Renegade 2.0 (20 Year Anniversary Edition)

The Artist

HammerFall emerged from Gothenburg, Sweden in the mid-1990s, founded by guitarist Oscar Dronjak and soon fronted by vocalist Joacim Cans. While their Swedish peers were pushing death and black metal into extreme territory, HammerFall went the opposite direction, reviving classic heavy metal built on twin guitars, fist-in-the-air choruses, and unapologetic sword-and-steel imagery. Their 1997 debut Glory to the Brave helped spark a wider power metal revival across Europe, and by the time of Renegade in 2000, they were arguably the most commercially successful band in the genre. This 20th anniversary edition revisits that landmark record with a full 2020 remix, offering longtime fans a chance to hear a defining album with modern clarity.

The Album

The original Renegade was released in 2000 and represented the peak of HammerFall's chart success, debuting at number one in Sweden. Renegade 2.0 is not a re-recording but a full 2020 remix of the original masters, giving the drums more punch, the guitars more bite, and the low end a heavier presence than the era's production allowed. The album's themes are pure power metal doctrine: honor, brotherhood, defiance, and standing your ground against the world, delivered without irony or apology. Anniversary reissues can feel like cash-ins, but the remix treatment here is aimed squarely at fans who've lived with these songs for two decades and want to hear them freshly polished. It's a chance to revisit an era-defining album on modern speakers and headphones.

Listen For

The twin-guitar attack. HammerFall's identity lives in the interplay of harmonized leads and galloping rhythm riffs. Listen to how the remix separates the guitar layers on "Templars of Steel" and "The Way of the Warrior".

Joacim Cans' delivery. Cans has one of the most recognizable voices in modern power metal, clean and commanding without straining for theatrics. His performance on "Always Will Be" shows a more restrained, melodic side.

Anthem architecture. Nearly every track is built around a massive singalong chorus with verse-pre-chorus-chorus scaffolding designed for arena response. Notice how "Renegade" and "The Champion" telegraph their hooks and then land them.

The remix's low end. Compare the drum sound and bass presence to the original if you know it. The kick and snare on "Raise the Hammer" hit noticeably harder than a 2000-era mix would allow.

Warrior code lyrics. The record is a manifesto of loyalty, honor, and defiance. "Keep the Flame Burning" and "A Legend Reborn" spell out the band's mythology in the plainest possible terms.