Hammerfall

Nobody had expected this to happen – least of all guitarist Oscar Dronjak, metalhead to the core, admirer of metal protagonists such as Judas Priest, Accept & others. The inconspicuous act he had founded in 1993 by the name HammerFall exploded onto the scene with the 1997 debut album, which heralded the start of an international renaissance of traditional Heavy Metal. By now, the band is considered rescuers of this written-off genre, with its innovative compositions and non-compromising attitude. That's still what makes HammerFall a figurehead of true Heavy Metal today! Back in the mid-nineties, right in the middle of the boom years of grunge, no one gave a damn about long hair, rivet-covered leather clothing and rapid guitar solos or furious double bass attacks. Therefore, metallers like Oscar Dronjak and Jesper Strömblad - who was in the early incarnation of the band - had no choice but to play their favorite kind of music themselves. Just for fun – without any ”financial interests” or rock star aspirations. After acquiring present-day members Joacim Cans on vocals and Fredrik Larsson on bass, the band got interest from small, Dutch label Vic Records.