Rockslaget, anyone? As the lore goes, fledgling Hammerfall attended a few of those Swedish rock contests very early in their career back in the last millennium. Fronted by Dark Tranquility’s Mikael Stanne, their early crew was – at that time – on their way to nowhere with only these contests to show for. This dramatically changed once Joacim Cans came on board and started to put the pedal to the metal. And he stayed to this day.
So, why are we not surprised? DT’s latest contribution with Stanne (still) at the helm left us somewhat unimpressed. And yet, Hammerfall itself never made it to our review pipe since RMR started, either. So, we got ourselves yet another RMR n00b over at the office tower. Meaning, another band with a metal pedigree to be ripped apart by the grouchy geezers at the Review Desk. Hold on to something.
Avenge The Fallen snazzily starts with the title track and that takes some chutzpa to pull off. Yet, this also filled us with some foreboding because – usually – records shooting all their powder straight from the beginning won’t fare too well in the quality department. And then, you get the ubiquitous war horn stamped onto your forehead. As if Hammerfall tried themselves at being a Power Metal version of what Heilung or – again – Enslaved already tried ad nauseam. In other words, the first mid-tempo play-it-safe PM track gave us pause. Not the nuclear-fueled locomotive breath expected from a lightning bolt first track. More to the contrary.
But – holy moly – the energy levels changed once The End Justifies hits the road of damnation. A show of force by some old metal geezers rolling over from the last millennium. A high-octane Power Metal track, drunk on what speedy delights Heavy Metal brings to the table. Cans truly lets loose with his timeless vocal delivery and boy were we surprised that his vox holds up so nicely, on par with other Heavy Metal biggies. Together with some snazzy chorus injections, this track had yours truly standing straight suddenly.
Avenge the Fallen truly gorges with metal anthems as if they’d be growing on trees somewhere. A mix somewhere between Helloween and stuff Dream Evil should have done better this year to spiff up their mixed bag of goodies. An energy-filled bunch of traditional metal tracks powering through their metallic fantasy world as tastily as they come. We’ll even forgive them the Summoning-esque start into Hail of the King followed by the hey-laden come-ons that only serve to rile up the crowd. But they won’t serve no other purpose or have a place in the book of good songwriting.
Hammerfall truly pulled out the stops for Avenge the Fallen. Many of the tracks rush through the chords with infectious easy-to-sing-along melodies that even RMR Himself couldn’t resist (Hero to All, for instance). The band also displays an uncanny knack for soaring and irresistible refrains and choruses that will have Arrayan Path turn yellow with envy. Boy, even the power ballad Hope Springs Eternal didn’t try to drown us in a ton of cheese. And that’s a feat not many bands can pull off.
And as any good Power Metal piece, Avenge The Fallen is full of chest-beating tales of dragons, kings, and war heroes. Champions, mighty battles, everything to set a PM fan’s metallic heart alight. Boy, this album turned into so much fun, we kinda forgot that Hammerfall actually did nothing different than what they already did over their long career. But that needn’t be a bad habit at all. A ton of other metal bands have endlessly circled around the same old theme and never regretted it.
In the end, Avenge The Fallen turned into a tasty smorgasbord of all things Power Metal. And we only found a few minor quibbles in the negative department that aren’t even worth mentioning. The record is a masterclass of how Heavy Metal should gallop around the soundscape and not bore everybody to death. This piece unexpectedly turned into a fun record that roared away on our music machine way too long. It’s catchy, infectious, enjoyable, and a remarkable, juice-dripping slab of Metal o’ The Light. A surprisingly astute and straightforward record from trve veteran metal warhorses.
Hammerfall truly rocks. I hope we’ll see more of their fare going forward. If old age doesn’t take over, that is, of course. Fingers crossed.
Ed’s note: The band made it onto our 2024 list of lamestream n00bs. Click on the link to find out what we had to say!
Record Rating: 7/10 | Label: Nuclear Blast | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 9 August 2024