HammerFall - "Avenge the Fallen"
Please do not attempt to headbang with swords
Nothing hits quite the same for me as really good Power Metal. I’m a huge fan of fantasy fiction, and when you want music which sounds EPIC (and/or absolutely gorgeous Fantasy-based album covers — look at that thing), you want Power Metal.
And if you’re going to listen to Power Metal, you’re going to end up stumbling across HammerFall sooner or later. They’re another of those Power bands that formed in the 90s, like Rhapsody of Fire and Elvenking and DragonForce, all of which (including HammerFall) dropped debuts between 1997-2003; all feature a tenor capable of epic, soaring vocals; and all of them lean heavily on the genre’s tendency towards fantastical subject matter.
And all have had incredible lasting power — they’re all still active. In fact, Rhapsody of Fire and DragonForce dropped albums earlier this year; and Elvenking released one last year. And not only active, but still good! If we include HammerFall’s 2022 release, Hammer of Dawn, the lowest score I’ve given any of those four albums is a Green.
The downside, for HammerFall in particular, is that that is roughly where they’ve been coasting, by all accounts. I did not do a great job at keeping up with releases in the 2010s, but the consensus is that they’ve been on a run of middling albums — good, but not great — for a decade or so. They’ve been putting out albums for over 25 years (Avenge the Fallen is their 13th); they have their formula set, they know how to use it, and that’s that. I actually found a line in the album’s Angry Metal Guy review which describes the formula perfectly as “highly polished early-era power metal … carefully crafted to be anthemic, catchy, and soul-stirring.”
When I added HammerFall to the list, it was because I like Power Metal and I know what to expect. I’ll enjoy this album, but it won’t be competing for any honors.
However, dear reader, I must inform you that my assumptions might have been slightly misplaced.
HammerFall brought it this time around.
The band’s step forward is audible right from the start of the album, which opens with its title track, “Avenge the Fallen”, which is a perfect exemplar of those high-flying, anthemic vibes. And while I’m expecting anthemic tracks, “Avenge the Fallen” manages to supersede those expectations.
While the tracks that follow this opener don’t quite reach the same high, the rest of the album is filled with interesting and fun hooks, incredible guitar-work, and more soaring notes and gallops than you can shake a drumstick at.
It’s still very much HammerFall’s formula, but it’s a step up, somehow. I was surprised at how much I’ve absolutely enjoyed listening to this one.
There is no real throughline — nothing to seriously elevate the album as a unit — but there are no bad songs. At worst, one or two might be described as “passable”. So if you like Power Metal, this is an album you should listen to.
Rating: Teal Blue