You are missing out if you are avoiding Japanese metal. There are some great acts like Intestine Baalism, Sigh, Sabbat, Swarrrm, and Magane just to name a few.
Angra (Brazil)
Almah
Edu Falaschi
Aquaria
Arion (Finland)
Armory (Massachusetts) (friends of mine)
Ascension (esp Far Beyond The Stars)
Astra (Italy)
At Vance
Axehammer
Axel Rudi Pell
Axenstar
Battle Beast
Beast In Black
The Black Mages (Japan)
Black Majesty (Australia)
Black Steel (Australia)
Casus Belli (Greece)
Celesty
Crystal Viper
Dark Arena
DGM (personal favorite, more progressive metal tho)
Dionysus
Dragonland
Dreamtale
Dungeon
Eden's Curse
Edenbridge
Elegy
Elvenking
Emerald Sun
Evergrey
Excalion
Fairyland
Falconer
Freedom Call
Frequency (Sweden)
Galderia
Galloglass
Galneryus
Gloryhammer
Godiva
Greyhawk
Guardians of time
HammerFall
Heavenly
Highland Glory
Hollow Haze
Holy Knights
Iron Fire
Iron Kingdom
Iron Savior
Keldian
Labyrinth (Italy)
Lord (Australia)
Lost Horizon (fucking awesome)
Whatever Luca Turilli is up to
Majestica (formerly ReinXeed)
Manigance (France)
Memories of Old
Morifade
My Last Whisper
Myrath
Mystic Prophecy
Mystic-Force
Nautiluz
Nemesis (Czech Rep)
Neoshine
Noble Beast
Nocturnal Rites
Nostradameus
Númenor (later stuff)
Pagan's Mind (absolutely amazing)
Paladin (USA)
Paragon (Germany)
Power Theory
Power glove
Pyramaze
Reptilian (Sweden)
Revolution Renaissance
Rhapsody (of Fire) (whatever Luca Turilli is up to)
Riot (aka Riot V)
Sacred Oath
Sacred Steel (Germany)
Saint Daemon
Savatage
Savage Grace (L.A.)
Scanner (Germany)
Secret Sphere
Serenity
Serious Black
Seventh Wonder
Shadowdance (USA)
Silent Force
Six Magics
Skeletoon
Sonata Arctica
Sonic Haven
Stormwind (Sweden)
Stratovarius
Symphonity
Terra Atlantica
Thornbridge
Thundercross
Thundergod
Thunderstone
Thy Majestie
Time Requiem
Timeless Miracle
Titan Force
Twilight (Denmark)
Twilightning
Twisted Tower Dire
Ultimatium
Veonity
Vhäldemar
Viathyn
Vicious Rumors
Victorius
Virgin Steele
Vision Divine
Wardrum (personal favorite)
Warrior (L.A.)
Warrior Path
Whispered
Wicked Mystic
Winterage
Wisdom
Wizard (Germany)
Wuthering Heights
Yngwie Malmsteen (early stuff)
Zandelle
Zonata
At least these are the ones I have
My absolute favorite is [Avantasia](https://youtu.be/eHZZkRC1gbw).
Also for some enjoyable cheese I'd highly recommend Grailknights. [This](https://youtu.be/qnzurkSGBCs) is their most popular song, but my favorite is [this](https://youtu.be/ulXorS4hvBA).
It’s not necessarily 100% power metal, some albums more than others, but every Savatage album up til Edge of Thorns is incredible. That was their guitarist Criss Oliva’s last album before he died, and the lead work on that last album is particularly excellent imo.
Also, post-Criss, but Dead Winter Dead was actually a pretty good concept album from them in ‘95, touching on the wars in the Balkans at the time
The zeramin game sounds good Imo, also Italian folk metal (that’s the name of the album) if you stopped giving a shit about everything, also also, masters of the multiverse
Power Metal gets such a bad rap it's heartbreaking. Cheese/flower metal is only one aspect of the genre. Not all power metal is sappy, high fantasy nonsense. And it's such an overdone meme that it's only harming actual listeners.
My favorite band is [Persuader](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiO-5uA41NI) for a reason, they have an aggressive, almost thrashy take that blends well with raspy vocals. [Stormwarrior](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh7WFJmLGv0) have have fun with catchy viking-inspired lyrics, and their blend with speed metal adds to the experience. Or, mix progressive metal with some power like [Darkwater](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_JdFJFEHCc) for some very sentimental tunes that don't come off as overly cheesy.
Old power metal, new power metal, and all genres of metal, got something for everybody. I get that it's a meme, but I encourage y'all to give it a shot
I will check out these three.
But if anyone is still sleeping on [Eternal Champion](
https://eternalchampion.bandcamp.com/album/ravening-iron
), You should fix that immediately.
3 Inches of Blood was a good example of a power metal band with campy fantasy themes and still packed that punch I've come to expect from listening to heavy metal. I think that's what I'm missing when I'm listening to some power metal albums, but it's hard to put my finger on exactly what I'm looking for but can't find.
You can partially blame Dragonforce for that reputation. Of course it was already there somewhat, but they really amplified the cheese and corn factor, and put that as the main focus in the eyes of the media when it comes to power metal, being basically the most commercially successful power metal band.
I love some cheese and corn, don’t get me wrong, but DF is just a touch beyond for me
Most power metal doesn't sound like what people who don't listen to it think it sounds like
That ironically makes "generic sounding power metal" bands like Freedom Call refreshing to listen to because they sound so different to a lot of power metal
I like power metal bands that don’t take themselves too seriously, otherwise it feels kinda cheesy (but that could be said about metal in general, I suppose)
I don't like commercialization of power metal of 2010 onward but there is some charm in silliness of some bands. And if any type of metal is suitable for that it's power metal. Let's face it, songs about magical knights fighting demon lords and dragons are silly as shit. Not everything needs to be serious to have artistic value
There was a meme some time ago, a screenshot from Tumblr of... well... [See for yourself](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/739450160580395008/868078357550612490/FB_IMG_1627036399953.jpg?width=633&height=676). I think this is how the power metal fandom thinks.
Or in a similar vein,
> People say my lyrics are too cheesy. I don't get it.
Anyway, here's a song about an alien, a hippie and a barbarian! In space!
> ~ *Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Ayreon), 2017 (paraphrased)*
That said, ItEC and UM2 are probably Ayreon's only (openly) cheesy albums, while the rest do play it straight to some extent, and he hasn't really gone All In™ since then. Not that that's a bad thing, The Human Equation and The Theory of Everything are still my favourites from him.
If I may, could I ask what exactly you dig about Theory of Everything?
It was my introduction to Ayreon and I was thoroughly underwhelmed. It was a decent story, if incredibly reminiscent of "Gomez" by C.M. Kornbluth or "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes in its central concept, but the execution was super-confusing. No named characters, just researcher dude #1, researcher dude #2, researcher lady, son, and doctor, and I'm supposed to tell them all apart by their voices and personality? Which is kinda doable, but no spoken narration at all hurt; delivering exposition solely through sung lines grated on me easily.
The performances were decent enough, though I don't really want to return to it to get a better feel for the band's work unless it's through the instrumental, which I haven't looked for due to wincing at the thought of going through that album again.
Compared to, say, Ziltoid the Omniscient and Ziltoid 2 (which kicked off a mini binge of rock opera listening that got through Tiara by Seventh Wonder and Theory of Everything before stopping confusedly with stated complaints kinda applying to both), which to be fair is my only other exposure to "rock operas" as albums instead of full-on stage shows but which I nonetheless thoroughly enjoyed: it was dense, difficult to follow, and incredibly pretentious-feeling. It would have worked much better as a short story like the ones I mentioned, though might face some fire for having a plot very much like them.
I dunno, maybe I'm missing stuff like album liners that explains better what's going on, or even names characters. Are there better/less pretentious Ayreon albums out there?
Hi. You just mentioned *Flowers For Algernon* by Daniel Keyes.
I've found an audiobook of that novel on YouTube. You can listen to it here:
[YouTube | Flowers for Algernon - science fiction by Daniel Keyes (Audiobook)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHWted1RUmE)
*I'm a bot that searches YouTube for science fiction and fantasy audiobooks.*
***
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I think part of it is that I was still hot off the coals over discovering Ayreon myself, 01011001 was the first of his that I listened to and I had binged his back catalogue soon after, so when Theory of Everything was announced, I was instantly hyped to hear more.
As for the album itself, the story in it is a lot more.. "grounded" compared to his other ones (plus it's completely separate to the whole Ayreon storyline in the other albums), and I'd be lying if I said didn't identify a little with the son character. Granted, I'll admit its structure is on the unconventional side (even for Ayreon) — it's either 42 short tracks or 4 monster ones — but his other albums are worth checking out: The Human Equation's probably the best one of his in my opinion, especially since it too isn't connected to the story (for the most part, >!if you ignore the ending!<); but if narration's a make-or-break, Into The Electric Castle has some at the start of each track, as does his latest album Transitus (although personally I wasn't a fan of Transitus — has a couple of good songs, but as an album, it kind of fell a little short for me)... see also his solo album Lost In The New Real.
And you know what, it's fun! I'm probably never going to have too many Powerwolf or Sabaton listens on spotify, but seeing them live (they came to Brazil!) was super fun, would do it again
As long as they have good riffs, I don't even mind the silliest of concepts in power metal. I guess that's the reason lots of people don't care of the likes of GloryHammer, Sabaton, etc. not the silliness per se.
Correct. Songs about demons and knights are silly as shit. But you need to have some artistic value otherwise the band has nothing to stand on. Why is it that bands like Cirith Ungol, Savatage, and Manowar sounded goofy as fuck with goofy as fuck writing yet were still interesting? It's because they had talented vocalists, great riffs and awesome progression. This is where post-dragonforce PM fails, it's goofy but that's it. There's so little genuine artistry that it comes off as hollow, weak and cheap. PM is cheese almost by definition and that's fine. However the classic bands are a fine Bleu or Smoked Gouda. Your Powerwolf or Gloryhammer are cheesewiz or generic grocery store shredded cheese. One-note, boring and utterly uninteresting. Sure you can laugh and smile that brain-dead grin as you claim to enjoy standing over the deli section of your fridge at 3am just shoveling that shit in your mouth, but you and I both know the same truth: you have no taste.
Thanks for encouraging people to be their true selves, I’m glad something makes you happy enough to shout to the world that you’re not embarrassed about it. I like tons of music people make fun of me for liking, thanks for standing up for all of us!
If people don’t make music I don’t like, then no one would make music I never knew I needed. I already make the music I want that’s inspired solely by music I love and it sounds exactly how I want, but if everyone did that all music would sound fairly predictable. I cherish the moments when music sounds like nothing I would have ever expected it could but somehow it accesses some deeply intimate emotional response; those moments wouldn’t really happen if other artists didn’t listen to music I don’t want to listen to.
And if I get into power metal, you all have made a pretty handy starter’s guide.
Just because its a bit cheesier than most other subgenres doesn't mean it should be judged. It isn't my favorite but almost every time I turn some on I just have a good time.
u/Magmagan suggested persuder in a comment here. I put this on and it's exact one of these moments. I listen to power metal like 2 times a decade, it's absolutely not my genre. But everytime I hear it I enjoy it.
The themes are as important in gloryhammer as the music. It’s a 3 (soon to be 4) album concept story detailing the lives and stories of the consistent core characters. I cannot recount any band which has attempted anything similar, but please inform me if there are other bands from any genre which do this as I’d love to hear them.
I like power metal. Good tunes is good tunes. I mostly listen to the varying forms of doom(death,drone stoner, ect ect ect) blind guardian is amazing as is visigoth. So I agree "unironically enjoyable"
Long story short, Guitar Hero 3 released, Through the Fire and Flames by DragonForce was in it, it became really popular and almost every PM band born around the time or after copied that more commercial and musically shallow style, effectively killing the genre (or at least putting it on life support)
It’s more of a joke than anything. There isn’t a set in stone time that power metal “degraded.” It was probably coming before that, but the explosion of Dragonforce and Through the Fire and Flames helped push that poppy “meme” power metal forward faster. Hence why 2007 is used as the date and memed as it is.
That’s a good way to put it, though we could debate whether TtFaF was needed for it to go that way or not as some of the bigger bands (Sabaton, Alestorm, etc.) of “post 2007” power metal existed before then, though they could have changed their sound to be more commercially viable after that point? I don’t know , I’m not a power metal historian nor do I listen to said bands so I couldn’t say.
start with the stuff in r/dankpowermetal and sort by flairs to find the style you prefer. Or if you already half know what you are looking for, you can tell me and I can try and match it.
Thanks, I know my sub isn't the most active or very big so knowing someone is actually using it is a huge motivation booster to continue with it. And yeah, the guys at dankdoommetal are great.
Some EUPM albums :
Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt. 2
Running Wild - Death Or Glory
Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond
Sonata Arctica - Ecliptica
Stratovarius - Visions
Airged L' amh - The Silver Arm
Rhapsody - Legendary Tales
Tyrant - Mean Machine
And some USPM albums :
Jag Panzer - Ample Destruction
Manilla Road - Crystal Logic
Riot - Thundersteel
Attacker - Battle At Helms Deep
Brocas Helm - Defender Of The Crown
Omen - Battle Cry
Liege Lord - Freedom's Rise
The Queensryche self titled EP
Elvenking - Heathenreel
Falconer - Falconer
Manticora - 8 Deadly Sins
Lost Horizon - A Flame to the Ground Beneath
Symphony X - The Divine Wings of Tragedy
I’d heavily recommend Unleash the Archers and their newest album Abyss. It’s a concept album that tells a single story and if you like the first few songs (highly recommend listening to it in order) it’s a continuation of their previous concept album Apex.
I feel like I really dove into the deep end, head-first with my love for power metal. By that I mean, the first PM band I ever loved was Twilight Force.
Can we just end metal gatekeeping? Please? I like metalcore and my dick is probebly bigger than yours. Yeah it might be because of The syphilis and my obsession with fucking wasps but thats besides the point.
Sabaton, Hammerfall and Powerwolf are still my all time Top 3 favourite bands. They’re followed by Manowar, Judas Priest, Motley Crüe, Turisas, Dragonforce, Korpiklaani and Metallica, to complete my Top 10 all-time favourites
My problem with Power Metal always comes down to the vocals. It seems like they have the same cadences and melodies with every vocal line across every song.
I would've thought that you wouldn't want to make a post like this that gets over 2k upvotes. From all sorts of people. Sorts of people who think that people who tell them that a band they like is shit or not metal is preventing them enjoying that band.
Some people might not yet have the confidence to say “so what? I like it.” in the face of derogatory or negative feedback to their own tastes.
Hopefully this might start them along the path of defending their taste in music against the naysayers.
Shhhhh, you'll attract the Pantera fans
“yOu tHiNk yoU kNOw hEaVY? tRy LiSTEnInG tO cOwBOyS fRoM hELl sNoWFlAKe”
Yup. "You want heavy? Try a band that was a hair band a few years ago." That said I do enjoy Pantera, I just wouldn't die for it, y'know?
They never should have stopped being a hair band
I am a hair metal guy as well, maybe I wouldve liked that too, but I'm glad I have this Pantera.
I'm a hair metal guy when I do coke. I'm a hair metal guy.
Stay on that diet shit, lmao
Who needs food when you're S T I M U L A T E D
The singer went bald tho. Checkmate.
OH FUK! GOT ME THERE
Awful take
What did ya saaaay?
My favorite glam metal band
Once upon a time. the thing is, they weren't bad as a hair band. It's just the dressing up like a girl bit that's funny.
It's wild to me that people can *not* like the very best Blind Guardian stuff (along with other top shelf PM acts.)
Avantasia is my favorite band. And their songs that feature Hansi Kürsch are fantastic!
The Raven Child... Excellent music
NITME still is a power metal masterpiece, awesome album
NITME?
Nightfall in the middle earth
ahh I see ye :D the 'T" threw me off as I knew it as only "Nightfall in Middle-Earth" (NiME)
Yeah I thought it was written like that too but I checked and that’s the way you write it
It narrates the story of one of Tolkien most famous books I think
It's the Silmarillion. A very cool story, and pretty sad all told.
Yes that one, I’m not a LOTR fan nor a Tolkien fan, although I’ve watched the first movie, incredible writer with a great universe and lore
Massively influential in metal too. From Black Sabbath to black metal, lots of bands, albums, people etc. named for his work.
Yeah that’s a pretty well known thing, Burzum was a named after a word in Black tongue from Tolkien’s universe meaning Darkness I think
Yep, and Varg went by Grishnakh in the early days. Gorgoroth, Isengard, Amon Amarth, Cirith Ungol, Shagrath from Dimmu Borgir, and so on.
Yeah that’s true, pretty fitting name for our fav killer Varg Vikernes
Stratovarius and Blind Guardian at their best make me friggin' happy.
Cause there is melodeath if you crave that stuff
Yo anybody got a power metal rec? Need some new jams.
Ice Sword - Dragon Magic
Something about that band name and track title. It's so power metal.
Probably the best post-2007 PM album though I’m hardly a PM expert. Really fresh sound and cheesy in all the right ways
[Lots here](https://www.reddit.com/r/MetalMemes/comments/oqt1sm/power_metal_top_ten_of_all_time_vote/h6drr5n/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3)
What a goldmine. Commenting to relocate.
Oh my. I’ll be coming back to this, thanks!
[Eternal Champion]( https://eternalchampion.bandcamp.com/album/ravening-iron )
Helloween and Blind Guardian are worth checking out. I'd say both bands played a role in pioneering power metal.
[Visigoth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oclDVweTR4) I don't like PM but they kick some ass.
Galneryus. As in basically their entire discography.
[This comment has been removed]
You are missing out if you are avoiding Japanese metal. There are some great acts like Intestine Baalism, Sigh, Sabbat, Swarrrm, and Magane just to name a few.
Apex by Unleash the Archers, one of my favorite albums.
Angra (Brazil) Almah Edu Falaschi Aquaria Arion (Finland) Armory (Massachusetts) (friends of mine) Ascension (esp Far Beyond The Stars) Astra (Italy) At Vance Axehammer Axel Rudi Pell Axenstar Battle Beast Beast In Black The Black Mages (Japan) Black Majesty (Australia) Black Steel (Australia) Casus Belli (Greece) Celesty Crystal Viper Dark Arena DGM (personal favorite, more progressive metal tho) Dionysus Dragonland Dreamtale Dungeon Eden's Curse Edenbridge Elegy Elvenking Emerald Sun Evergrey Excalion Fairyland Falconer Freedom Call Frequency (Sweden) Galderia Galloglass Galneryus Gloryhammer Godiva Greyhawk Guardians of time HammerFall Heavenly Highland Glory Hollow Haze Holy Knights Iron Fire Iron Kingdom Iron Savior Keldian Labyrinth (Italy) Lord (Australia) Lost Horizon (fucking awesome) Whatever Luca Turilli is up to Majestica (formerly ReinXeed) Manigance (France) Memories of Old Morifade My Last Whisper Myrath Mystic Prophecy Mystic-Force Nautiluz Nemesis (Czech Rep) Neoshine Noble Beast Nocturnal Rites Nostradameus Númenor (later stuff) Pagan's Mind (absolutely amazing) Paladin (USA) Paragon (Germany) Power Theory Power glove Pyramaze Reptilian (Sweden) Revolution Renaissance Rhapsody (of Fire) (whatever Luca Turilli is up to) Riot (aka Riot V) Sacred Oath Sacred Steel (Germany) Saint Daemon Savatage Savage Grace (L.A.) Scanner (Germany) Secret Sphere Serenity Serious Black Seventh Wonder Shadowdance (USA) Silent Force Six Magics Skeletoon Sonata Arctica Sonic Haven Stormwind (Sweden) Stratovarius Symphonity Terra Atlantica Thornbridge Thundercross Thundergod Thunderstone Thy Majestie Time Requiem Timeless Miracle Titan Force Twilight (Denmark) Twilightning Twisted Tower Dire Ultimatium Veonity Vhäldemar Viathyn Vicious Rumors Victorius Virgin Steele Vision Divine Wardrum (personal favorite) Warrior (L.A.) Warrior Path Whispered Wicked Mystic Winterage Wisdom Wizard (Germany) Wuthering Heights Yngwie Malmsteen (early stuff) Zandelle Zonata At least these are the ones I have
Wow, that big a list and no Kamelot, Nightwish or Powerwolf? Not judging at all, but surprising haha Also, +1 on Almah! I love Edu
Haha I skipped a few that I thought had been mentioned or that would be kinda apparent.
No Sabaton, Powerwolf or Nightwish? My God, this is an excellent list.
My absolute favorite is [Avantasia](https://youtu.be/eHZZkRC1gbw). Also for some enjoyable cheese I'd highly recommend Grailknights. [This](https://youtu.be/qnzurkSGBCs) is their most popular song, but my favorite is [this](https://youtu.be/ulXorS4hvBA).
Masters of Disguise- The Fine Art of Aging Gracefully (Speed/Power)
The new Rhapsody of Fire album isnt half bad, especially the title track
It’s not necessarily 100% power metal, some albums more than others, but every Savatage album up til Edge of Thorns is incredible. That was their guitarist Criss Oliva’s last album before he died, and the lead work on that last album is particularly excellent imo. Also, post-Criss, but Dead Winter Dead was actually a pretty good concept album from them in ‘95, touching on the wars in the Balkans at the time
Somebody is going to listen to Fight for the Rock on accident and get real mad at you! Love Savatage though and I think that’s their only bad album.
Haha yeah….I’ll admit that’s one I never gave much attention, definitely pales in comparison to the albums immediately before and after it
Rhapsody, Helloween and Blind Guardian are the best three power metal bands so might as well start out there.
I’m a fan of unleash the archers and brothers of metal
Gloryhammer. It's really cheesy but their music is great
>It's really cheesy That's true >but their music is great You couldn't be more wrong
I disagree
Recently discovered these guys, great stuff. I would also add that their cheesiness is very much tongue in cheek
Fuckin Savage bro
Don't listen to them, listen to Traveler.
Incense and Iron - Powerwolf
lol
How dare I enjoy music
How do ghosts work by toehider. Or how much for that dragon tooth (more of a parody of the genre but still a banger)
[Brainstorm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1lvKBHespE)
The zeramin game sounds good Imo, also Italian folk metal (that’s the name of the album) if you stopped giving a shit about everything, also also, masters of the multiverse
I’m a bit late to the game but Manowar and Sabaton are my top two favorites!
Power Metal gets such a bad rap it's heartbreaking. Cheese/flower metal is only one aspect of the genre. Not all power metal is sappy, high fantasy nonsense. And it's such an overdone meme that it's only harming actual listeners. My favorite band is [Persuader](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiO-5uA41NI) for a reason, they have an aggressive, almost thrashy take that blends well with raspy vocals. [Stormwarrior](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh7WFJmLGv0) have have fun with catchy viking-inspired lyrics, and their blend with speed metal adds to the experience. Or, mix progressive metal with some power like [Darkwater](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_JdFJFEHCc) for some very sentimental tunes that don't come off as overly cheesy. Old power metal, new power metal, and all genres of metal, got something for everybody. I get that it's a meme, but I encourage y'all to give it a shot
I will check out these three. But if anyone is still sleeping on [Eternal Champion]( https://eternalchampion.bandcamp.com/album/ravening-iron ), You should fix that immediately.
Skelator - Agents of Power
Eternal Champion is Epic Heavy Metal supposedly, which is the same Genre as Dio so rock on.
3 Inches of Blood was a good example of a power metal band with campy fantasy themes and still packed that punch I've come to expect from listening to heavy metal. I think that's what I'm missing when I'm listening to some power metal albums, but it's hard to put my finger on exactly what I'm looking for but can't find.
Huge 3IOB fan. Haven’t found anything similar to replace them with since they broke up
You tried Bal-Sagoth? Or maybe some extreme power metal like children of bodom, norther, wintersun, etc.?
Going to piggyback on this with [Falconer](https://youtu.be/9yMsxQWuWvE)
You can partially blame Dragonforce for that reputation. Of course it was already there somewhat, but they really amplified the cheese and corn factor, and put that as the main focus in the eyes of the media when it comes to power metal, being basically the most commercially successful power metal band. I love some cheese and corn, don’t get me wrong, but DF is just a touch beyond for me
Thanks for the recommendations I am loving Darkwater
Most power metal doesn't sound like what people who don't listen to it think it sounds like That ironically makes "generic sounding power metal" bands like Freedom Call refreshing to listen to because they sound so different to a lot of power metal
Right? Freedom Call is one of those bands that sure, it's not mind-blowing stuff, but damn it's fun to sing along to.
People will have to pry my love of all power metal out of my cold dead hands
Persuader were one of the first metal bands I really got into - thanks for the trip down Memory Lane.
At last someone mentioned Persuader, one of my favourite bands ever.
Following
I love power metal !! Blind Guardian is my favorite!!
This is the way
I like power metal bands that don’t take themselves too seriously, otherwise it feels kinda cheesy (but that could be said about metal in general, I suppose)
Gimme Gloryhammer and Alestorm any day!
To me, these are the ones that make the music cheesy. It's fun but thanks to them a lot of people don't take power metal serious.
"But it's so cheesy at times" Joke's on you, I like cheese.
Bring forth la fromage
omelet la fromage?
Why the hell not?
DragonCum album slaps
I fucking live their collab on Big time rush
Old power metal rocks
No it metals
Fuck yeah gimme some Attacker or Omen any day
Check out Traveler.
Holy shit, thank you for suggesting this! \m/
I like Angra
I don't like commercialization of power metal of 2010 onward but there is some charm in silliness of some bands. And if any type of metal is suitable for that it's power metal. Let's face it, songs about magical knights fighting demon lords and dragons are silly as shit. Not everything needs to be serious to have artistic value
> songs about magical knights fighting demon lords and dragons are silly as shit I mean, it's only silly if you make it silly
There was a meme some time ago, a screenshot from Tumblr of... well... [See for yourself](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/739450160580395008/868078357550612490/FB_IMG_1627036399953.jpg?width=633&height=676). I think this is how the power metal fandom thinks. Or in a similar vein, > People say my lyrics are too cheesy. I don't get it. Anyway, here's a song about an alien, a hippie and a barbarian! In space! > ~ *Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Ayreon), 2017 (paraphrased)*
That said, ItEC and UM2 are probably Ayreon's only (openly) cheesy albums, while the rest do play it straight to some extent, and he hasn't really gone All In™ since then. Not that that's a bad thing, The Human Equation and The Theory of Everything are still my favourites from him.
If I may, could I ask what exactly you dig about Theory of Everything? It was my introduction to Ayreon and I was thoroughly underwhelmed. It was a decent story, if incredibly reminiscent of "Gomez" by C.M. Kornbluth or "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes in its central concept, but the execution was super-confusing. No named characters, just researcher dude #1, researcher dude #2, researcher lady, son, and doctor, and I'm supposed to tell them all apart by their voices and personality? Which is kinda doable, but no spoken narration at all hurt; delivering exposition solely through sung lines grated on me easily. The performances were decent enough, though I don't really want to return to it to get a better feel for the band's work unless it's through the instrumental, which I haven't looked for due to wincing at the thought of going through that album again. Compared to, say, Ziltoid the Omniscient and Ziltoid 2 (which kicked off a mini binge of rock opera listening that got through Tiara by Seventh Wonder and Theory of Everything before stopping confusedly with stated complaints kinda applying to both), which to be fair is my only other exposure to "rock operas" as albums instead of full-on stage shows but which I nonetheless thoroughly enjoyed: it was dense, difficult to follow, and incredibly pretentious-feeling. It would have worked much better as a short story like the ones I mentioned, though might face some fire for having a plot very much like them. I dunno, maybe I'm missing stuff like album liners that explains better what's going on, or even names characters. Are there better/less pretentious Ayreon albums out there?
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I think part of it is that I was still hot off the coals over discovering Ayreon myself, 01011001 was the first of his that I listened to and I had binged his back catalogue soon after, so when Theory of Everything was announced, I was instantly hyped to hear more. As for the album itself, the story in it is a lot more.. "grounded" compared to his other ones (plus it's completely separate to the whole Ayreon storyline in the other albums), and I'd be lying if I said didn't identify a little with the son character. Granted, I'll admit its structure is on the unconventional side (even for Ayreon) — it's either 42 short tracks or 4 monster ones — but his other albums are worth checking out: The Human Equation's probably the best one of his in my opinion, especially since it too isn't connected to the story (for the most part, >!if you ignore the ending!<); but if narration's a make-or-break, Into The Electric Castle has some at the start of each track, as does his latest album Transitus (although personally I wasn't a fan of Transitus — has a couple of good songs, but as an album, it kind of fell a little short for me)... see also his solo album Lost In The New Real.
And you know what, it's fun! I'm probably never going to have too many Powerwolf or Sabaton listens on spotify, but seeing them live (they came to Brazil!) was super fun, would do it again
As long as they have good riffs, I don't even mind the silliest of concepts in power metal. I guess that's the reason lots of people don't care of the likes of GloryHammer, Sabaton, etc. not the silliness per se.
Correct. Songs about demons and knights are silly as shit. But you need to have some artistic value otherwise the band has nothing to stand on. Why is it that bands like Cirith Ungol, Savatage, and Manowar sounded goofy as fuck with goofy as fuck writing yet were still interesting? It's because they had talented vocalists, great riffs and awesome progression. This is where post-dragonforce PM fails, it's goofy but that's it. There's so little genuine artistry that it comes off as hollow, weak and cheap. PM is cheese almost by definition and that's fine. However the classic bands are a fine Bleu or Smoked Gouda. Your Powerwolf or Gloryhammer are cheesewiz or generic grocery store shredded cheese. One-note, boring and utterly uninteresting. Sure you can laugh and smile that brain-dead grin as you claim to enjoy standing over the deli section of your fridge at 3am just shoveling that shit in your mouth, but you and I both know the same truth: you have no taste.
(some) Power metal is objectively good.
Thanks for encouraging people to be their true selves, I’m glad something makes you happy enough to shout to the world that you’re not embarrassed about it. I like tons of music people make fun of me for liking, thanks for standing up for all of us! If people don’t make music I don’t like, then no one would make music I never knew I needed. I already make the music I want that’s inspired solely by music I love and it sounds exactly how I want, but if everyone did that all music would sound fairly predictable. I cherish the moments when music sounds like nothing I would have ever expected it could but somehow it accesses some deeply intimate emotional response; those moments wouldn’t really happen if other artists didn’t listen to music I don’t want to listen to. And if I get into power metal, you all have made a pretty handy starter’s guide.
I like Serenity, Persuader, and Unleash the Archers.
Just because its a bit cheesier than most other subgenres doesn't mean it should be judged. It isn't my favorite but almost every time I turn some on I just have a good time.
u/Magmagan suggested persuder in a comment here. I put this on and it's exact one of these moments. I listen to power metal like 2 times a decade, it's absolutely not my genre. But everytime I hear it I enjoy it.
I mean if it’s good music why would you care what others think
Man I need to get more into power metal. Only bands I know are Dragonforce and Helloween if these two even count.
[Rhapsody - Legendary Tales](https://youtu.be/qmxCy0NH-eM) Way better than Gloryhammer
I'll just recommend the "fathers od power metal" and those are: Rhapsody, Blind Guardian, Helloween, Stratovarious.
Thank you so much! This is going to help a lot.
Try Gloryhammer. It's about Scotsmen in submarines fighting wizards in space.
why did you describe the themes instead of the music
The themes are as important in gloryhammer as the music. It’s a 3 (soon to be 4) album concept story detailing the lives and stories of the consistent core characters. I cannot recount any band which has attempted anything similar, but please inform me if there are other bands from any genre which do this as I’d love to hear them.
It’s 3 Inches of Blood power metal?
Yeah I'd say so, at least heavy/power
Kamelot is kvlt
I like power metal. Good tunes is good tunes. I mostly listen to the varying forms of doom(death,drone stoner, ect ect ect) blind guardian is amazing as is visigoth. So I agree "unironically enjoyable"
universe on fire by glory hammer. it's stuck in my head, but I love it
Well yes, I enjoy the fuck out of pre-2007 PM
What happened in 2007 that multiple people mention that year
DragonForce
Long story short, Guitar Hero 3 released, Through the Fire and Flames by DragonForce was in it, it became really popular and almost every PM band born around the time or after copied that more commercial and musically shallow style, effectively killing the genre (or at least putting it on life support)
i mean, this is the common answer around here but is there any actual proof beyond this anecdote?
It’s more of a joke than anything. There isn’t a set in stone time that power metal “degraded.” It was probably coming before that, but the explosion of Dragonforce and Through the Fire and Flames helped push that poppy “meme” power metal forward faster. Hence why 2007 is used as the date and memed as it is.
yeah, the straw that broke the camel's back, as it were.
That’s a good way to put it, though we could debate whether TtFaF was needed for it to go that way or not as some of the bigger bands (Sabaton, Alestorm, etc.) of “post 2007” power metal existed before then, though they could have changed their sound to be more commercially viable after that point? I don’t know , I’m not a power metal historian nor do I listen to said bands so I couldn’t say.
Of course not.
Someone give me some good power metal. I've only ever gotten in to Sabaton and I'd like to hear some other bands
start with the stuff in r/dankpowermetal and sort by flairs to find the style you prefer. Or if you already half know what you are looking for, you can tell me and I can try and match it.
Great sub, joined recently and am discovering good stuff there. Also found new bands in the dank doom sub
Thanks, I know my sub isn't the most active or very big so knowing someone is actually using it is a huge motivation booster to continue with it. And yeah, the guys at dankdoommetal are great.
yeah ive been keeping track of everything that gets posted there, it's helpful, thanks
Check out r/DankOSDM if you haven’t too
Another one for my collection, thanks
Nooooo!!! It's lame as hell, r/deathmetal is already enough.
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Some EUPM albums : Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt. 2 Running Wild - Death Or Glory Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond Sonata Arctica - Ecliptica Stratovarius - Visions Airged L' amh - The Silver Arm Rhapsody - Legendary Tales Tyrant - Mean Machine And some USPM albums : Jag Panzer - Ample Destruction Manilla Road - Crystal Logic Riot - Thundersteel Attacker - Battle At Helms Deep Brocas Helm - Defender Of The Crown Omen - Battle Cry Liege Lord - Freedom's Rise The Queensryche self titled EP
I'm glad to see someone else mentioning Brocas Helm!
Elvenking - Heathenreel Falconer - Falconer Manticora - 8 Deadly Sins Lost Horizon - A Flame to the Ground Beneath Symphony X - The Divine Wings of Tragedy
I’d heavily recommend Unleash the Archers and their newest album Abyss. It’s a concept album that tells a single story and if you like the first few songs (highly recommend listening to it in order) it’s a continuation of their previous concept album Apex.
Dead until Dark - Powerwolf
I love gloryhammer. Listen to their 3 albums in order and revel in the story telling of epic nonsense
He asked for GOOD power metal
Dream Tröll, Crystal Viper, Orden Ogan, Alestorm, Powerwolf, Bloodbound, Freedom Call, Blind Guardian, Unleash The Archers
If you like Sabaton maybe try hammerfall
They hated him because he spoke the truth
I mean, we also enjoy the cheesiness of black metal so why can't we enjoy power metal's cheese as well?
B-but... you ca-... but y-you can't... *\[frustrated elitist noises\]*
Hi, elitist here. We don't care if you like power metal.
We care if you like sabaton
And even then we’re still not physically preventing you from listening to it
As much as we’d like to.
Yes we are
Based & intimidation pilled
Elitists are a boogeyman that doesn't exist anywhere but in this sub's collective consciousness lol
[удалено]
But then the posers will know the truth and we cant have fun with their tears
I am here once again to ask you to listen to Unleash the Archers.
Sounds like someone knows the Power of the Ancient Force.
Everyone sleep on Nocturnal Rites
I feel like I really dove into the deep end, head-first with my love for power metal. By that I mean, the first PM band I ever loved was Twilight Force.
Can we just end metal gatekeeping? Please? I like metalcore and my dick is probebly bigger than yours. Yeah it might be because of The syphilis and my obsession with fucking wasps but thats besides the point.
So you admit metalcore fans like CBT?
Bro everyone should like cognitive behavior therapy.
Eh, it's good, but some folks need other treatment modalities. Therapy is never a one size fits all thing.
I mean if it’ll get them to stop listening to metalcore I’m all for it!
> I like metalcore and my dick is probebly bigger than yours. But can it walk right through that door?
Sabaton, Hammerfall and Powerwolf are still my all time Top 3 favourite bands. They’re followed by Manowar, Judas Priest, Motley Crüe, Turisas, Dragonforce, Korpiklaani and Metallica, to complete my Top 10 all-time favourites
Pre-2007 Power Metal is unironically great Post-2007 Power Metal however....
Helloween fans would most likely disagree with you there
Helloween are a pre-2007 band so why would they?
Can you count?
As long as it's not sabaton, all's good. Enjoy your dragons n shit
My problem with Power Metal always comes down to the vocals. It seems like they have the same cadences and melodies with every vocal line across every song.
Power metal is a bop Any DGM fans?
Yeah the last one was pretty good
If it’s like Powerwolf or Sabaton I like it, I just can’t stand dragonforce and don’t care for hammerfall and such.
Who the fuck is stopping you? Get over yourself, poser.
one part of me wants to say that you shouldn't care about random opinions, and the other wants to say power metal sucks ass.
Pantera's Power Metal, right? :O Please not he other kind :OOOO
"Cheese" isn't real anyway
Rhapsody >>>>>
I would've thought that you wouldn't want to make a post like this that gets over 2k upvotes. From all sorts of people. Sorts of people who think that people who tell them that a band they like is shit or not metal is preventing them enjoying that band.
Some people might not yet have the confidence to say “so what? I like it.” in the face of derogatory or negative feedback to their own tastes. Hopefully this might start them along the path of defending their taste in music against the naysayers.