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You can’t deny that Hammerfall are one of the pre-eminent power metal bands of the past 15 years. They’ve established an enviable reputation for fiery riffage and blazing anthems. But even by their own standards, this live release is something special.

Filmed and recorded at an open air amphitheatre in the Swedish village of Dalhalla, it sees the band ripping through a set of their finest songs, with everything coming into glorious focus. The music represents the best that the Swedes have to offer.

Yes, the setlist is obvious, but that’s the whole point: to showcase the tunes that have made the band’s name. From opener Patient Zero through Riders Of The Storm, Crimson Thunder and Blood Bound to the closing Threshold, The Dragon Lies Bleeding and Let The Hammer Fall, there’s no let-up in volume, pace and energy. This CD/DVD release is proof that this is one Hammer that will never fail to fall.

Malcolm Dome had an illustrious and celebrated career which stretched back to working for Record Mirror magazine in the late 70s and Metal Fury in the early 80s before joining Kerrang! at its launch in 1981. His first book, Encyclopedia Metallica, published in 1981, may have been the inspiration for the name of a certain band formed that same year. Dome is also credited with inventing the term "thrash metal" while writing about the Anthrax song Metal Thrashing Mad in 1984. With the launch of Classic Rock magazine in 1998 he became involved with that title, sister magazine Metal Hammer, and was a contributor to Prog magazine since its inception in 2009. He died in 2021.