HAMMERFALL Threshold
From page 61 of Classic Rock Magazine November 2006
Nuclear Blast
Gumby metal forever. While many in Britain find gormless power metal more than a little embarrassing, that isn’t the case in Europe, where bands like Hammerfall are embraced as heroes. What in the UK pass for cataclysmic clichés are on the continent hailed as harbingers of true metal spirit. Vive le difference.
While Threshold never deviates from the band’s chosen path, many UK metal fans will find it hideously ludicrous, although the combination of unswerving enthusiasm and manic musicianship makes it work. It’s so difficult to be cynically dismissive when faced with the naïve, anthemic fire of Natural High or Reign Of The Hammer . For all its stupidity – or perhaps because of it – Threshold makes you smile.
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Malcolm Dome


