Crimson Thunder is the fourth studio album by Swedish power metal band HammerFall. It was the first album the band worked on with producer Charlie Bauerfeind.

Crimson Thunder
Studio album by
Released28 October 2002
RecordedWisseloord Studios (Netherlands), Twilight Studios (Germany), and Mi Sueño (Spain)
GenreHeavy metal, power metal
Length47:33
LabelNuclear Blast
ProducerCharlie Bauerfeind
HammerFall chronology
Renegade
(2000)
Crimson Thunder
(2002)
One Crimson Night
(2003)
Singles from Crimson Thunder
  1. "Hearts on Fire"
    Released: 30 September 2002
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

The cover art was created by Samwise Didier, who is also known for his Warcraft concept art pieces.

A music video was made for the song "Hearts on Fire".[2]

Track listing edit

[3]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Riders of the Storm"Oscar Dronjak, Joacim Cans4:34
2."Hearts on Fire"Dronjak, Cans3:51
3."On the Edge of Honour"Dronjak, Cans4:49
4."Crimson Thunder"Dronjak, Cans5:05
5."Lore of the Arcane" (Instrumental)Dronjak1:27
6."Trailblazers"Dronjak, Cans4:39
7."Dreams Come True"Dronjak4:02
8."Angel of Mercy" (Chastain cover)David T. Chastain5:38
9."The Unforgiving Blade"Dronjak, Cans3:40
10."In Memoriam" (Instrumental)Stefan Elmgren4:21
11."Hero's Return"Dronjak, Cans5:22
Total length:47:33
European and Brazilian edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Rising Force" (Yngwie Malmsteen cover)4:30
Total length:52:03
American bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Detroit Rock City" (Kiss cover)3:56
Total length:51:29
Japanese bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Crazy Nights" (Loudness cover)3:38
13."Renegade" (Live)4:53
14."HammerFall" (Live)9:13
Total length:65:17

Release information edit

  • Digipak CD,[4] LP,[5] shaped CD, picture LP, comic book edition, leather bound comic book edition, DVD-audio, value box (with "Hearts on Fire" CDS), Gold Award edition.
  • Limited Gold Edition comes in an amaray (DVD-box), including printed HammerFall signatures, golden HammerFall-plectrum, bonus track ("Heeding the Call" – live) and a videoclip ("Hearts on Fire").[6]
  • Strictly limited Enhanced Gold-Award Edition, issued in DVD case with gold CD and band logo plectrum. CD has all bandmembers' signatures.[6]
  • Special Comic Edition has a CD of Crimson Thunder housed in an oversize hardback comic book, with an original comic story and the album's original liner notes/lyrics. Strictly Limited CD & Comicbook with 25 pages comic + 7 pages booklet, hardcover size A4 and the bonus track "Rising Force".[7]
  • DVD-Audio comes in 5.1 Dolby Surround Multichannel Sound. Playable into all DVD Players and with 5.1 Channel Surround Sound System and has "Hearts on Fire" videoclip.[8]
  • There has also been a numbered (1000 have been made) limited edition 3 CD longform leather digibook, that contains two 3-inch mini-CDs with one track on each: "Crazy Nights" (Loudness cover) and "Detroit Rock City" (Kiss cover).[9]

Chart ranking edit

Country Ranked[10]
Switzerland 83
Germany 13
Austria 65
France 134
Sweden 3

Personnel edit

References edit

  1. ^ AllMusic review
  2. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: HAMMERFALL - Hearts On Fire (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO). YouTube.
  3. ^ "HammerFall - Crimson Thunder - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives".
  4. ^ "Crimson Thunder | Hammerfall - Official Webpage". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  5. ^ "HammerFall – Crimson Thunder (2002, Vinyl)". Discogs.
  6. ^ a b "HammerFall – Crimson Thunder (2003, Amaray, CD)". Discogs.
  7. ^ "HAMMERFALL | Crimson thunder COMIC+CD - Nuclear Blast". Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  8. ^ "HammerFall – Crimson Thunder (2002, DVD)". Discogs.
  9. ^ "HammerFall – Crimson Thunder (2002, CD)". Discogs.
  10. ^ Steffen Hung. "HammerFall - Crimson Thunder". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 13 August 2022.

External links edit