On the road at last

January 10th, 2001, marked the beginning of the band's second world tour, with a sold-out show in Lisebergshallen, Göteborg. A proposed U.S. tour in the autumn had fallen through, so this would be the first show since the end-of-tour party in August 1999, not counting a secret warp-up gig at Torarica in Lerum a few days before. The effects of the TV success were evident, as the show was close to being sold out beforehand. This was especially cool considering this venue held more than double the capacity of any venue HammerFall had previously played in Göteborg. Drawing from the album artwork of a castle in ruins, the stage was set up as one, complete with draw bridge and destroyed pillars. Entering the stage to the low, pulsating hum of "Templars Of Steel", the band members could only be vaguely made out in the moving lights as the drawbridge slowly lowered itself, until the front of the stage exploded in a wall of fireworks. A seven week-long tour with Virgin Steele and Freedom Call followed, as well as two weeks in South America in March and lots of festivals in the summer, totalling around 60 shows.


The Crusade ends in gold

All accounted for, despite the mentioned early hesitation, "Renegade" was a resounding success. Earning HammerFall its first gold album (selling over 40,000 copies in Sweden alone) and firmly establishing the band's legacy as the most popular metal act since the glory days of Europe, there's no denying the impact of "Renegade". The gold album was celebrated with a rare acoustic appearance at CD-Specialisten in Göteborg in October and a big Halloween party a couple of days later, finishing off the Crusade for now.


Further chronicling the career

Almost immediately afterwards, preparations for the sequel to "The First Crusade" was initiated. During the course of the many recording sessions and tours the band had undertaken in the last couple of years, a huge collection of video footage had been accumulated. An early outline of the contents quickly showed that this would be an immense project. The home footage was divided chronologically beginning with the recordings in Hansen Studios in October 1998 and ending with the gold album party in November 2001, with the flagship of the release being four songs recorded at Wacken Open Air the same year. The real gems lie in the personal archive of the band, though. Events and persons such as a Japanese kimono-party, crazy Brazilians at a signing session, Chuck Schuldiner (R.I.P.) and Michael Wagener makes this release a unique look into the band's life on the road as well as in the studio creating another chapter in the ongoing saga of the Templars of Steel.


Back to the drawing board

This peroid was not only marked by the video chronicles which would later get the name "The Templar Renegade Crusades", but also of intense song-writing. As is the case after any longer period of time without gigs, Oscar and Joacim had already put together a couple of songs for the next album. Among the early ones were "Trailblazers", Hero's Return" and "Riders Of The Storm", but within the first couple of months of 2002 the full eleven tracks were completed. Some of these, such as "Hearts On Fire" dated all the way back to '99, whereas for example "Crimson Thunder" were written at the very last minute. In fact, Magnus, Anders and Stefan hadn't even heard the song before going into the studio to record! Another preproduction in JM Studio took place in April, and the producer of the upcoming album recordings even put in a little visit, getting to know the guys he would be working with. His name was Charlie Bauerfeind, responsible for such well-produced albums as Blind Guardian's "Nightfall In Middle-Earth" and "A Night At The Opera", Heaven's Gate's "Living In Hysteria", Gamma Ray's "Land Of The Free" and Helloween's "The Dark Ride", but he has also worked with such different artists as Sisters Of Mercy and Alannah Myles. A versatile guy to say the least, but also one who knows his metal.


The follow-up

This proved to be a split recording session, with the drums recorded in Holland, the bass in Germany and the rest to be done on Tenerife. The reason for this was that Charlie wanted to use Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum near Amsterdam to get a great drum sound. He had been there before, and was confident that these studios could get the job done. After all, if they worked for Queensrüche, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, they most likely would be adequate for HammerFall! Five expensive but highly productive May days were spent there, with exceptional result. Three days in the Blind Guardian studio in Krefeld, Germany, was all it took to lay down the bass. Then, it was off to Tenerife. Thanks to Charlies work ethic, the well prepared musicians and the tremendous reception and welcome everyone received from the owners of the studio, Mr. and Mrs. Deris, this session was both the easiest, smoothest and the most relaxed so far. The band even finished ahead of schedule, something previously unheard of in this business! The result was "Crimson Thunder", the fourth studio album from HammerFall.

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