Favorite albums

mad_taffer

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Oct 4, 2007
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Hey everyone, here is a place for us all to discuss what our favorite power metal /prog albums are.
 
Since I listen to power metal,D these are some of my favorite albums:

-The Fourth Legacy(Kamelot)
-Ghosts(Instanzia)
-Land Of The Crimson Dawn(Freedom Call)
-Legacy Of Kings(Hammerfall)
-Far From Heaven(Axenstar)
-Reign Of Elements(Celesty)
-Tales From The Twilight World(Blind Guardian)
-Under The Gray Banner(Dragonland)
-Dragonslayer(Dream Evil)
-Difference(Dreamtale)
-Falconer(Falconer)
-Awakening The World(Lost Horizon)
-The Sacred Talisman(Nocturnal Rites)
-Wings Of Forever(Power Quest)
-Silence(Sonata Arctica)
-Visions(Stratovarius)
-Aeronautics(Masterplan)
-Damnation(Gaia Epicus)
-The Gates Of Oblivion(Dark Moor)
-In Silence They March(Crystal Eyes)

Well .. I know that there's many bands missing in my list but if there's a very great album that I should listen to let me know ! I always want to learn !:headbang:
 
You definitely lack a lot of great italian bands... I admit I have a weak spot for them but Labyrinth, Thy Majestie, Secret Shere, Vision Divine (especially the Luppi era) are definitely great albums! You're the first person I know who openly listens to Gaia Epicus!
 
Since I'm relaxing a bit at the moment after having just finished my rhythm guitar parts... I'll start writing about my own favorite albums! I can't do a top 10 or something though!

Labyrinth - Return to Heaven Denied

This one is widely hailed as one of the best power metal albums ever and god do I understand! It's a bit of a shame that it's only known as a power metal album though because songs like State of Grace aren't power metal at all to me, Heaven Denied, Night of Dreams aren't either... I don't know how to call those. They're just great melodic prog/metal songs. Olaf Thorsen is definitely one of my favorite composers ever. I love almost everything he does. Return to Heaven Denied just has that sort of vibe that you rarely find on albums especially nowadays. It feels like a moment in time! Love those slow/smooth moments with the acoustic guitars and all... just something unique!!

Secret Sphere - A Time Never Come

It should come as no surprise now that I have a weak spot for this Italian band that has somehow unfairly been qualified as a Rhapsody wanna-be. Maybe their first album was in the same vein but it definitely had something of its own (Roberto Messina's voice, the more guitar-oriented sound and a vibe of its own...). A Time Never Come is their second album and by far their best in my opinion. It's their 'Return to Heaven Denied' without sounding like it at all. Legend is probably my favorite power metal track ever and once again that whole album has a sort of vibe/energy of a young band putting all its heart into it and I definitely feel it. It has a sort of mystical feel. It's not square in your face power metal. It has a lot of subtlety, different moods and last but not least, pretty unconventional song structures. All in all, this one is definitely in my top 5!

Human Fortress - Lord of Earth and Heaven's Heir

THE band I'll miss the most in the world of melodic metal. Jioti Parcharidis just had an amazingly emotional, melodic and soaring voice and this album to me is their best. Better than Defenders of the Crown though Defenders tends to get better reviews... LOEAHH is special, it once again has a vibe of its own and this time I feel that it's a vibe of melancholy. Those who don't know and don't like power metal tend to think it's all happy tralala but I can't disagree more. Melodic does not mean happy! This album definitely isn't happy and has some seriously great melodies. The guitar riffs are oh so basic but I really feel they have a reason to be there. This album flows very well and there isn't a single moment that I don't like. It has the most melancholic ballad ever written by a power metal band ''Forgive & Forget'' which can bring me to tears. I recommend you guys look it up. It's waaay too under rated and deserves to be known a lot more than that. Few obscure early 2000s bands that are now unknown put out albums that were that great.

That's it for now, I'm getting a bit tired but I'll come up with more in the next days!
 
Opera Magna (especially for the album Poe) and Delirion (for Lotus) deserve the recognition for Most Underrated Yet Fantastic Albums. What are your MUYFAs?
 
Blind Guardian - At the Edge of Time
Cain's Offering - Gather the Faithful
Dragonforce - Sonic Firestorm
Dragonforce - Inhuman Rampage
Dragonforce - Ultra Beatdown
Dark Moor - Autumnal
Dark Moor - Ancestral Romance
Fairyland - Score to a New Beginning
Falconer - Falconer
Falconer - Northwind
Falconer - Armod
Instanzia - Ghosts
Kamelot - Ghost Opera
Kamelot - Poetry for the Poisoned
Power Quest - Master of Illusion
 
Really? Master of Illusion is your favorite PQ album? I was quite eager when it came out but I was sort of disappointed... I was really in love with their 2005 Magic Never Dies record though!! The last BG is your favorite? Damn we have very differing tastes hehehe! Have you listened to their whole discography?

I'm quite surprised about you liking Poetry for the Poisoned also, it's funny how tastes can utterly differ between different persons within the same scope of musical tastes! My favorite Kamelot stuff is probably the Fourth Legacy album or Karma! I'm a sucker for real / fast power metal and tend to really dislike it when bands become slower, darker etc... which has happened a lot!

I'm not a huge Dragonforce fan but I really liked the Valley of the Damned album when it first came out. It inspired me to pick up the guitar again after having been musically inactive for a few years :p

However thanks for taking part in this thread! Feel free to discuss these albums also! It's nice to know what people actually think of their favorite releases, to know what they look for and enjoy in music in general!
 
Really? To me VOTD was the only one before they got into that speed gimmicky... but well, it's me... I tend to dislike bands that get popular because of gimmicks, I guess it's a bit because I'm a musician myself. Valley of the Damned Black Winter Nights and Starfire are tough to beat DF songs for me though hehehe! I quite liked Sonic Firestorm too.
 
Hey Alexis
Since I know that I lack of italian bands, I've done some research. Rhapsody of Fire will always stay my favorite even if I don't like their 15 minute songs with more talking than playing. Secret Sphere is also an amazing band and I'd like to thank you for that! I would like to know what's wrong with Gaia Epicus cause I really like Damnation haha