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HAMMERFALL Premiere ‘Second To One’ Music Video Feat. BATTLE BEAST’s Noora Louhimo
January 3rd, 2020

Gothenburg, Sweden-based power metal band HammerFall have released a music video for the track ‘Second To One’. Directed by Patric Ullaeus and featuring guest vocals from Battle Beast singer Noora Louhimo, the clip can be viewed below.

Speaking about the song, guitarist Oscar Dronjak said: “It all started with Joacim [Cans] suggesting we should try to write a song together with our long time producer James Michael. We went over to Los Angeles for a weekend, not knowing what to expect. Within the first 30 minutes, I played an idea I had for James. He immediately responded with some chords and melodies, and we took it from there. Together, we wrote the music in just a couple of hours and met the next day to just finalize all the details. That’s how fast it can go sometimes when you get a feeling for something and the snowball just starts rolling, and it’s the greatest feeling in the world! The ‘hit-or-miss’ weekend in this case definitely turned out as a hit!”

Regarding the duet with Noora Louhimo, vocalist Joacim Cans stated: “Already during the writing process I had the feeling this song would be perfect as a duet – a sort of modern ‘Ozzy and Lita Ford’. I have had my eye on Battle Beast and Noora Louhimo for quite some time and was blown away by her vocal skills and stage presence. I had a feeling our voices would be a perfect match. When we decided to make the duet idea reality, I just picked up the phone and called Noora who instantly said ‘Hell Yeah!’ Working with Noora was nothing but awesome and we bonded the second we met. Not only is she an extremely talented vocalist, she is also a fantastic human being. The great connection between Noora and I really shows in the video clip for the song.”

Noora Louhimo added: “I was contacted by Joacim and asked if I wanted to do a duet with him on ‘Second To One’. My first thought was ‘what an honor’ and that I needed to listen to this song to make my final decision. Once I heard it, I knew it was going to be something special and agreed on the collaboration. I flew to Gothenburg for the sessions and even though I hadn’t met Joacim or the others from Hammerfall before, it felt very natural and easy to work with them. I also agree with Joacim that we hit it off right away and you can see that in the music video how comfortable things were between us. I am so excited to be part of this and to go on tour with them with Battle Beast in the end of January.”

HammerFall issued 11th full-length studio album Dominion on August 16th, 2019 through Napalm Records.

Oscar Dronjak commented: “‘Good is not good enough; it has to be great.’ This is the mantra we have applied to every aspect of making this album, from the song writing and rehearsals to the production and the performance of each member. The result is Dominion, a powerful force of nature that cannot be stopped. Once you hear it, you will understand.”

For Dominion, HammerFall re-teamed with James Michael to do vocals at Red Level Three studios in Los Angeles, California, and Fredrik Nordström at Castle Black Studios in Härryda, Sweden for the instruments. Nordström was also responsible for mixing and mastering duties at his own Studio Fredman in Västra Frölunda, Sweden.

Cover artwork was created by Samwise Didier.

The track listing is as follows:

01. ‘Never Forgive, Never Forget’
02. ‘Dominion’
03. ‘Testify’
04. ‘One Against The World’
05. ‘(We Make) Sweden Rock’
06. ‘Second To One’
07. ‘Scars Of A Generation’
08. ‘Dead By Dawn’
09. ‘Battleworn’ (instrumental)
10. ‘Bloodline’
11. ‘Chain Of Command’
12. ‘And Yet I Smile’

HammerFall’s line-up is as follows:

Joacim Cans (vocals)
Oscar Dronjak (guitar)
Pontus Norgren (guitar)
Fredrik Larsson (bass)
David Wallin (drums)

Music videos were released for the title track, ‘(We Make) Sweden Rock’ and ‘One Against The World’. In addition, an official lyric video was also created for the song ‘(We Make) Sweden Rock’. All four clips can also be viewed below.

Tenth studio record Built To Last was released in November 2016 via Napalm Records.

Promotional photograph by Robert Tüchi – Picwish Fotodesign.