When we’re dealing with certain styles throughout the vast network of the metal, it can often feel as though we only ever hear from the biggest names anymore. It could be easily seen as a tragic thing given that the underground aspect has always been the driving force for any sound, but the right band can defy those odds so long as they continue down the path and hold true to the old foundations that have propped the given sound up for decades. HammerFall, obviously, has been one of the names to know in all of power metal for some time now. While their power has certainly varied over the years, I think it’s relatively safe to say that recent HammerFall has been an undeniable high with their forthcoming piece certainly a continuation.

In the event of finding out you’re good at something, why change it up? In lesser hands, such a concept can easily be taken down a route that inevitably leads to failure and not being able to go all the way. Over the decades, HammerFall has really come to embody what it means for power metal to come in the highest form. Admittedly, HammerFall has always been the sort of band that knows how to meet the standards of the style even if it means sometimes one album from the next are largely indistinguishable. Fortunately, the last few albums from HammerFall have been quite solid with everything brought to the table for “Avenge the Fallen” more than meeting the standards that its predecessors have set. As filled with hooks and melodies as they’ve ever been, it’s clear that HammerFall still has much more fight in their bones with the light of justice and redemption always at the core of what’s they’ve done since the start alongside an epic backdrop that only adds further credence to the band’s long-held status as power metal icons.

Where many have sought to climb the ranks and failed, HammerFall perpetuates its claim to the very throne of the sound. “Avenge the Fallen” may not reset the bar for what power metal can be nor does it rock the foundations of the sound, but it continues us down a path we’ve been down for some time: clear HammerFall domination.

“Avenge the Fallen” releases on August 9th via Nuclear Blast!

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