Not unlike Hammerfall whose song "Templars of Steel" has been called the band's "most mature song to date" by Rock Hard magazine is about the fans. "Templars of steel is really about them," says Oscar. "They keep fighting for what they believe in. And we are the Templars of Metal. We try to bring our music to people who may have not heard it before." And if people simply don't like it? "It's not a concern. We play for people. If people don't like us, we won't play for them. Simple! We will always like constructive criticism. What bothered me is what happened to Stratovarius recently. They did a big video that was professionally done and somebody on TV did not want to air it because he felt the band was singing it like it was the eighties! If somebody would say that about Hammerfall, I would get distraught. We are about so much more than the vocals (And so is Stratovarius!) That's the one thing about America, their total focus on vocals. Heavy metal is about so much more than the vocals."

But heavy metal often runs the risk of becoming a caricature of itself if taken too seriously. Where do you draw the line? "You have to know what works and what doesn't," says Oscar with conviction. "We think about it all the time. We look at what we feel a heavy metal band should be. And nobody in this band does anything they do not like to do. We like to create the ultimate experience. I guess the only guideline I have is what feels natural."

Besides their great new CD, metal fans can also check out Hammefall on several tribute discs. Just listen to their covers of famed hits by Picture ("Eternal dark"), Accept ("Head over heels"), or Heavy Load ("Run with the devil").... What else can we expect? "There are no plans to record at this time, but there are a couple of older recordings that have not been released yet," says Oscar. "We are also participating on a Twisted Sister tribute to come out on an American label with the song "We're not gonna take it". Twisted Sister has been the guiding star for much of what I do in my life. What they wrote is exactly what I felt. It was very much a dream come true to record a Twisted Sister song. I love that band!"

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