HammerFall - Glory to the Brave

82 days till W:O:A 2023.

 

I’ve written about bands before that are hard to categorise. You know—genre-fluid, experimental, refusing to be boxed in. HammerFall is not one of those bands. HammerFall is the box.

A big, shining, steel-plated box with DRAGONS stencilled on the side in glittery calligraphy.

 

They are Power Metal distilled. The flag bearers. The blueprint. If you’ve ever wondered what “Power Metal” actually means, just press play on Glory to the Brave and let the double bass pedal and battle cries carry you off into Valhalla.

 

And listen—I tried. I really did. But this is where I have to confess something that might get me exiled from the kingdom of riffs:

Power Metal is just not my thing.

It’s not you, HammerFall. It’s—actually, it is you. And your relentless optimism.

 

I’m all for fast guitars, fantasy lyrics, and theatrical energy. But when the vocals get that soaring, and the choruses sound like they’ve been airbrushed onto the side of a unicorn—my soul quietly slinks off to hide under a black hoodie.

 

Happy metal. Who needs that?

But hey, this is Genre Tourism—and I came here with an open heart, a slightly suspicious expression, and the mild hope that a band like HammerFall might convert me. So I dove into their much-loved 1997 debut Glory to the Brave, armed with caffeine and curiosity.

HammerFall started as a side project in the Gothenburg metal scene in 1993 — back when every second person in Sweden was in at least two bands and probably also mixing a demo in their basement.

 

Guitarist Oscar Dronjak founded it with Jesper Strömblad (In Flames), and things escalated quickly. Niklas Sundin and Mikael Stanne from Dark Tranquillity joined the fun, along with bassist Johan Larsson.

 

Then came the great Larsson shuffle: Johan out, Fredrik Larsson in. Mikael Stanne, apparently not in possession of a time-turner, couldn’t juggle two bands and left — making way for Joacim Cans, whose vocal cords have been doing all the heavy lifting since 1996.

 

Oscar Dronjak has been holding the hammer since the beginning. Joacim Cans has been yelling about steel and glory since the mid-90s. Fredrik Larsson left, came back, and still has the kind of hair that deserves its own wind machine.

 

(Seriously. That hair could headline a stage.)

 

These days, the band’s rounded out by drummer David Wallin and guitarist Pontus Norgren — and they’ve cranked out 12 albums, toured relentlessly, and carved themselves a permanent seat at the Power Metal Table of Kings.

 

Wacken 2023 will mark their ninth appearance at the festival. Because of course it will. They probably have their own parking spot.

For this little detour into the kingdom of Power Metal, I picked Glory to the Brave (1997) — HammerFall’s much-loved debut. Fans worship it. Metal mags call it peak Power Metal. I call it—interesting.

 

It spawned two music videos: Hammerfall (so weird) and Glory to the Brave (obligatory power ballad, heavy on the fog machine). Both are deeply, profoundly 90s. Cringe factor: medium-high. Proceed with caution.

 

But look—we need to pause here:

Fredrik Larsson’s hair?

Spectacular. Angelic. Unfair. That man is the real wind machine.

 

As for the music?

 

Hammerfall (the song) is exactly what it should be—fast, tight, and unreasonably catchy. The kind of chorus that sneaks into your head and squats there all week. Annoying, but in a well-executed way.

 

Then comes Glory to the Brave (the ballad, not the album title—confusing, thanks), and I’m out. It’s slow. It’s earnest. It’s seven and a half minutes of emotional metal therapy and I just—no.

I’ll take I Believe instead—shorter, acoustic, and way less overwrought. I may be alone in that, but I stand by it.

 

Other highlights?

 

The Dragon Lies Bleeding is a blast. Ridiculous in the best way.

High-speed riffs. Dragons. Battles. Zero subtlety.

 

Lyrics like:

"Through the river of steel we’ll go / When the dragon lies bleeding"

Absolutely. Why not.

 

Unchained deserves a shoutout too — all Manowar energy and brotherhood of steel vibes. Plus, a lovely mid-tempo interlude that caught me off guard. I liked it. I won’t apologise.

 

The rest of the album? Solid. If you love power metal, you’ll be happy here.

If you don’t—well, it’s a lot.

 

All in all, Glory to the Brave is—solid. Surprisingly so.

There’s very little I actively dislike—which, frankly, is kind of annoying when I was fully prepared to roll my eyes through the entire album.

 

It’s classic Power Metal in textbook form: fast riffs, catchy choruses, dramatic lyrics, and vocals so clean they practically sparkle. Everything’s right where it’s supposed to be. And for what it is, it’s done really well.

 

HammerFall were one of the few metal bands I actually knew before I started this whole genre spiral. Heeding the Call from their second album was one of the songs my husband used to play from time to time — so if they bust that out at Wacken this year, it’ll hit a little different.

 

And yeah—maybe I’ll sing along. A little.

Let’s not make it weird.