HammerFall began when guitarist Oscar Dronjak quit Ceremonial Oath and invited Jesper Strömblad (from In Flames, also originally a member of Ceremonial Oath) to join him on a new musical project which he had been idealising for some time. Dronjak had already composed the song "Steel Meets Steel", which was later included on HammerFall's debut album. They were later joined by guitarist Niklas Sundin, bassist Johann Larsson and vocalist Mikael Stanne (from Dark Tranquillity). When Niklas Sundin and Johann Larsson quit HammerFall the following year, Glenn Ljungström (ex-In Flames) and Fredrik Larsson (the bassist of the former Swedish death metal band Dispatched) replaced them.

Both Dronjak and Strömblad took part in other bands at the time: the relatively unsuccessful Crystal Age from Dronjak and the band which to a great extent influenced Swedish melodic death metal, In Flames, from Strömblad. Thus, HammerFall was relegated to being a side project of them both for several years. Their concerts were limited mostly to a local music contest named Rockslaget. The band had few songs of their own and played mostly covers from bands such as Pretty Maids, Judas Priest and Alice Cooper.

In 1996, HammerFall reached the semi-finals of Rockslaget. However, it was soon found that vocalist Mikael Stanne was not going to be able to perform with the band on the semi-finals. Hence, they began the search for a replacement. Through mutual friends, they got in contact with Joacim Cans, who agreed to play with them for the night. The concert was a success, despite the fact that the judges didn't qualify HammerFall for the finals. By the end of that day, Joacim had already been made an official member of the band.

Current Members

• Joacim Cans – Vocals (1996 - present)
• Oscar Dronjak – Guitar, backing vocals (1993 - present)
• Stefan Elmgren – Guitar, backing vocals (1997 - present)
• Fredrik Larsson – Bass, backing vocals (1994-1997, 2007 - present)
• Anders Johansson – Drums (1999 - present)

• Glory to the Brave (1997)
• Legacy of Kings (1998)
• Renegade (2000)
• Crimson Thunder (2002)
• One Crimson Night (2003, live album)
• Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken (2005)
• Threshold (2006)
• Steel Meets Steel - Ten Years Of Glory ("Best Of" compilation) (2007)

• HammerFall - official website
• Nuclear Blast - official website
• Vic Records - official website

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