Hammerfall

Renegade

Unprofessional, unexceptional, but fun to listen to

Review Score:

(6/10)
First of all, this is the only Hammerfall I've heard. So I'm not a fan or anything and I won't be comparing Renegade to their other albums. I do listen to this kind of music in general, though.

Anyways, the album isn't bad but there are a few flaws that just make it OK. The most obvious problem is the lyrics, which are horribly cheesy. Now I'm a huge fan of Dream Evil, who often have the same problem, but this is worse. And I don't care for the singer's whiny voice (better than Jeff Scott Soto though!!) There also isn't much variety in the songs, they pretty much all have the same beat and tempo. The musicians themselves aren't particularily talented, either. I mean, the drumming and guitars and stuff are actually pretty cool, but not as good as a lot of other metal bands. For example the guitar player's solos kind of suck. He can play at a decent speed but his playing gets pretty sketchy when he tries to go faster than 16th notes (and he doesn't play good slow, either.) And finally, the writing is good at some times and bad at others. All their riffs are good but they're all the same. Double bass 16th notes with some kind of harmonies in front of them. I actually do like their songs like Keep the Flame Burning and The Champion but there isn't any variation! And sometimes the writing is actually BAD, like those HORRIBLE random key changes towards the end of "The Templars of Steel." Otherwise that song was awesome, and the last 30 seconds or so ruined it. And the cheesiness doesn't really help. Even the guitars on Renegade (the song) were cheesy, and they're usually what make the lyrics tolerable. But don't get me wrong, I can definitely listen to this. It just could be a lot better. I did like a couple of the songs enough to figure them out on guitar, and I do occasionally throw it on and listen to a couple songs.

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