Your Head' and the slightly swinging 'One More Time' with its subtle dramatic flair one thing is for sure: The five Swedes were able to combine their 80s roots and True Metal aspects of the first two albums perfectly with a fresh touch, which takes account of both modern influences and listening habits of the 21st century. Subsequently, another lightly swinging uptempo anthem 'The Outlaw' commends itself as a successor to 'Renegade', the straightforward and unfussy 'Dia De Los Muertos' seizes on Teutonic virtues and 'I Refuse' the album's heavyweight marches harshly from first to last, enriched with massive grooves made in the USA and an unostentatious cross-reference to the brute sound of Rammstein. It doesn't matter whether you take '666 The Enemy Within' with its dynamic rhythm alterations, the monolithic stamper 'Immortalized', the irresistible party anthem 'Let´s Get It On', the Pokolgep-remake 'Send Me A Sign' or the melancholic opus 'Redemption' that marks an epic ending: INFECTED, quickly turns out to be a fresh, pestiferous RocknRoll virus in every department, which sure will infect Metalheads all around the world. No need for an immunization there´s no cure for it anyway! For fans of: Helloween, Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian, Rhapsody of Fire & Edguy.