At first glance of Hammerfall's latest CD Infected, you instantly notice that the normal styled cover art featuring their mascot Hactor is nowhere to be found. Instead, we are treated to a different band logo and ghoulish hand draped in darkness and deep reds. Pop in the CD and the slow, grinding riffs of "Patient Zone" also indicates a somewhat restrained Hammerfall, and you have to wonder if even bigger surprises are in store. Well, after the speedy power metal rave-up "Bang Your Head (B.Y.H.)", the veteran metal act again slow things down for the mediocre "One More Time", again showing a slight stylistic change, sounding more like recent Edguy than what you'd normally expect from Hammerfall.
Other tunes like "The Outlaw", "Send Me a Sign", and "I Refuse" just don't have a hell of a lot of bite to them, the middle one being a listless ballad and the other two having more in common with 80's US hair metal bands than European power metal. Though "Dia De Los Muertes", "Immortalized", and "666 - The Enemy Within" show some life, and thankfully slower tempos compared to some of the relentless speed fests of recent releases, this is still far from classic sounding Hammerfall. There's barely a catchy riff or chorus to be found anywhere sadly.
Yes, I've been hard on this band in recent years, and I won't say in the grand scheme of things that I'm a huge fan, but at least some of the early Hammerfall albums are fun to listen to. Infected is just tired, generic, and boring. A solid song like "Let's Get It On" and a few others just can't make up for what is a completely forgetable heavy metal album from a band that just might have finally run out of steam.
Track Listing
1. "Patient Zero"
2. "Bang Your Head"
3. "One More Time"
4. "The Outlaw"
5. "Send Me a Sign"
6. "Dia De Los Muertos"
7. "I Refuse"
8. "666 - The Enemy Within"
9. "Immortalized"
10. "Let's Get It On"
11. "Redemption"
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