The Swedish Power Metal juggernaut that is HAMMERFALL are back! 'INFECTED', the eighth studio album of the Templars, now marks the begin of a new time for the quintet: For the first time since the turn of the millennium and after roughly ten years of cooperation, Charlie Bauerfeind was NOT responsible for the production. The result - After the opener 'Patient Zero', a highspeed hymn la 'Painkiller'/Judas Priest, the programmatic as well as HammerFall-like Headbanger 'Bang Your Head' and the slightly swinging 'One More Time' with its subtle dramatic flair one thing is for sure.

The five Swedes were able to combine their 80s roots and True Metal aspects of the first two albums perfectly with a fresh touch, which takes account of both modern influences and listening habits of the 21st century. Subsequently, another lightly swinging uptempo anthem 'The Outlaw' commends itself as a successor to 'Renegade', the straightforward and unfussy 'Dia De Los Muertos' seizes on Teutonic virtues and 'I Refuse' - the album's heavyweight - marches harshly from first to last, enriched with massive grooves made in the USA and an unostentatious cross-reference to the brute sound of Rammstein.