HammerFall - 'No Sacrifice, No Victory'

The last couple HammerFall releases have been compilations, with only a little new material added. Their last studio CD was 2006's Threshold. Since then they've had a couple lineup changes. Magnus Rosén departed a couple years ago, replaced by Fredrik Larsson, who had been in HammerFall previously. About a year ago guitarist Stefan Elmgren left the band to become a commercial pilot, and his place was taken by Pontus Norgren.

Even with the new members, No Sacrifice, No Victory is prototypical HammerFall. It's power metal with crystal clear production. The songs are very melodic with plenty of punchy guitar riffs and soaring solos. The album gets off to a strong start with "By Any Means Necessary." By the time "Legion" rolls around, the riffs are flying, the melodies are catchy and HammerFall is in full stride.

The momentum stalls a bit with "Between Two Worlds," an acoustic ballad with an organ intro. It's actually a decent song, but the transitions in and out of it are a bit jarring. The standard mid-tempo power metal resumes with "Hallowed Be My Name."

Vocalist Joacim Cans delivers an excellent performance. He sings with a lot of emotion and dynamics, has a really good tone, and a sufficient amount of power. No Sacifice, No Victory wraps up with a cover of the Knack song "My Sharona" from the early '80s. It's a really cheesy song, but power metal tends to be cheesy, so it's expected.

HammerFall delivers a standard version that's pretty much identical to the original, just a bit heavier. It would have been nice to hear a different twist on the song, and it's inclusion here doesn't add much. Still, No Sacrifice, No Victory will satisfy HammerFall fans.

(released March 24, 2009 on Nuclear Blast Records)