The artist: We are finishing off power metal month with HammerFall. HammerFall haven't been a strong influence in power metal as much as Helloween and Stratovarius have but they're still a big name in the genre nonetheless. The band have stayed strong with Oscar Dronjak on guitars since the beginning and Joacim Cans on vocals. Cans is a highlight in HammerFall's music with his strong voice you won't hear from anyone else. HammerFall recently finished working on their eighth album called Infected but from the sounds of it, it'll be a zombie apocalyptic themed album. Doesn't sound like HammerFall at all but we'll see how the album turns out when it's released.
The album: Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken is a rather silly title but putting that aside, what the album offers the listener is several rocking tunes, an outstanding track opener, the chilling medieval instrumental Imperial and the epic closer Knights of the 21st Century despite the silly voices heard in the track. Many claim Chapter V isn't a great album but I really enjoyed this album. Maybe it's because it was the first HammerFall album I heard but it still deserves more respect than it gets. This isn't Virtual XI or anything on that level of failure.
The song: Secrets starts off with an intro which feels somewhat haunted. Not sure if that was intentional but the choir still provides a nice contribution to the intro either way. The song then suddenly strikes with its main riff which is rather simple but works very well. The direction HammerFall take with this one is rather unusual for them. Halfway through the song they offer a keyboard break before kicking with some excellent solos. Some of the solos even go alongside with the keyboards making it some awesome rocking moments. Keyboards aren't typical for HammerFall but they made the right move with putting them on Secrets.
The lyrics to Secrets easily explain the meaning of secrets we have and how we should keep some secrets until the day we day no matter what. It's a very encouraging song for someone who may feel very down in his/her life and this song should shed a light on their beliefs and their own personal thoughts. Overall, Secrets is one of the finest songs HammerFall have ever wrote and easily stands out from all the other songs they've sung. With memorable riffs, highly melodic solos going alongside with keyboards and a song with a strong meaning, this should be considered a power metal anthem!
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