(Rated this album with 8 out of 10) Reviewed by
Eric Bandner
from Novato, CA USA
With "Glory to the Brave" Swedish metal band Hammerfall created a mighty metal album that began a line of epics. As their first album, "Glory to the Brave" is the rawest and most unrefined of their works. Some of the fast-paced rockers on this album are of average quality, but highlights such as "Metal Age", "Stone Cold", and "Unchained" hint at the epic metal mastery that continues to mature with "Legacy of Kings" and peaks with their masterpiece, "Renegade". Joacim Cans' vocals rival those of Queensryche's Geoff Tate, and furious, fast-paced melodic guitar riffs from Oscar Dronjak and future Hammerfall lead guitar player Stefan Elmgren are a trademark of Hammerfall's "'80s metal for the 21st century". The album's strongest points are without a doubt its ballads... the excellence of which the band was unable to replicate in its future albums. Mindblowingly awesome is the lengthy epic "Glory to the Brave". The melodic intensity and sheer emotion evoked by this song ranks it as one of the best song the band has ever created, and it also ranks as one of the greatest metal ballads of all time. Without these songs, the album may easily a rated only 3 stars... with the addition of the ballads, the only thing stopping the album from scoring 5 was needing the addition some stronger rockers, such as "Let the Hammer Fall" from "Legacy of Kings" or "Templars of Steel" from "Renegade". Still, overall an excellent debut album... and a definite sign that not only is metal not dead, newer generations are taking up the reins and producing metal as powerful, if not better, than old school rock bands like Savatage and Iron Maiden. Recommended!
