Hammerfall Hit U.S. Soil Again This March After Five-Year Hiatus

Metal madrigalists Hammerfall have returned to North American for their first tour in five years. There's no particular reason for the chasm between U.S. jaunts, according to guitarist Oscar Dronjak, who told Noisecreep, "We should have come back much earlier than this, but it might have had something to do with having two member changes." The band will play Prog Power and more U.S. shows later this year.

Dronjak is looking forward to the band's return to performing on U.S. soil, even though he has recently visited the county several times for non-work purposes. "I've gone there on vacation a couple times, too," Dronjak said. "I went to Miami last May, and before that I visited my brother in Dallas when he lived there. I spent Christmas and New Year's in Las Vegas. I went to see UFC 92. I'm a huge fan."

Given Hammerfall's penchant for penning larger-than-life, power-riffic metal anthems, it's not outside of the realm of possibility for the band to write a song for UFC purposes. "If they asked me to do it, I would, without hesitation!" He admits to a few favorite fighters, but sometimes disagrees with the sports' politics, for lack of a better word. "I want to see a good fight," he said. "I have a huge problem with people who spend their lives bashing people's faces in and then thank God the second after the fight. It's unbelievable. Those are they guys I can't stand, and there a lot of them. Many fighters do that, and I find it hypocritical."

However, he claims to be a fan of the competition. "It's two people, some rules and no equipment," he pointed out. "They see who is better at fighting. That is part of the appeal. I have been watching since 1996, and I'm hooked on it. I like the action and the people, and the way they train is insane. It takes a special breed to train and sacrifice your life like that."