TageRyche
Senior Member
HAMMERFALL
Avenge the Fallen
Nuclear Blast Records - 2024
My music collection does contain a couple of HammerFall albums including the Legacy of Kings album which I absolutely love. But I think it would be fair to describe me as pretty much a casual fan...at best.
Then a couple years ago, I saw the band live for the first time as they opened up for Helloween. And let me tell you, the Swedish metallers were freaking awesome live!
Since then I've started SLOWLY acquiring their past catalog and now I finally managed to get my hands on their newest release in the same calendar year it was put out.
Avenge the Fallen kicks off with the album's title track. It starts off with an intro that comes off as a call to arms kind of chant. Then the song moves into a mid-to-uptempo groove. It's a good table setting track.
I find myself more in-tune with HammerFall's more fast paced numbers. The way the energy seems to flow through those type of songs just really appeals to me. And that type of song first starts with the song "The End Justifies". It has a rocket fuel kind of fiery pyrotechnics that will definitely get your blood flowing. Of course, that song looks a bit slower in comparison to a killer track like "Burn It Down" which just crackles with a barely restrained energy that flows from the band through the song directly to the blood pressure of the listener. That song is one of my favorites on the album.
On "Freedom", that power metal gang backing vocals on the chorus heightens the overall presentation of the song. It's an uptempo rocker though not quite as fast moving as "The End Justifies" or "Burn It Down".
The song "Hail to the King" was the first track released prior to the album coming out. It has that rousing tempo that a lot of power metal is so adept at infusing into their music. You feel as if you are being raised up as the band provides the anthemic rocker plenty of heightened drama and that epic feeling that makes you rock out right alongside them.
HammerFall does slow things down a bit on a track like "Hope Springs Eternal" which serves as a bit of a downshift while also serving as a launching pad for a faster moving track like the aforementioned "Burn It Down".
Proclaiming "Here I am" over and over in the song "Capture the Dream" lends the track another heavily anthemic vibe. And when the song "Rise of Evil" bursts out of your speakers, you are instantly transported into the song and carried along as the band thunders out the sonic attack with an incredible guitar solo and a superb vocal performance from singer Joacim Cans.
The album closes out with the song "Time Immemorial", which has a cool intro that gives the song an immediate cinematic feeling. Slower in tempo than a lot of the tracks on the album, it still manages to deliver quite a thumping vibe at the same time.
Avenge the Fallen is HammerFall's 13th studio release and much like the music I've heard from their past catalog and their live show, it fits easily into some of the most energetic and vibrant power metal out there today. You get the fiery guitar driven music, great vocals and songs that make you feel like you should be storming a battlefield to fend off the invading hordes!
Avenge the Fallen
Nuclear Blast Records - 2024
My music collection does contain a couple of HammerFall albums including the Legacy of Kings album which I absolutely love. But I think it would be fair to describe me as pretty much a casual fan...at best.
Then a couple years ago, I saw the band live for the first time as they opened up for Helloween. And let me tell you, the Swedish metallers were freaking awesome live!
Since then I've started SLOWLY acquiring their past catalog and now I finally managed to get my hands on their newest release in the same calendar year it was put out.
Avenge the Fallen kicks off with the album's title track. It starts off with an intro that comes off as a call to arms kind of chant. Then the song moves into a mid-to-uptempo groove. It's a good table setting track.
I find myself more in-tune with HammerFall's more fast paced numbers. The way the energy seems to flow through those type of songs just really appeals to me. And that type of song first starts with the song "The End Justifies". It has a rocket fuel kind of fiery pyrotechnics that will definitely get your blood flowing. Of course, that song looks a bit slower in comparison to a killer track like "Burn It Down" which just crackles with a barely restrained energy that flows from the band through the song directly to the blood pressure of the listener. That song is one of my favorites on the album.
On "Freedom", that power metal gang backing vocals on the chorus heightens the overall presentation of the song. It's an uptempo rocker though not quite as fast moving as "The End Justifies" or "Burn It Down".
The song "Hail to the King" was the first track released prior to the album coming out. It has that rousing tempo that a lot of power metal is so adept at infusing into their music. You feel as if you are being raised up as the band provides the anthemic rocker plenty of heightened drama and that epic feeling that makes you rock out right alongside them.
HammerFall does slow things down a bit on a track like "Hope Springs Eternal" which serves as a bit of a downshift while also serving as a launching pad for a faster moving track like the aforementioned "Burn It Down".
Proclaiming "Here I am" over and over in the song "Capture the Dream" lends the track another heavily anthemic vibe. And when the song "Rise of Evil" bursts out of your speakers, you are instantly transported into the song and carried along as the band thunders out the sonic attack with an incredible guitar solo and a superb vocal performance from singer Joacim Cans.
The album closes out with the song "Time Immemorial", which has a cool intro that gives the song an immediate cinematic feeling. Slower in tempo than a lot of the tracks on the album, it still manages to deliver quite a thumping vibe at the same time.
Avenge the Fallen is HammerFall's 13th studio release and much like the music I've heard from their past catalog and their live show, it fits easily into some of the most energetic and vibrant power metal out there today. You get the fiery guitar driven music, great vocals and songs that make you feel like you should be storming a battlefield to fend off the invading hordes!
