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Avenge the Fallen is the thirteenth full-length studio album from Sweden's Hammerfall, one of the big names from the early days of heavy metal's resurgence that began in the late '90s. Their lauded debut, Glory to the Brave, set a high bar that Hammerfall has yet to equal since its release in 1997. They've tried mining the same metallic vein multiple times as well as introduced some modern elements into their sound on albums like Infected and (r)Evolution, with little to show beyond mixed results. Avenge the Fallen goes back to the Glory to the Brave formula and after drifting around for the past 10 years, is a welcome turn of events. Singer Joachim Cans has a good voice for this kind of music, which is at its heart straight-up heavy metal, but which also possesses some symphonic and power metal elements. He might not be the strongest singer, but he can wrap a chorus around your eardrums like the best of them. "Avenge the Fallen" is a perfect opener that will likely have the crowd shouting along to its call and response chorus. When Hammerfall speed things up ("The End Justifies," "Hero to All"), they shine, whereas the slower tracks can occasionally drag a little and the ballad ("Hope Springs Eternal") might get the cell phone flashlights waving but is perhaps a bit too saccharine. There's nothing on Avenge the Fallen that fans of Hammerfall haven't heard and it isn't the heaviest metal, but it is damn catchy and some of the songwriting is as good as we've heard from them in years. Hammerfall fans and anyone into melodic metal with its roots in the '80s should find Avenge the Fallen a satisfying listen.