As helpfully pointed out in the title,
Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken sees Swedish
metal institution
Hammerfall hoisting aloft the torch of
power metal (unbent, unbowed, etc.) for the fifth full-studio album of their career. But "power"
metal may no longer the best tag with which to describe the band, whose material here (
"Blood Bound," "Fury of the Wild," "Born to Rule," etc.) is really better described as classic, vintage, or better yet, timeless
heavy metal, if you will. Extract any telltale signs of studio technology or audio fidelity and the band's sound really could have originated in the '80s or '90s, as easily as the '00s. And even more telling is the relative absence of
speed metal drumming, used here only for small portions -- not the entirety -- of structurally varied songs like
"Secrets" and
"Take the Black." This may sound like a silly little detail, but it really does liberate
Hammerfall from unfair comparison to a slew of boring, cliche-bound contemporaries. Sure,
"Never, Ever" is a cliche in itself for representing the textbook
heavy metal ballad; but then what percentage of
heavy metal bands have resisted this temptation since the establishment of the infamous
"Stairway to Heaven" rule (whereupon all
metal bands are required to include at least one slow song per album)? And seriously, although it really doesn't introduce anything new to the group's formula,
Chapter V features simply stellar examples of pure
metal anthemy, rife with positive influences:
"Born to Rule" and
"The Templar Flame" are both gang chorus-enhanced war-cries (think
Accept), and grandiose 12-minute closer
"Knights of the 21st Century," counters its gigantic potential cheese factor with a guest croaking performance from
Venom legend
Cronos -- excellent! Needless to say, stewards of
heavy metal seriousness will always balk at
Hammerfall's insistence on writing
fantasy adventure lyrics; but so long as fans hunger for
heavy metal escapism at its finest (and there's a
Manowar out there acting far sillier),
Hammerfall will continue to thrive, unbent, unbowed, etc. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia
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