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I have to be honest, Glory to the Brave is a sentimental album for me. It was one of the first "new" metal CDs I bought when I was getting back into the scene in 2002-2003 after a 10-year absence. Half power metal, half traditional, Hammerfall's debut from 1997 pushes all the right buttons for me. High, clear vocals that hit the heights, catchy choruses and melodies, sparkling solos and double-kick drums abound, all the elements that made me love metal and want to find more and more back in the '80s. Songs like "The Dragon Lies Bleeding" and "Steel Meets Steel" are rambunctious runaway anthems that demand air guitar or drums or whatever you have laying around while you scream the choruses. "The Metal Age" and "Stone Cold" take the speed down a notch but are no less catchy or powerful with chunky riffs and bit of attitude in the vocals. And let's not forget about the well-executed cover of Warlord's "Child of the Damned." Covers can go a couple of ways and Hammerfall chose to be faithful to the original while still adding a little of their own take to this timeless classic. Both this and the original version burn. Lyrically, the album is pure '80s worship with songs about dragons, swords and of course, metal. Sure, not every track is amazing ("Unchained", the ballad "I Believe") but there are no skip-worthy songs on here, just cut after cut of unbridled heavy metal. No down-tuning, no singing about feelings, no incorporating outside styles, Hammerfall looked to bands like Warlord and Riot, took advantage of the production advancements of the time and let their fingers fly. Have you heard stuff like this before? Yes, of course you have, both before and after Glory to the Brave's release. But rarely do you hear it done this well and with this much focus on getting it right. Throw up a fist and break out the Flying V because it is time to rock.