HAMMERFALL — Glory to the Brave (review)

HAMMERFALL — Glory to the Brave album cover Album · 1997 · Power Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Mjöllnir
In helping to kick off a revival of European power metal in the mid-90s, HammerFall also played a part in shaping the course of metal's journey for the next few years. Countless bands sprang up in their wake (and still do), and the popularity of the genre would escalate in the new millenium as some of the 80s stalwarts had just gone over their high water mark. I am largely disillusioned with this movement, which already used pre-existing ideas and barely showed any willingness to move beyond that. Helloween/Maiden/Priest condensed to their most stringent "metal" elements, with that pervasive Manowar attitude ruling over all. Or alternatively, melding the melodious, neo-classical approach of Stratovarius (initially inspired by Rainbow and others) with a pop aesthetic showing through. Either way, both equally became prisoners of their own formulas.

HammerFall however, write some energetic and largely memorable music. If we remove the woeful ballad "I Believe" we still have 7 songs (plus two covers) that are actually impressive, simple metal tunes. Sticking to the verse/chorus method of trad. heavy metal but sometimes mixing it up with an extended structure here and there. Joacim Cans' mid range voice is very plain but surprisingly distinctive, and the refreshing nature of the material at the time made sure they created an impression. The musicians themselves get the job done, in much the way an experienced 80s band could have but there's no star players here. My personal highlights include "Steel Meets Steel", "The Metal Age", and "Unchained". The title track is an "epic" ballad that lumbers along nonchalantly but acquits itself well considering their absymal track record for these slow, emotional numbers.

I don't listen to this much now, and the generic cheese is more evident to me but its release in 1997 rather than 2007 makes that far more acceptable. It was a time when the metal underground needed some vitality restored to it, and what better way to do it than with a throwback to the good old days.
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