I’m here with guitarist and founder Oscar Dronjak at the City National Grove of Anaheim. It’s great to meet you.
Oscar: Likewise.
At NAMM 2018 I sat down with Joacim for a friendly chat, while the rest of the band was checking out the latest gear, we spoke about the resurgence of HammerFall, and the back to back North America tours.
With only four shows left after tonight on your headlining HammerFall Re-Built To Tour 2018. This was going to be the test. How has the tour gone, was it worth it?
The tour has gone really well. It’s our first headlining tour because last year we did a co-headline together with Delain but this is like everything that happens, good or bad is on us now, on this tour. I’m happy to say it’s been a really, really good tour for us. So, it was definitely worth it.
Good. So, that means you’ll be back.
Oh, of course, sure. Yeah, you can count on that. It’s not going to be like the other years they were not so successful. We had problems one time. The tour manager left with all our money and all our equipment, and we didn’t get anything out of it at the end.
Wow.
So, we had some rough times over here but the last two years have been wonderful. So, we’re definitely coming back after the release of a new album. That’s what we are gearing for.
When I covered your show on May 9, 2017, at the iconic Whisky a Go Go, it had been nineteen years since HammerFall played there. This tour is full of first’s and some it had been two decades since Hammerfall has been in those cities. Can you tell the fans about some of these places, is there a show or two, that have stood out, where you can stand back and say WOW?
Yeah, a couple. This is a thing after, not every show but after many of the shows you go back to the dressing room we go, Oh, this was awesome. This was the top three audiences on tour; then you forget it because it’s replaced by another good audience the next night. It’s hasn’t been like that every night, but for the last, like we did the Whisky a Go Go yesterday. It was unbelievable. It was fantastic really. We were at San Francisco, superb. The day before that was Portland, also probably my favorite of the whole tour I would think, and Portland is one of those that we haven’t been to for sixteen years. We did a tour with Dio in 2002. That’s the last time we played there, and before that was Vancouver. Canada is always great for us. So, you know, there’s been several, those were just the latest ones that we’ve done. There were some really good ones in the beginning, and in the middle of course. But as you said at the beginning of this interview, it’s been a long time.
Yes.
It feels like the first shows we did in Florida, it feels like —
It was sold out.
Yeah, one or two of them which was smaller places but still we haven’t… until last year, we had never ever played in Florida before. So, Florida is new territory basically. We were really, really happy with that. Especially Orlando I believe was one of the better ones on the whole tour.
This tour consists of club style shows, do you prefer the intimate setting where the band and fans can interact or playing to the masses looking out and seeing a sea of fans?
I think both of them have their ups and downs, or pros and cons, I should say. The obvious thing that you mentioned you get a lot better interaction with people when they’re right there. I think I would lean towards that in the end, but it also varies because the clubs have been very different for one another. I mean, to me, tonight in Anaheim is this is a real place. So, this is the only one of the whole tour that has this type of stage, this type of setup and this type of — because this is a very professional room to play. The Whisky, of course, is a legendary place, but it’s very small stage. Not too small but small enough and it’s weird when the PA is hanging down in front of you. So, when I’m doing backup voals, I can’t see half of the audience anymore, but you get that closeness, that’s good but what I do like more is when there is a little bit of distance because some shows have not had a barrier which means that the people are literally on stage with their hands, and they put the drinks down or whatever and that means when you play you have to either take a step back which you don’t usually do, because of the lighting is best in certain places or you have to look down like that or like that because you know they’re right there.
That makes it a little bit difficult to play. So, I’m not too fond of that. I like it when it’s a little bit of distance like a couple of feet or something —
Like when there is a photo pit.
Yeah.
I enjoy reading the fan’s comments show after show. HammerFall has a fantastic fan base here in North America. Do you have the opportunity to check out what the fans responses are to your shows?
Yeah, oh, yeah, for sure. We do that. I think everybody does a little bit; we have to see what happened, #hammerfall. You can even check that out. Yeah. I did it more in the beginning because I wanted to repost stuff for our Instagram stuff but then I kind of slacked off a little bit you get in this groove or this how do you say it’s like groove is a good word. It’s more like not a conveyor belt either. I don’t know how to do this, but you get into this funk, not funk either because it’s not bad….
It’s a routine —
Yeah! So, you wake up and, oh, it’s a new city today. All right. You don’t have that energy to do stuff like that consistently. I wish I did but that’s just what touring does to you. I’m surprised I held out as long as I did. This tour has been one of the better ones for me that way but also one of the ones that I didn’t drink as much. So, I guess those hand and hand.
Is that a good thing?
Yeah. Ultimately it is yes. This tour, we had played 90 minutes, and the output from us had been 100% every night, and I’ve been more tired after these shows than I normally am. I don’t know why maybe it’s because we play a little late or something. We don’t do that. Yeah, I don’t know why. It’s just I’m getting tired, getting older maybe, normally, we drink, sometimes you have a party whatever. I think on this tour we had one party, one proper party and that’s the only one. I usually drink a Bud Light only when we’re on the roads because in the US I like Bud Lite it’s my favorite beer, and you can’t get it in Sweden.
Oh, really?
So, yeah, I try to drink it whenever I can over here, I think several times I’ve just said, “Oh, I am not going to drink today. Just eat something and go to bed.” Which I’ve done and I don’t always drink in Europe either I never felt the need to do it you know, that’s a good thing but even when I do have a good beer or two it’s only three, maybe four, pour out the last one and fuck, I’m off to bed now, because I’m really tired after the shows, which is good.
Yes. Oh, you’ve put it all out there.
That is the whole point. I mean that I think my more mature persona or personality now, focuses more on the actual show and less on having fun on the road because I realized I could have fun anyway. I don’t drink before the show. So, that makes it even worse rather more difficult. If I did drink before the shows, for some people they need that pre-show beer or whatever that would make it more difficult not to drink after the show I think but since I don’t drink I have maybe a couple times I have a beer standing by in case I feel like, oh, okay, before the on course I take a sip or two, that’s it.
Beer always tastes good when it’s nice and cold.
Yeah, especially Bud Light.
On this tour, David Wallin’s is behind the kit; he is also the drummer on the Built To Last album, correct?
Yes.
Is this the first time he’s been on tour with HammerFall, I know there’s been some changes and last year he was not —
No. It was a different one.
Yes.
Now, the thing is we — Anders, our longtime drummer. He quit after the recording of (r)Evolution album. That’s our previous album.
Okay.
So, David did a full tour except for the first three shows. We did just like pre-warm-up things in a release party. Those were Anders, and then he left. So, everything else for that whole tour was David and when he came time to record a new album he was, of course, the drummer who used or we had but he had some problems with being away from his kids and stuff, just different things at home that made him not being able to be on the road for as much as we wanted him to be. So, he had to step down, we got Johan who played during the last tour over here, but we felt kind of like we missed David because he was such a great fit, and he brought so much life into the band when he came into to replace Anders that we kind of asked him, “Would you like to come back?” or is there any way, and I think he kind of missed it too because he realized that this is an opportunity for him of course plus we do a lot of tours, a lot of big things that he would like to be a part of. Of course, we pay him well. So, you know, he’s just getting taken care of, but for me more than anything else it was the connection of five people getting together because HammerFall has never sounded anything as good as we do right now.
Well, I think you’re at the top of your game now.
Yes for sure.
I felt that last year too when I saw you for the first time after Whisky. It was amazing!
Yeah. Don’t get me wrong. It was great with Johan too. No question on that, but David is even better fit is what I’m saying.
This year is the 20th anniversary of Legacy of Kings. Will you be doing something special in celebration of this album?
Yes. We do it every night.
Do you play the album?
No. I mean we’re still in the ReBuilt To Tour, plus I don’t want to get stuck in that compartment where you are still living only off of your old merits. I think that we are beyond that and have a lot to offer still that come on new recordings. So, that’s kind of like a last resort for four bands say, “Oh, okay. We don’t have anything. We don’t have any inspiration to write new songs or whatever it is.” So, they go back to, “Oh, let’s do this as a 30 year anniversary.” Or whatever it is. For this tour, they played the full album, and that’s fine. That’s really cool. I like to watch those shows sometimes myself. I just don’t see HammerFall as one of those bands yet. I think we still have more to offer when it comes to new material. Eventually, I’m sure we will but that’s what we do now is just we give it a little bit extra love, special love. Let’s put it that way. That’s what we do on tour.
As I stated early in this interview, HammerFall is on back to back tours, resulting in the delay of a new album, which is now set to be released in 2019. What can you tell the fans, is there an album title?
No. No name yet. The thing is normally when I write songs for an album; this doesn’t work this way anymore because we need to be more on the road, everybody does because of record sales being what they are or with this Spotify doesn’t give you enough income. So, bands need to go on the road to make some money to be able to continue. So, we are on tour a lot more too which is it’s both good and bad depending on how you look at it, but from my perspective, I was not a fan of — because what I always needed throughout my whole life or career. I wanted this six to eight months of downtime preparation for the album. Nothing is going on. I don’t have to think about going out again or do an interview or anything else. I just have to think about writing songs for a while, and those are the times when I write my best stuff usually. I’m calm, and I’m in a happy place at home ready to do work, but it’s not possible to do it that way anymore. You can’t take a year or half year or whatever it is. You just can’t do it. So, I’ve learned to write songs as we go I guess that’s part of the maturity process. I’m 46 now. So, I think I have — I was a little late bloomer I guess you could say because I felt like I was twenty for many, many years but now I’ve got a kid and a family. I think that helped me to drive me into the parenthood kind of phase of you know. So, just to be a little bit more responsible and to think ahead a little bit you know.
Yeah.
So, right now, I have learned how to write songs even when we have a tour coming up in the next month or two months or whatever. I’ve learned to write songs on the road which is a first ever for me. I did two songs on this tour already.
Will they be on the new album?
Oh, yeah, for sure.
Okay. Then the songs are not set for the album?
No, no. Not yet. Now, we’re starting recording in January.
Okay.
So, we still have a lot of time over the summer and especially in the fall to make the finishing touches. I think it’s going to be — it doesn’t matter how much time we have if you’ve prepared the last month or two. It’s always going to be really stressful anyway. So, I’m guessing the Christmas time will going to be pretty busy with songs but I’m looking forward to it. I’m in good shape for — as far as volume goes. I mean we need a certain amount of songs and I’m definitely not behind right now but the best thing I feel and this is the artist in me. It’s that I think it’s fun to write songs. Last year, the last album I didn’t have the luxury of enjoying it anymore because we were so behind on everything. We had booked the studio we were going to start recording in April I believe it was and the beginning of February was the last show we did. So, I was stressed out of my mind and for me, was just I wrote a song. My gut feeling told me it’s a good one. Okay, move on to the next one. When you have that sort of conveyor belt feeling you can’t really go back and appreciate because you don’t have time to go back and look at what I actually had done. I just had to rely on instinct. It turns out to be really good. I mean, the last album was I think one of my favorites that we have ever done. Still, you know, not just right after we recorded it, but two years after. But it was not as fun as it is to be able to savor these songs a little bit before. You know, that’s how I always decided that this was a good song or needing more work. So, I’m going to do that when we get back now from this tour. We have some summer festivals in Europe of course, quite a few of them but I still just got to be lots of time to go through everything and I still have a lot of ideas and lots of stuff that I want to get out. So, I’m in a good shape. Let’s put it that way.
I have the utmost respect for what you do. I have trouble writing an interview. I can’t even imagine writing a song but when you sit down to write how many songs do you put out there and then decide, Okay, we need ten, twelve or whatever is on the album?
Yeah. So, we generally never have any extras.
Wow!
The last couple of years, we had a bonus song or a bonus track or two that we recorded during the actual recording process, and on during the process we thought, “Okay.” They always ask us for bonus tracks. It’s like, “Okay. This one might be good for that. Let’s put that this bonus track.” But generally, no. We don’t do it the way they did in the 80s, fifteen, twenty songs and let the label selects because that’s not how I work. So, I write the music. Sometimes I have the song title usually, sometimes I have the chorus, sometimes it depends on the song.
Okay.
Then when I’m done with that I do an instrumental demo, and whatever lead, vocal, melodies I’ve come up with that, I put on there, and I give them to Joacim who writes to the rest of lead vocals and of course the lyrics. So, that’s how we work generally. I forgot where I was going on this — What was that you’re asking me again?
I was asking if you — gosh, the question that came in my head. I was so into your answer… Well, you’re telling me that you only write so many songs.
Oh, yes. Right. Yeah, no, yes, thank you.
I went blank too.
Yeah. So, in that songwriting process, like I said I go through the songs or instead I have an idea of the album not just ten different songs or fifteen or however many it is. I write songs, I mean I write an album as well. The first two albums we did was there were so many songs that were very similar in style, and I like for it to be more diverse. So, I want the album to be more like of course, the ballad is going to be there, but you have to some fast songs and some mid-tempo and some groovy songs too. I like the variety. That’s what I think it is a good album and that’s what I think we made. So, such a good thing with on Built to Last. It’s a great variety of really good songs. I’m guessing you learn as you go, and it’s our 10th album, so, we’ve done it for a while.
Well, one of the songs that I just loved and I found that you are the sole songwriter is Twilight Princess.
Oh, yeah.
I love that song. I don’t know what it is, but it strikes an emotion to me. Yes, it’s beautiful. Joacim is impressive; when I did my interview with Joacim at NAMM, he told me that it was all you. My compliments to you, I loved that song.
Oh, thank you. Well, I think the ballad, because the last couple albums, I did the ballad myself. It just happened that way but the ballads that we do — I mean there are some good melodies. I’m very happy with Twilight Princess musically how that turned out but Joacim’s delivery on those songs especially the last couple of albums has been nothing short of amazing. So, it wouldn’t be half of the song without his vocals. That’s just the way it is. I know this. I know how God worked with him for 22 years now. So, I know how good he is. That’s a great thing like about him as a vocalist, he was always good, but he has gotten better with age. Not like everybody else basically, I think they get worse the older you get. I mean compare to any of the big singers today, they’re a shadow of their former self now. Of course, they have a couple more years on, Joacim is not even 50 yet. These guys are 60, 65, whatever, but, look at Dio, I mean he’s more than 60 years old, and he still sang as good as other.
Oh yes, he did.
So, it’s possible to do it.
You take care of yourself.
That’s exactly what he’s doing. He’s really careful of his voice. He’s singing with his mind as much as with his throat or vocal cords. I think that’s going to help him last as long as he wants to.
HammerFalls interests outside of music are fascinating, HammerFall sponsors a hockey team, in the Swedish Hockey League.
Yeah.
At Mora?
Mora, yes.
How did this come about?
Well, Joacim was born in Mora. He grew up there. He has a summer house as well not even Mora but in the same area, and Joacim was very good at getting things done like coming up with an idea and realizing it. He’s fantastic at that, and he just thought it would be fun too because we are all ice hockey fans and we thought it would be fun to do something with them. We are a band, also a company, so we’re sponsoring as a company, HammerFall basically. It’s been good. We’ve done a lot of things with them. We wrote the music that they enter the rink with during the home games.
Okay. Okay, yes.
This was 2007. So, that’s how it started. Then they put our logo on the —
I saw it in the picture, yes, on the corner boards.
Well, it’s still there to this day. We did some charity thing for them. We did like when they were playing an important game to get people to come to the show. I think we entered a match, we told the public that we would sponsor them with an X amount for whatever, how many supporters they had at the game and also to give them a little extra incitement. For every goal, they got this much more.
Oh, that’s awesome.
That was so cool. It gave everybody little bit of publicity. They gave us a chance to offer something for the team. Basically, I’m not a Mora fan. You know, I grew up in Gothenburg. My team is totally different one, but I still think it’s fun to support them you know, and they’re so happy. We went there last winter to say, “Hi.” Because we played in Mora, I think, and it was really nice just to go there and see them they were very excited about all this.
Now, do any of you play hockey?
No. I don’t think anybody ever did, just watched it.
Time to bring the interview to a close. I ended my conversation with Joacim with Whisky and Champagne. How should we end this interview with you?
Bud Light. What else.
Yeah!!! That’s good.
Yeah. I’m not a Whisky drinker; I don’t like it. I do like certain Champagnes, and Joacim sort of turned us onto it at various levels. Frederic is really interested in it. I like to drink it if it’s a good one and I don’t like the same things that they do. I like it a little sweeter and not so strong kind of taste. Maybe, I don’t know what it is but certain Champagne I really do like. So, I’m not averse to it; just it’s not my favorite choice. If I get to choose from anything I would choose a Bud Light.
Good. Well, we’ve talked about it because the HammerFall’s name is on the Whisky and Champagne.
True.
Lastly is there anything else you’d like to say to your loyal fans?
Just yeah, to the loyal fans, thank you for supporting us. Over these years however long you have been listening to us. It doesn’t really matter as long as you listen to the music that you like and I’m happy that the music you like happened to be HammerFall. Thanks for coming to the shows. This tour like I said it earlier in the interview that we have — it’s a very successful one. It’s going to be a nice ending to the tour and when that’s over we’re definitely going to come back. Yeah. If this tour would have been a disaster we probably wouldn’t have come back. So, that’s just how it works nowadays, but I’m very happy. I like touring over here. We got our own little setup and that we have a bus with a shower. We have breakfast on the bus and we set things up. So, again, because we’re all creatures of habit in a lot of ways and touring over here is a lot easier than touring over in Europe in that respect because the buses are bigger. The bunks are a little bit bigger. I think the roads in Europe are smaller. So, the buses have a max size that they can be and max length. It’s bigger here. Everything is bigger over here but, no, but seriously. We’re really enjoying touring over here. It’s not enjoyable if the shows go bad but they have been so great that everything is fantastic. So, hopefully, next time it’ll be even better, even bigger and we can enjoy even more altogether not just us but the fans.
So, thanks everybody for supporting us.
Yes. I’m thrilled to hear this. I already can’t wait.
Thank you very much for sitting down with me. It’s an honor to be able to interview you and Joacim, not only once but twice this year and I look forward to seeing you on stage tonight. We’ll be the last ones standing!
Oh, I’d like to hear that. Thank you very much.
You’re welcome!
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Check out the interview with HammerFall’s frontman Joacim Cans at NAMM 2018 here.
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