Dronjak and Strömblad were later joined by lead guitarist Niklas Sundin, bassist Johan Larsson, and vocalist Mikael Stanne.

When Mikael Stanne could not perform with the band in the semi-finals, they found Joacim Cans, who agreed to play with them for the night.

In early 1997, German label Nuclear Blast approached HammerFall with a contract for a European release deal, which included four albums.

Siding with bands Gamma Ray, Jag Panzer, Lake of Tears and Raven, several tours through the European continent ensued.

Support was the Belgian band Double Diamond, who later became Fireforce In February 1998, the recording of Legacy of Kings began.

This album was once more written by Joacim, Oscar, and Jesper, who despite having quit the band still took part in the process in order to keep the same general mood of their first release.

HammerFall made some expressive concerts before the release of Legacy of Kings, playing in festivals together with bands such as Alice Cooper, Rammstein, Deep Purple, Dream Theater, Saxon and Stratovarius.

During their passage through South America, HammerFall took a short break to visit the Brazilian beaches, but they soon resumed their tour.

Anders had previously worked with guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen on Rising Force in the 80s and 90s and on a number of other projects; he is the brother of Jens Johansson from Stratovarius.

After a long series of concerts, the band returned to Sweden in order to spend time with their families and begin writing songs for their next album.

HammerFall made arrangements for this album to be recorded by Michael Wagener,[6] who had previously produced bands such as Accept, Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne.

Oscar stated on www.metalrules.com just prior to the release of 'Renegade' that they were going for a more "commercial" sound in order to attract a broader audience that otherwise would have been lost to them and that future albums wouldn't follow in this mold.

The band then released a DVD entitled The Templar Renegade Crusades, which included video footage from recording sessions, live concerts, tour backstages, and encounters with fans.

The song also attracted a number of new fans to the band due to its chorus-driven melody and simple riffs coupled with fast guitar solos.

The shooting of the music video "Hearts on Fire" by director Roger Johansson was scheduled for August of that year.

While Joacim was drinking with his girlfriend in a rock club he had been frequenting for over a decade, he was attacked by an unidentified person who hit him in the head with a beer glass and hastily escaped.

Joacim instantly lost consciousness and had to be taken to a hospital, in which he underwent plastic surgery and rested for a couple of days.

HammerFall was present on festivals in Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic, playing with bands such as Iron Maiden, Slayer, Twisted Sister, U.D.O.

HammerFall's tour was brought to a sudden end when Oscar Dronjak suffered a motorcycle accident, breaking his left arm and sustaining several minor injuries.

He then joined Anders, Joacim, Stefan again, with bands Helloween, Gamma Ray and Pretty Maids, amongst others, and played in the celebration of the 20 years of the German rock club Rockfabrik.

After two years of hiatus the band released Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken, which was followed by a European and South American tour.

On his own website (and therefore with his own official statement) it was announced that Magnus was tired of the simple bassplaying he was forced to play in HammerFall, and that he was unable to bring his own material to the band.

[9] On 10 April it was announced on the official HammerFall homepage that the replacement for Magnus is former member Fredrik Larsson, who played bass on the Glory to the Brave album.

On 2 April 2008, Stefan Elmgren announced his decision to leave HammerFall in order to pursue a career as a commercial pilot.

In 2012, HammerFall recorded a live DVD while performing a show in Dalhalla, Sweden, that featured some former band members as well as other special guests.

The subsequent tour, dubbed the World Wide (r)Evolution 2014-15, will see HammerFall return to Latin America together with Edguy and Gotthard, followed by a full European assasult in the beginning of 2015.

The band was somewhat distraught when drummer Anders Johansson left shortly after the release of (r)Evolution, but David Wallin (Pain) was brought in as a temporary replacement to ensure that the show would go on.

Former guitar player Stefan Elmgren stepped in handled the 4-string duties during that period, making this line-up a unique experience during the Latin American and European tour.

[17] On 19 March 2021, HammerFall announced that they will join Helloween on a big European tour in 2022 and '23 called United Forces.