HammerFall – Avenge the Fallen
Release Date: 9th August 2024
Label: Nuclear Blast
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Genre: Heavy Metal
FFO: Edguy, Avantasia, Rhapsody, Judas Priest, Saxon, Atlantean Kodex.
Review By: Eric Wilt
I recently read an interview with Metal Hammer in which HammerFall singer Joacim Cans stated that he didn’t think of his band as power metal. “I think heavy metal is enough,” he was quoted as saying. I was introduced to HammerFall on a compilation called The Metal Years: Power Metal twenty-five or so years ago, so I’ve always thought of them as one of my favorite power metal bands. As I was listening to HammerFall’s new album in preparation for writing this review, I thought a lot about Cans’s statement. Now, power metal has never been simple to define because there are so many different bands playing their own version of the genre, not to mention the (somewhat vague) distinction between European and American power metal, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized Cans was right, HammerFall isn’t power metal. The vocalist, who is joined in the band by guitarists Oscar Dronjak and Pontus Norgren, bassist Fredrik Larsson, and drummer David Wallen, went on to say that “We are as traditional as can be,” and on their thirteenth album, Avenge the Fallen, HammerFall proves this to be true.
HammerFall got their start in Sweden in 1993, and they have been carrying the flame of true heavy metal ever since. On Avenge the Fallen, the band is still singing anthemic songs about bravery, battle, and honor, and their music is still filled with driving guitars, thunderous bass, booming drums, and melodic leads. Whether it be on mid-paced bangers like the title track, Freedom, and Hail to the King, or on speedy anthems like The End Justifies and Burn it Down, or on the galloping heater Capture the Dream, or on the ballad Hope Springs Eternal, HammerFall is sure to get peoples’ heads banging and fists pumping. Each song boasts captivating musicianship and sing-along choruses, and if that’s your thing, this album is going to make you very happy.
So, whether you call it power metal or traditional heavy metal, HammerFall does it right, and Avenge the Fallen is a worthy successor to the band’s strongest albums. On this, their thirteenth record, HammerFall is still carrying the torch for heavy metal, and prove once again why their fans continue to say hail to the kings!
(4 / 5)
