Glory to the Brave

Glory to the Brave
Studio album by
Released27 June 1997
RecordedFebruary–April 1997, Studio Fredman, Gothenburg, Sweden
GenreHeavy metal, power metal
Length44:26
LabelNuclear Blast
ProducerFredrik Nordström
HammerFall chronology
Glory to the Brave
(1997)
Legacy of Kings
(1998)
Singles from Glory to the Brave
  1. "Glory to the Brave"
    Released: 20 October 1997

Glory to the Brave is the debut studio album by Swedish power metal band HammerFall, released in 1997. Despite the fact that the band was formed in 1993, HammerFall performed mostly live music and covers before this album was released. "Steel Meets Steel" was composed by Oscar Dronjak just before the band was formed and is included on this album. The band signed a deal with the Dutch label Vic Records. Nuclear Blast approached Vic Records and obtained a license deal for the album. Later, Nuclear Blast bought the entire rights from Vic Records. Although the In Flames guitarist Jesper Strömblad was listed as the drummer, all the drums were actually played by session musician Patrik Räfling, who joined the band as a full-time member shortly after the album's release.

The cover art was painted by Andreas Marschall.

"I Believe" was co-written with Peter Stålfors of Pure X and, later, the more famous Dream Evil.

Glory to the Brave was re-released in 2002 as a Deluxe Edition with the Stormwitch cover "Ravenlord" as a bonus track as well as a multimedia section including a music video.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Rock Hard10/10[2]

In 2005, Glory to the Brave was ranked number 295 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[3] In 2020, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 1997 by Metal Hammer magazine.[4]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Dragon Lies Bleeding"Jesper Strömblad, Joacim Cans, Oscar Dronjak4:22
2."The Metal Age"Dronjak, Strömblad, Cans4:28
3."HammerFall"Dronjak, Strömblad, Cans4:47
4."I Believe"Cans, Peter Stålfors4:53
5."Child of the Damned" (Warlord cover)Tsamis, Zonder3:42
6."Steel Meets Steel"Dronjak4:02
7."Stone Cold"Dronjak, Strömblad, Cans5:43
8."Unchained"Dronjak, Strömblad, Cans5:38
9."Glory to the Brave"Dronjak, Strömblad, Cans7:20
Total length:44:26

Bonus track

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Ravenlord" (Stormwitch cover)Lee Tarot3:31
Total length:47:57

An eleventh track on the enhanced CD (bonus deluxe edition) contained multimedia content: a videoclip, wallpaper and e-card

"Ravenlord" was released on the Japanese, Brazilian and deluxe editions.

Special editions: LP, Shape CD (Saw-Shaped), Picture LP, Red Vinyl LP, Deluxe Edition (containing bonus material), Value Box (with "Renegade" CDs)

Personnel

References

  1. ^ Reesman, Bryan. "HammerFall Glory to the Brave review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  2. ^ Schäfer, Wolfgang. "Rock Hard review". Rock Hard. No. 122.
  3. ^ Best of Rock & Metal - Die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten (in German). Rock Hard. 2005. p. 95. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.
  4. ^ "The Top 20 best metal albums of 1997". Metal Hammer. Future plc. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2021.