-Hammerfall-

After quitting the death metal act Ceremonial Oath in 1993, guitarist Oscar Dronjak formed HammerFall and soon asked Jesper Strömblad to join him. Since this idea had been existing in Oscar's for a while, the name, general direction and some music (such as the song "Steel Meets Steel") were already there. Jesper and Oscar decided that HammerFall had to be forwarded on a project level, since both wanted to keep on with their other, freshly started, bands, In Flames and Crystal Age respectively. They enlisted the help of fellow metallers Niklas Sundin (guitar) and Mikael Stanne (vocals) of Dark Tranquillity, and Johan Larsson (bass guitar).

The aim was to get together a couple of times each year, rehearsing to particitpate in a local music competition called "Rockslaget". Time went on, and Niklas and Johan were replaced by Glenn Ljungström (In Flames) and Fredrik Larsson (Crystal Age). Apart from the HammerFall tunes "Steel Meets Steel" and "HammerFall", the band performed the Pretty Maids classic "Red, Hot and Heavy" as well as the Alice Cooper 1987 metal icon "Freedom".

Fast forward to 1996. For the first time, HammerFall advanced to the semi-finals of "Rockslaget" with "Steel Meets Steel" , "Unchained" and the Judas Priest anthem "Breaking The Law". Amidst the celebration, it was discovered that vocalist Mikael was going to be unavailable at the time of the semi-finals. Hence, a new singer had to be brought in for this gig. After a bit of research, the name Joacim Cans came up. A phone call later, and they were in business. The cooperation with Joacim proved to be a success, and he was immediately sworn in as a permanent member of the HF clan. Though entering a strong performance in the competition, HammerFall never reached the finals; the band was edged out in the last minute by the judges, who perhaps feared the imminent and unavoidable rise of Heavy Metal once again to international prominence. However, a two-track live performance was recorded and sent on video tape to Roel van Reijmersdal of the Dutch label Vic Records. He marvelled over its contents and immediately offered HammerFall a deal. Consequently, the summer and fall of this, the olympic year, was spent writing, rehearsing and perfecting the soon-to-be debut album, already entitled "Glory To The Brave".