Hammerfall have announced their 13th studio album, Avenge the Fallen, arriving August 9th via Nuclear Blast Records.
The Swedish power metal vets also offered up the lead single “Hail to the King,” a classic mid-tempo heavy metal march with a shimmering vocal performance from armor-clad frontman Joacim Cans.
The song itself was conceived while Hammerfall were on tour, brushing shoulders with some of their fellow metal icons.
“I began working on ‘Hail to the King’ while on tour in the US with Helloween,” recalled guitarist Oscar Dronjak via a press release. “By the end of the tour, I was getting close to wrapping the song up, so straight after the Los Angeles gig I headed to the bus where I worked like a mad man to get the last pieces together.”
He continued: “That turned out to be the show where one of my favorite wrestlers, Chris Jericho, came to visit. It was also the show where [bassist] Fredrik [Larsson] met his idol Frank Bello from Anthrax and Joacim met Jay Ruston, producer for Armored Saint, Avatar, Anthrax, Corey Taylor and more and whom after this meeting agreed to produce the vocals for Avenge the Fallen! I missed all that, but I at least got a great song out of it, haha!”
Thirteen albums into their lengthy career, the members of Hammerfall remain vigilant in their artistic process, which is defined by the front-to-back experience of the LP format.
“Do we want to be a band who releases new music just for the sole reason of getting out on the road again or do we want to keep pushing and challenging ourselves?” asked Joacim Cans in the press announcement. “In times where people have less and less attention span, we still think in the form of full-length albums. A few good songs don’t make a strong album. A strong album comes from an album full a great songs and that’s what we’re delivering with Avenge the Fallen.”
Hammerfall will be supporting Avenge the Fallen with a US tour that kicks off Tuesday (April 30th) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (get tickets here).
Pre-order Avenge the Fallen on vinyl and CD via Nuclear Blast. Stream the music video and see the artwork, tracklist, and full list of Hammerfall’s tour dates below.
Avenge the Fallen Artwork:
Avenge the Fallen Tracklist:
01. Avenge The Fallen
02. Burn It Down
03. Capture The Dream
04. Hail To The King
05. Hero To All
06. Hope Springs Eternal
07. Rise Of Evil
08. The End Justifies
09. Time Immemorial
Hammerfall’s 2024 Tour Dates:
04/19 – Mexico City, MX @ Sala Urbana
04/20 – Bogota, CO @ Auditorio Mayor Cun
04/23 – Santiago, CL @ Teleton
04/25 – Brasilia, BR @ Toinha
04/27 – São Paulo, BR @ Summer Breeze
04/30 – Harrisburg, PA @ Midtown Arts Center
05/01 – Montclair, NJ @ The Wellmont Theater
05/02 – Albany, NY @ Empire Underground
05/03 – Columbus, OH @ The Bluestone
05/04 – St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall
05/06 – Fort Worth, TX @ Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall
05/07 – San Antonio, TX @ Vibes Event Center
05/09 – Albuquerque, AZ @ El Rey Theater
05/10 – Tucson, AZ @ Encore
05/11 – Anaheim, CA @ City National Grove of Anaheim
05/12 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
05/14 – Denver, CO @ Summit
05/16 – St. Paul, MN @ Myth Live
05/17 – Milwaukee, WI @ Milwaukee Metal Fest
05/18 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
05/19 – Flint, MI @ The Machine Shop
05/20 – McKees Rocks, PA @ Roxian Theatre
05/21 – Richmond, VA @ The National
05/23 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart´s
05/24 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade (Heaven)
05/25 – St Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
06/05-08 – Norje, SE @ Sweden Rock Festival
06/06 – Trondheim, NO @ Trondheim Rocks
06/14 – Zamora, ES @ Z@fest
06/20 – Copenhagen, DK @ Copenhell
06/27 – Snina, SL @ Rock Pod Kamenon
07/03-06 – Ballenstedt, DE @ Rock Hartz
07/12 – Midalidare Estate, Chirpan, BG @ Midalidare Rock
08/10 – Helsinki, FI @ Hellsinki Metal Fest
10/04 – Hamburg, DE @ Barclays Arena
10/05 – Amsterdam, NL @ AFAS Live