“A solid little classic lost in time”
A solo effort by then HammerFall Guitarist Stefan Elmgren, 2002's "We Will Rise" is a classic lost in time. Well, when I say classic, I more or less mean "personal classic" but you get the point. Anyway, back when this album was released during my high school years I couldn't exactly afford to shell out for the $30~40 import (which was the only version of the album I could find at the time) so it eventually fell off my radar. Recently, for some reason, I felt compelled to pull the memories of this record out of cold storage and stumbled upon the more affordable Spitfire pressing.
Upon listening, I'm glad to say "We Will Rise" has survived the years quite well. As if it needs to be said, this isn't a five star album, but the music is solid and well performed. The songs (outside the tacked-on instrumental) work well together and while one could say "if you like HammerFall you'll probably like this" that’s something I’d rather not say. Full Strike's music feels a little more subdued in the abstract sense and such a label only misconstrues what is here. What I will say is I was pretty surprised by the subject matter presented within the lyrics, something that flew over my head eight years ago. While HammerFall may sing of Templars, figures with deep religious ties, Stefan and vocalist Niclas Johnsson write about the problems that religion and politics have brought mankind throughout history and mankind's ability to overcome such obstacles through unity.
CONCLUSION:
Personally, I find it hard to beat the superb title track (really, if an album's title track isn't good, that's a bad sign), "Silent Screams" (a solid power ballad) and "Created Fantasy." Unfortunately, the most disappointing thing about "We Will Rise" is the fact it's most definitely a one shot deal; Stefan has since left HammerFall and the music scene to focus on his career as a pilot. Personally, I would have welcomed another album, even years later, but at least there will always be this little cult classic.
Overall Score: 7/10
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