Hammerfall

Nemedian Chronicles – The Savage Sword Review

Nemedian Chronicles – The Savage Sword Review

“Storytelling is intrinsic to the passage of knowledge from generation to generation. Within our steel-forged corner of the multiverse, a few subgenres tackle storytelling overtly: most often prog but also, as is the case today, power metal. Coming into this review, I was under the impression that the story of Conan the Barbarian was confined to the plot line of an old Arnold movie—I couldn’t have been more mistaken. The Hyborian Age is a sprawling prehistoric world designed by Robert E. Howard in the 1930s, set between the fall of Atlantis and the rise of traditional history. Enter French band Nemedian Chronicles and their 70-minute slab of sword and sorcery, ripped straight from the pages of Howard’s tales.” Swords, hordes, and chords.

Bloodbound – Tales from the North Review

Bloodbound – Tales from the North Review

“It’s been a mere two years since I relieved Steel of his blood-bond to review Bloodbound, and the Swedes are already back with a follow-up to 2021’s Creatures of the Dark Realm. I enjoyed Creatures enough to feature it on my Honorable Mentions list for that year, and I stand by that, as my return listens have found the album to be as strong as ever.” Blood Eagley.

Saint Deamon – League of the Serpent Review

Saint Deamon – League of the Serpent Review

“Sweden’s Saint Deamon aren’t quite a household name in the Euro-power scene, at least partly due to their lagging career productivity. They started out well, making a good impression with their 2008 debut and rapid follow-up, 2009s very good Pandeamonium, but then they dropped off the face of the Earth. 10 years later they made an unexpected comeback with 2019s Ghost, and now in comparatively short order, they return with fourth album, League of the Serpent. Snakes on a shelf.

Harmonize – Warrior in the Night Review

Harmonize – Warrior in the Night Review

“There is a fine line between cringe and cheese. The latter is a savory substance that has embalmed many a God of Metal throughout the ages, and while the former can be bewitching in some of its shapes, it’s all the same loathed by most of us. Cheese is a crucial ingredient to all metal that I love, and of late I find that my desire for that silky, golden mass has become more and more difficult to satiate. Just as my craving was reaching peak levels and I hurried to spin Manowar’s “Sons of Odin” for the 666th time, the rattle of the promo bin beg I pay heed.” Sing for your steel!

Ambush – Infidel Review

Ambush – Infidel Review

“I have many things to be thankful for in life, but among the luckiest of happenstances was the opportunity to be a metal loving teen growing up in the 80s. That was truly the golden age of all things metallic, with the genre growing, evolving and mutating into multiple sub-genres at a ferocious rate, and I got to be there to experience it all first hand. I was especially fond for that early era when the only genre of metal was metal, and my love for the “classic style” is just as powerful now that I qualify for AARP benefits. This makes me an easy mark for the slick 80s-centric approach of Sweden’s Ambush.” Go olde or die.

Screamer – Highway of Heroes Review

Screamer – Highway of Heroes Review

“The tides of progress in metal will never erode the bedrock of the genre, that special thing we call heavy metal. The mix of power, strength, hope, and joy inherent in this little slice of the metal pie will always appeal to many metalheads so long as the genre continues to exist. Fortunately for Screamer, there will always be a place for records like Highway of Heroes. Fortunately for us, this means bands like Screamer will continue to make them.” Your mom’s a… nah, too easy.

NorthTale – Welcome to Paradise Review

NorthTale – Welcome to Paradise Review

“I’d like to think that AMG writers listen to an album many more times than the average music critic before penning a review. We all own records that grew on us exponentially, whether through casual or critical listening, and we know full well that it’s impossible to decipher the full scope of a work upon first exposure. Except, of course, for the times where that’s totally possible. From the very first notes of NorthTale’s debut, their mission statement of resurrecting power metal’s glory days is laid plain, with multiple rotations failing to unearth compositional complexity or deeper motives.” Power outage.

Ty Morn – Istor Review

Ty Morn – Istor Review

“Another day, another record palmed off generously donated to me by Steel. In this case, I was convinced to give it a shot by the gorgeous cover art. Take a moment to admire it. It’s certainly not particularly brvtal, but it is very pretty. Despite the Viking art, though, the music doesn’t particularly draw on the tropes of Viking metal. This is classic power metal in the vein of Hammerfall, Dream Evil, and the like. Yet, sole permanent band member Aron Biale describes it as an homage to golden age metal.” Ear raid.

Bloodbound – Rise of the Dragon Empire Review

Bloodbound – Rise of the Dragon Empire Review

“I miss Swordborn. I really do. He was up on all the latest power metal cheddar and well steeped in the genre’s Gouda, bad and ugly. With him inexplicably missing in action, I’m tasked with more power metal glory than I’ve been since the primordial days of AMG. That means taking the bitter with the sweet and brother, there’s a lot of bitter out there. That brings us to Sweden’s Bloodbound, who began life as a traditional metal act helmed by the great Urban Breed. After he left the band, they shifted from classic to power metal, and since 2014s Stormborn, they’ve been playing the Game of Thrones, delivering tales of dragons, empires, and orcs with somewhat uneven results.” Train your dragon.

Ross the Boss – By Blood Sworn Review

Ross the Boss – By Blood Sworn Review

Steely D loves him some Manowar. As ridiculous as their persona became over time, they were one of my favorite bands growing up and I still love that kind of epic, chest-thumping warrior metal. Ross the Boss was the guitarist during the band’s golden era and helped write many of their best songs. He left the fold following 1988s Kings of Metal, and since then he’s dabbled in a solo career only in fits and starts. By Blood Sworn is his third album under the regrettable Ross the Boss moniker, and the first since 2010s Hailstorm.” The crown and the gory.