Oscar Fredrick Dronjak (born 20 January 1972) is a Swedish guitarist and founder of the heavy metal band

HammerFall HammerFall is a Swedish power metal band from Gothenburg. The band was formed in 1993 by ex- Ceremonial Oath guitarist Oscar Dronjak. History Early days (1993–1996) HammerFall was formed when rhythm guitarist Oscar Dronjak quit Ceremo ...

. Prior to the success of HammerFall, he also played and released albums with the death metal acts

Ceremonial Oath Ceremonial Oath is a Swedish death metal band who formed in 1989 under the name "Desecrator", changed their name to Ceremonial Oath in 1991 and disbanded in 1996. During their short career they released three demos, one EP and two albums. Their ...

and Crystal Age.

Biography

Dronjak was born in the Swedish town of

Mölndal Mölndal () is the seat and administrative centre of Mölndal Municipality, located just south of Gothenburg on the west-coast of Sweden. About 40,000 of the municipality's 60,000 inhabitants live in Mölndal proper. Geography Mölndal is locate ...

to a Serbian father from

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

and a Swedish mother. Dronjak's brother is

Moderate Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American ...

politician Daniel Dronjak. His first instrument was the

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

; he then played

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

for a few years until, at the age of fourteen, he settled on

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

. Soon after, he started his first band, called The Hippie Killers. In 1989 he started a death metal band called Desecrator, which was later renamed

. But just before they released their first album, he quit the band. The end of his career in Ceremonial Oath was the beginning of HammerFall. At first, Oscar's main priority was the death metal band Crystal Age. Thus, HammerFall was initially merely a

side project In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style. Usually these projects emphasize ...

, where he and some friends were just rehearsing some songs that he had written, one of them being "Steel Meets Steel". But soon, they recorded their first album, called ''

Glory to the Brave ''Glory to the Brave'' is the debut album by the Swedish heavy metal band HammerFall, released in 1997. Despite the fact that the band was formed in 1993, HammerFall performed mostly live music and covers before this album was released. "Steel ...

''. Throughout his career, Oscar has been using

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

guitars, most notably the

Jackson Rhoads The Jackson Rhoads is a model of electric guitar, originally commissioned by guitarist Randy Rhoads and produced by Jackson Guitars. Origin The Concorde Randy Rhoads' first Jackson prototype was the white, pinstriped, asymmetrical Flying ...

, but also

ESP Guitars is a Japanese guitar manufacturer, primarily focused on the production of electric guitars and basses. They are based in both Tokyo and Los Angeles, with distinct product lines for each market. ESP Company manufactures instruments under severa ...

and

Washburn Washburn (alternatively Wasseburne, Wasseborne, Wasshebourne, Wassheborne, Washbourne, Washburne, Washborne, Washborn, Wasborn, Washbon) is a toponymic surname, probably of Old English origin, with likely Anglo-Norman and Norman-French influen ...

. Since 2014, he exclusively plays Sandberg Guitars, with the hammer guitar as a special attraction. He also performed backing vocals for three

In Flames In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, In Flames pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal. During t ...

albums: ''

Lunar Strain ''Lunar Strain'' is the debut studio album by Swedish heavy metal band In Flames, released in April 1994. The album is known for its " folky elements", with the inclusion of violins and acoustic guitars. It is the only In Flames album to not ...

'' (on the track "Lunar Strain), '' Subterranean'' (on the track "Stand Ablaze") and ''

The Jester Race ''The Jester Race'' is the second studio album by Swedish heavy metal band In Flames, released in February 1996. It is the first album to feature Anders Fridén as the band's vocalist, Björn Gelotte as the drummer, and Jester Head as the ban ...

'' ("Dead Eternity"). In 2016 he performed for the HammerFall album ''

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 192 ...

'', which is scheduled to be released by

Napalm Records Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock. Originally, Napalm focused on black metal bands, such as Abigor and Summoning, and folk metal bands, such as Falkenbach and Vintersorg. The label l ...

on 16 August 2019.

References

Swedish heavy metal musicians 1972 births Living people Swedish people of Serbian descent Swedish heavy metal guitarists Rhythm guitarists 21st-century guitarists HammerFall members Ceremonial Oath members People from Mölndal {{Guitarist-stub