Hammerfall - Legacy Of Kings 20-Year Anniversary

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This is a masterclass on how to both honor and celebrate a release.  HAMMERFALL celebrate the twentieth-anniversary of “Legacy Of Kings” by greatly expanding the original release.  Where the original release stood at ten-tracks of brilliance, now we have the further addition of a second disc which contains a further fifteen-live and demo tracks. This is galvanized further by a DVD disc featuring interviews, promo spots, live concerts and very deep live cuts from Japan, America and Sweden.

The original album is a masterpiece of power-Metal, there is not much more to be said other than, this remaster does not detract from the original, there is nothing added except for a freshness in sound. Getting to meat and bones of this release, is worth buying again for the heavily expanded bonus material? Simply, yes it is well worth the admission price, and here is why. In the past there has been a problem with quality control on anniversary and lavish celebratory releases, something you would listen to once and leave it at that, feeling slightly cheated in a way , this is not the case here.

The bonus cd opens with a hat-trick of power-covers by PICTURE, HELLOWEEN and RAINBOW.  It’s that cover of “Man On The Silver Mountain” which is particularly brilliant, honest to the original but in the unique style of HAMMERFALL. These tracks actually feel like an extension of the album and, here is the important note, it fits with the flow, not taking from the original. The section of live tracks, some taken from last year is a dynamic blast of what actually makes this band great, these are the jewels in the “Legacy Of Kings” crown.  Fans of the band will truly salivate here, the “Legacy Of Kings Medley” is a magnificent beast, the sound quality is awesome, and they are as good as the original studio recordings, faithfully re imagined on stage.  The pure, raw sound of the live cuts “At The End Of The Rainbow” and “Stronger Than All” leave other contemporaries in the dust, then we get into demo territory.

The six-demo tracks that make up the remainder of the album, the version of “Heeding The Call” is a drum attack, which is first and at the fore of it, the vocals are almost hidden in the mix, this is more a run-through than a rehearsal-demo, but very intense all the same.  “Warriors Of The Faith” is explosive, of course not as polished as the album track but interesting nonetheless.

“At The End Of The Rainbow” sounds brilliant and still has a speaker aching quality to it as it gets into a solid groove, whereas the closer “Dreamland” is a dense guitar showcase which still rumbles with the same intense drive as the album. All in all the rehearsal demos give an extra perspective on the bands creative process, not bad and listenable. This is an exceptional release, which flows nicely between the original, the live tracks and the reversal demos, giving a top-quality listen for hardcore and casual fans of HAMMERFALL, now, we can look forward to their other releases getting the same care and treatment.

Songwriting: 9
Originality: 8
Memorability: 9
Production: 9