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It's fair to say that Hammerfall's discography has had its ups and downs and it's not unusual to hear that none of their albums could beat the first two (or one of those two, depending on who you're talking to). Well, 2024's Avenge the Fallen is probably as close as it gets to the band's first two albums. The style is very close to those landmark albums, and even that youthful energy in the songs can be felt throughout Avenge the Fallen. Many riffs and melodies, without being mere copies, are nods to the band's early material, which pretty much guarantees infectious catchiness and a hell of a lot of headbanging, singalong, air guitar and drums, the works. Joacim Cans sounds really good on this, and his vocal melodies just kept me coming back to the album over and over, as if the music wasn't already enough of a draw. First-rate upbeat heavy/power metal that takes you back to the late '90s and early 2000s when the genre was enjoying a revival. Avenge the Fallen might just be in my top 3 Hammerfall albums.