HAMMERFALL — Infected (review)

HAMMERFALL — Infected album cover Album · 2011 · Power Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Infected" is the 8th full-length studio album by Swedish heavy metal/power metal act Hammerfall. The album was released in May 2011 by Nuclear Blast Records.

I´ve followed the promotional campaign for "Infected" and along with the cover and sleeve artwork on the album, I was under the impression that "Infected" would be a zombie themed concept album. That´s not the case though as it´s actually only the opening track "Patient Zero" which features a zombie theme. After my initial disappointment (man...do I love zombies) with this fact had decreased in strength, I was able to digest the album with a more open mind.

The music style on the album probably won´t be a surprise to those familiar with Hammerfall. The band play a combination of heavy pounding traditional heavy metal and euro power metal. The latter style isn´t that dominant on this album though and is mostly heard in the fast-paced tracks on the album. I´m thinking more of acts like Iron Maiden and Saxon when I listen to this album. Lead vocalist Joacim Cans has a slight Bruce Dickinson edge to his voice, so that might be a contributing factor to the comparison. The quality of the material is generally high but the lyrics aren´t always the most subtle or intriguing. Song titles like "Bang Your Head" and "Let´s Get It On" have a hard time not coming off as pretty generic. The music isn´t exactly original either, but it´s delivered with great conviction and skill and in this case that´s enough to ensure that I´m entertained all the way through the album.

That means that "Infected" might not reach the "spectacular" mark on the scale but rather the "damn solid" mark and a 3.5 star rating is deserved.
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