Editing HammerFall (section)

===''Glory to the Brave'' and ''Legacy of Kings'' (1997–1999)===
To give more exposure to their work and try for a professional recording deal, a short live performance was recorded and sent to the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] label, Vic Records.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vicrecords.com/ |title=Home - Vic Records extreme metal label since 1993|website=Vicrecords.com|access-date=14 October 2020}}</ref> The musicians soon received a deal and spent the whole of the following year writing the album ''[[Glory to the Brave]]''. The album was initially released in the Netherlands and obtained positive feedback; it is also worthy of notice that the band's [[mascot]], the [[Paladin (character class)|paladin]] Hector, first appeared on the cover of this album.

As HammerFall grew in popularity, the time available for members of the band to dedicate to other projects became limited. Dronjak and Cans wanted to pursue the path of HammerFall (Dronjak's Crystal Age had ceased to exist some time ago), but Strömblad and Ljungström were committed to In Flames and Larsson was committed to the [[thrash metal]] band ''None''. Thus, HammerFall's line-up soon underwent changes. [[Stefan Elmgren]] assumed the lead guitar and Patrik Räfling assumed the drums (they joined the band in the beginning of 1997 before the release of ''Glory to the Brave'' album) and Larsson decided to remain in the band until a suitable replacement for him was found. This happened in May 1997, when bassist [[Magnus Rosén]] joined the band. Stefan Elmgren played some of the guitars on the ''Glory to the Brave'' album (such as the acoustic guitars on "I Believe") and Patrik Räfling actually played the drums on all songs in place of Jesper. However, at the time they were considered as guest performers, not members of the band.

[[File:Jesper-s.jpg|thumb|upright|Jesper Strömblad left the band in 1997.]]
In early 1997, German label [[Nuclear Blast]] approached HammerFall with a contract for a European release deal, which included four albums. The deal was accepted and the band proceeded to record their first two [[music video]]s &mdash; "HammerFall" and "Glory to the Brave". After the release of a promotional single, ''Glory to the Brave'' was released throughout Europe. The results were quite unexpected, even after the intense marketing campaign made by Nuclear Blast. The album reached position number 38 on the German Music Chart on the week of its release, something which had never before been achieved by a debut [[heavy metal music]] album.

Siding with bands [[Gamma Ray (band)|Gamma Ray]], [[Jag Panzer]], [[Lake of Tears]] and [[Raven (band)|Raven]], several tours through the European continent ensued. The concert on [[Wacken Open Air]] was performed to a crowd of over ten thousand people.

Towards the end of 1997, ''Glory to the Brave'' was released in Japan and the United States. Sales of the album reached one hundred thousand copies. HammerFall was also nominated for the Swedish [[Grammy]] award in the ''Best Hard Rock act'' category.

In February 1998 they did a small club tour (5 gigs) in Belgium and the Netherlands. 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. The album was produced by [[Fredrik Nordström]] (from [[Dream Evil]]) and Oscar, with the help of Joacim. The band spent a total of one and a half months in the studio recording this album.

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 (band)|Saxon]] and [[Stratovarius]].

Their first world tour took place in October 1998. During the shows in Sweden, Joacim Cans caught a serious throat infection which made it impossible for him to sing. Shortly afterwards, Magnus Rosén was afflicted with the same disease, and after him the whole of HammerFall's support crew became sick. The members of the band played for as long as possible and then were forced to postpone or cancel a few dates. During their passage through South America, HammerFall took a short break to visit the [[Brazil]]ian beaches, but they soon resumed their tour.

By the end of that tour, drummer Patrik Räfling left the band, and [[Anders Johansson (drummer)|Anders Johansson]], a friend of Magnus Rosén, joined as a touring musician. In the beginning of 1999 he was made a permanent member of the band. Anders had previously worked with guitarist [[Yngwie J. Malmsteen|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]]. He has been praised for his technical and polyrhythmical talent, in metal as well as other genres.{{Relevance inline|date=May 2014|reason=So what? Technical and polyrhythmical drumming aren't exactly what HammerFall is famous for. This belongs rather in his own article.}}