Apparently there is a "History of Power metal" article in the latest issue of Guitar World (Jimmy Page on the cover)...and there's even a small namecheck for PQ! Woo hoo!
Guitar World
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In this months Guitar World there is an article on the history of power metal. It says "Now in 2004, the titans of power metal are joined by scores of newcomers, including, Dragonland, Symphorce, ........., and Power Quest.
Thanks to Jeff in the US for the info!
Thanks to Jeff in the US for the info!
Samurai Sweetie
Sexy Samurai Chick
Featured in the May 2005 Issue of Guitar World Magazine
Galloping hard amid the success of Lord of the Rings, the majestic warriors of Power Metal are reviving the age of Heavy Metal heroes. Even as the atonal actors in Slipknot rack up millions of sales with their jigsaw aggression, a proficient breed of ultra - traditional metal bands, including Rhapsody, Manowar and Hammerfall, advances with its arsenal of wizardly guitar solos, powerful battlefield drums and soaring eagle like vocals. After biding their time with a loyal legion of followers in Europe for the past decade, they returned to claim their metal crown in the States.
Forget about metals raucous heathen nature and its reputation as the devils music, this traditional and escapist strain of metal offers heroic tales of good versus evil, played with a virtuosity developed during years spent watching from the sidelines. Today, as even the more deathly likes of Arch Enemy, Dimmu Borgir, and Children of Bodom borrow traditional tricks, Power Metal paladins come to wipe the battlefield clean of the unwashed and tattooed orcs of Death Metal, metalcore, and in particular, Nu -metal.
Its all about escapism, says Scott Waldrop, guitarist for Twisted Tower Dire. Its the antithesis of bands like R.E.M. or Pearl Jam. For me, Power Metal, or traditional Metal, is like a soundtrack for slaying the singer of Creed. Its the perverse pleasure of doing something highly unpopular and antisocial that makes it cool.
As the simplicity of Motorhead and AC/DC rapidly evolved into the convoluted weirdness of Napalm Death and Morbid Angel, many of Metals basic precepts were thrown by the wayside. The fans who supported the American invasion of British bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest grew up and, like Puff the Magic Dragon, discarded the cheesy remnants of metals early years, the whole steaming cauldron of concept albums, banshee vocals, medieval costumes, neoclassical guitar solos and lyrics lifted from JRR Tolkien.
In Power Metal, the traditional spirit is reborn, sometimes slavishly. We dont do anything thats different, boasts Dream Evils Gus G. We just do what they did 20 years ago. The point is that were damn good at making great Eighties Metal songs, and the majority of our songs stick in your head after one listen. Today from Rome to Tokyo, Power Metal players have picked up the pieces and begun an ambitious assault that, Dream Evil to the contrary, is not entirely a retro assault. Many of the players in Nevermore, Hammerfall and Arch Enemy are skilled stylists who turned their backs on Death Metal after cutting their teeth in bands like Monstrosity, In Flames and Carcass. Instead of obsessing over death and Armageddon, the Power Metal crowd uses the epic story telling tradition of Metal to tell tales of honor and victory.
Meanwhile, the grandfathers of Power Metal bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Dio are back on the scene after years of career turmoil. Yet, the reborn Power Metal movement attracts not only a crowd of aging headbangers lusting for nostalgic glories, but also new fans who are bringing battle axes and crown back into fashion.
The scene has also spawned extreme bands in its own way. Looking more like romance novel heroes than headbangers, bands like Lost Horizon and Stratovarius preach self admiration and love of a higher power, while Finlands Nightwish expands the Power Metal repertoire by covering Broadway show tunes. Detractors dismiss the siren vocals and overblown guitar heroics as perfume metal or powder metal, but its adherents defend the faith fervently. And they do so with good reason. The playing is often times impeccable, the dedication is disarming and the stories of King Arthur, Middle Earth and Siegfried the Dragonslayer are timeless. POWER METAL RETURNS HEAVY METAL TO ITS CORE VALUES, bringing simplicity to a sound perpetually in danger of descending into noisy overkill. The horsemen of Power Metal have arrived, restoring hope to those who suffered Korn as an unthinkable glitch in the space time continuum.
Early Years: The Rise and fall of Power
When Heavy Metal was still in its formative stage, early Seventies heard rockers like Deep purple, Rainbow, Uriah Heep and Wishbone Ash were winding fantasy oriented imagery through their albums. We gave them fantasy for two hours, a chance to escape, says Ronnie James Dio, who, as the highly emotive singer of Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and later Dio, brought fantasy concepts to Metal. We thought it was important, and especially today it would be important because theres so much brutality in the world. The first true Power Metal appeared as Heavy Metal came into its own during the Eighties. Uptempo Metal standards such as Iron Maidens Where Eagles Dare and Judas Priests Sreaming for Vengeance spawned more extreme anthems like Anvils Forged in Fire and Accepts Fast as a Shark. These songs redefined Metal with double bass drums, saw toothed guitar tones and piercing screams that reinforced and buttressed the sound. Suddenly, Heavy Metal was more than the blues based Hard Rock of AC/Dc or Def Leppard. And then so the term Power Metal was born.
As heavier European Metal acts took over America, bands began to emulate their louder and often loftier aspirations. Warlord were one shining example. The California band was so self possessed that it celebrated its debut with a full length home video, where the group celebrated without distinction the influences of UFO, Scorpions, Paganini, and Bach. Along with Manowar, Jag Panzer, Helstar, Liege Lord, Virgin Steele, Attacker and Warlord took the classy traits of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest to the next level, and they expected to be the next wave of greatness.
Unfortunately just as Power Metal came into its prime in 1985, Thrash Metal rudely swept upward in the form of Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. Bands like Armored Saint and Manowar were scooted to the sidelines, along with their armory of leather stage armor and silver swords. Thrash masterpieces like Master of Puppets by Metallica and Reign in Blood by Slayer grabbed audiences by the throat with realism and gore, and crowds soon lost their taste for dragons and sorcery.
Bu the close of the Eighties, the moment for Power Metal seemed to have passed. Even Dio and Judas Priest were feeling the crunch, as they downsized their once epic stage show. Pity a band like San Antonios Slayer, who lost not only their audience but also their name to their evil Los Angeles counterparts. To most Metal fans, the challenges of Middle Earth seemed remote compared to lyrics about homelessness, environmental problems and nuclear war. Major label bands like Raven, Manowar, Savatage, Sanctuary, Saxon, and Helloween had the worst of it. Pressured by their labels to write radio friendly hits, they watched as indie label thrashers grabbed all the glory.
It was really a big thing for all of us, says guitarist Jeff Loomis, who joined Sanctuary in 1991. I remember sitting down writing songs for our new album, and one of the guys was bringing us all these ideas that were obviously influenced by grunge. That was when we knew Sanctuary was over. In different ways, the lords of Power Metal put their plans for the future into action. Manowar dug in deep and became a unique barbarian presence unwilling to lay down its weapons. Savatage, Queensryche and Fates Warning sought refuge in the conceptual stratosphere. Their music became more heady, mature and ambitious, cultivating an older audience that valued musicianship over teenage revolt. Though Queensryche found huge success with its high concept Operation Mindcrime, the bands roots as a black leather wearing Power Metal outfit remained buried in the Eighties. They understood their future lay in the strength of their musical ideas, not in the moshpit.
Hellowen adapted by playing Maiden style metal at Metallica like speeds. As Helloween/Gamma Ray guitarist Kai Hansen told metal-rules.com, A lot of bands in America are just following trends, and a lot of people who make music in America dont just make music for the sake of making music, they do it to get famous, to get rich, to be somebody. I think thats not the point about making music. You have to do it because you love to do it. You have to be somebody first as a person and then comes the second part.
Rebirth in Rheinland
While Metallica, Faith No More, Nirvana and Pantera took over America at the dawn of the Nineties, Power Metal found refuge in the castle ruins of Europe. Although continental audiences clamored for Megadeth and Sepultura, they never stopped supporting the classics. Forgotten in America, the German Power Metal bands Running Wild, Rage, Helloween, Grave Digger, Accept, and Gamma Ray refined a high speed but ultramelodic and clean style.
That period produced some great albums, notes Hammerfalls Oscar Dronja, citing as examples Helloweens Master of the Rings and Time of the Oath, Gamma Rays Land of the Free, Accepts Predator, and Manowars Louder than Hell. Unfortunately they were unnoticed by most people since the bands were regarded as remnants of a time passed.
The call to arms was heard, however, bringing a fresh wave of reinforcements, including Indianas Iced Earth and Germanys Blind Guardian. They adapted the commandments of classic Heavy Metal to the increased speed and heaviness demanded in a metal world gone berserk.
In 1994, from the ashes of Sanctuary rose Nevermore, a reinvented Power Metal band whose members filtered through Cannibal Corpse and Testament during the Nineties. People compared us to Death Metal, because the music is very intense, says guitarist Jeff Loomis. But I still think thats the best way to do Metal. By the mid Nineties, the sleeping giant of Power Metal had reawakened. Nirvana and Faith No More were gone and Metallica had cut their hair. Looking for purity and honesty in a landscape dominated by flawed heroes, European fans joined the battle cry. When we first went to Europe I was floored, says Loomis. Kids were still walking around in denim jackets with Iron Maiden patches, drinking tall cans of strong beer. It was like walking into a time warp, the tradition was so strong.
New German bands like Edguy and Primal Fear understood something others had forgotten: galloping old school Heavy Metal, with its Dungeons and Dragons themes was still a lot of fun.
I THINK AMERICA JUST EATS WHAT MTV FEEDS THEM, and the rest remains underground, says Gus G. A lot of people dont know about this music at all.
An American counterpart, Scott Waldrop of Virginias Twisted Tower Dire doesnt take exception to this assessment at all. Most American kids are complacent with main stream media spoon feeding them. Lots of would be fans think Headbangers Ball is the be all end all of sources for heavy music. The Europeans, by their culture, are more inclined to seek out underground music and support it.
With Power Metal spreading slowly in the underground, Hammerfall raised the stakes by proving that ultratraditional Metal was not exclusively for old geezers from the Eighties. I never liked the rhythm and aggression based music of Pantera or Machine Head, says Hammerfalls Oscar Dronjak. So when everyone and their aunt wanted to look and sound like them, I stayed away from that and concentrated on doing what I love best. Hammerfall formed in Sweden during the mid Nineties, comprising members of melodic Death Metal acts In Flames, Ceremonial Oath and Dark Tranquility. The group abandoned grunts and grindcore to play traditional Metal. I had stopped listening to new Death Metal at that point, says Dronjak. I wasnt impressed by anything that came out and quickly lost interest. Meanwhile, the bands I had been listening to all my life still gave me the same kick they did when I first heard them, so it was a very natural progression.
After winning acclaim through a regional battle of the bands contest, Hammerfall ignited the Power Metal movement with their successful Glory to the Brave album in 1997. They gleefully embraced the cornball stage postures along with the classic riffs of a herald metal era much as campy greasers Sha Na Na recreated Fifties rock n roll with a weekly television series during the Seventies. I am extremely proud to have been a part of bringing back the music I have loved for over 20 years, says Dronjak. The climate is great for extreme bands, right alongside the reunions and newcomers of melodic Metal music.
After languishing for years, old bands Omen, Agent Steel and Attacker returned with new albums and lauded appearances at Heavy Metal festivals. Long Island swordsmen Virgin Steele also thrived in the new environment, producing keyboard laden epic albums throughout the Nineties based on classic tales of mortals and gods. Warlord briefly reformed with the addition of Hammerfall singer Joachim Cans when their song Child of the Damned was featured on Glory to the Brave and earned them a new following. The floodgates had opened, and a new audience of teens united with its elders to worship at the altar of Power Metal.
For Manowar in particular, perseverance brought staggering international success that allowed them to heap scorn on any band that ever strayed from the well oiled musculature of axe wielding Power Metal. The return to form was sweet revenge for bands stalled or derailed by the mid Eighties onslaught of Thrash Metal. That doesnt sound strange to me, says Gus G., especially when you realize that bands like the Hives, who are just a cheap Sixties clone, can sell millions of albums.
Though Nu metal still ruled the record charts during the late Nineties and Black Metal reined in the underground, scads of bands formed under the positive message of Power Metal. The world was suddenly rife with bands like Kamelot and the intricate Italian group Labyrinth. After playing quirky pop during its early years, Finnish act Tricky Means converted to Power Metal and found success under the name Sonata Arctica. A Power Metal bandwagon had begun to form.
There were suddenly so many Power Metal bands that Europe didnt seem big enough for all of them. The elite acts frequently exchanged members, an act fostered either by the hard years they weathered together or by the rigorous demands of the musicianship. Hammerfalls drummer played briefly in Stratovarius, Seven Witches guitarist Jack Frost recorded a solo album with members of Symphony X, and Rhapsody lent its drummer to Blind Guardian for a Brazilian tour.
Demand for the music soon outstripped supply. As Iced Earth and Blind Guardian amassed large followings, their members joined forces in 2000 with the super group Demons and Wizards, an overtly fantasy themed project whose debut topped the album charts across Europe and went to number one in Greece. Unexpectedly, the one off side project became one of Power Metals most successful entities. Watching from close proximity, Blind Guardian guitarist Marcus Siepen remarked, It taught me that the fans will always respect and appreciate good, honest music.
Squeaky Clean Fighting Machines
Power Metal has matured in the new millennium, the flood of new faces bringing it to places no one could have imagined it would go. Once again, its safe for headbangers to appreciate the saccharine emotions of Journey and Kansas. The layers of synthetic pleasure are indulged in so often that an over processed band like Lost Horizon makes even Europes The Final Countdown sound downright primitive. There are noticeable differences between the violent, crude lyrics of veterans like Manowar and the almost spiritual outlook of newcomers like Rhapsody. Where the emphasis was once on the clashing of blood, fire and steel, bands now champions abstract virtues like honor, pride and bravery.
Whats more, after perfecting their talents for years and even decades, the players have elevated their skill sets to a ridiculous level, and only virtuosos need apply. A portion of Heavy Metal fans will always be dedicated to guitar heroes and fancy scales, and Power Metal often bridges the gap between instrumental shred records and regular bands.
Were trying to bring the guitar solo back, says Nevermores Jeff Loomis. Its just such a great thing to listen to old Iron Maiden. Those riffs and solos that Adrian Smith and Dave Murray would play were just so cool. Thats lacking nowadays, were trying to bring that back.
Not surprisingly, neoclassical guitarist Yngwie J. Malmsteen remains a powerful icon, revered as much for his albums with soaring singers like Jeff Scott Soto and Joe Lynn Turner as for his uber Blackmore mastery of the Fender Stratocaster. Malmsteens complicated melodic Metal is the guiding light for all European Power Metal, while the revolving door nature of his ensembles provides an invaluable training center for epic virtuoso Metal. His graduates have played with Kamelot, Axel Rudi Pells group and Stratovarius.
Though Finlands Stratovarius formed in 1979 and released its Power Metal debut in 1989, the band did not find its audience until it delivered a string of airy neoclassical albums in the late Nineties. The results barely resemble Heavy metal, except that no other musical tradition could have bred the clinical guitars, rushing keyboards and operatic vocals. Likewise, New Jerseys Symphony X pushes the definition of Power Metal into the nether reaches of pompous perfection.
Although Power Metal covers depict heroes slaying demons and Black Metal covers depict the opposite, the styles share several traits: epic themes, lavish use of keyboards and classical influences. The cackling and corrosive carnival music of Dimmu Borgir and Old Mans Child is anything but heroic, but they are the mirror image of Power Metal from the flipside of the looking glass.
One of the most complex and advanced Power Metal bands, Nevermore, shares many ties with extreme Metal bands and toured with Norways Black Metal band Dimmu Borgir in 2003. We gained a lot of new fans, but we had some bad nights, says guitarist Jeff Loomis. A couple of nights there were people in the front row flipping us off. Hey, thats something you have to deal with. The cool thing about the tour was the diversity, being able to see a bunch of different styles. I swear to God, most of the shows I go to nowadays there are five or sic Death Metal bands in a row, and it tends to get a little bit boring.
Its important to remember that, when Heavy Metal grew too ugly, many Power Metal players sought refuge in prog rock. The highly toured progressive act Dream Theater rewards the Metal tendencies of its obsessive fan base whenever possible. In 2002, the band performed complete live renditions of Metallicas Master of Puppets and Iron Maidens The Number of the Beast, stopping note for note homage only briefly to add jazz cadences to Maidens Gangland.
Malmsteen and Dream Theater have each covered Kansas Carry on Wayward Son. Embracing an even more alien influence, Finlands female fronted Nightwish offers the first Metal cover of a Broadway show tune via their faithful rendition of Andrew Lloyed Webbers Phantom of the Opera. Curiously, the band does not consider the tag Broadway Metal to be negative it embraces the drama and artifice of musical theater in a way that would probably cause a well seasoned Metal merchant like Motorheads Lemmy to eat his warts. Now signed to savvy Roadrunner Records the label behind Deicide, Slipknot and Fear Factory, Nightwish hope to translate their bizarre crossover appeal into unprecedented success for Power Metal.
The burden rides on the shoulders of the frontrunners to take this scene to a higher level. Players like Rhapsodys Luca Turilli take virtuosity out of the instrumental ghetto and let it shine in a conceptual wonderland of fairies and trolls. The undisputed king of hyperbole, the Italian band describes its over the top breed of fantasy music as Hollywood Metal for its use of massive sweeping soundtrack influences. The name owes nothing to the Sunset Strip and its Motley Crue offspring and everything to the mountainous film scores of pop classics like Lord of the Rings composer Howard Shore.
Heavy Metal needs to be noisy, abrasive and rebellious, but theres no disputing the appeal of a good clean hero. There should be ample room for the bare chested romantic heroes of Power Metal to plant their pennants on the Heavy Metal battlefield. Even the loudest, most untamed form of music ever created needs its knights in shinning armor. Now in 2004, the titans of Power Metal are joined by scores of newcomers, including Dragonland, Symphorce, Twilightning, Twisted Tower Dire, Firewind, Widow, Lord Weird Slough Feg, Wolf, Paragon and Power Quest, to name a few.
Outside the box, the popularity of Power Metal has made pompous harmonies safe for short haired metalcore screamers like Lamb of God, Avenged Sevenfold and Unearth. The ironic fashion statement made by classic Heavy Metal t shirts has crossed over to the music. In between shrieking fits and Slayer riffs, even the harshest bands are attempting the fast duel lead guitars that are the trademark of Power Metal. Buz McGrath of Unearth professes his love for Power Metal while proclaiming, It hasnt influenced my music yet. Yet, as independent major labels pad their rosters with Power Metal players, there is a disturbing aura of sameness in the purple airbrushed album covers. After all the proclamations and delusions of grandeur, the days of pizzicato arpeggios may be numbered if the music entirely loses touch with its dirty metal roots. After all, Lord of the Rings has run its three ring course in theaters, replaced by the election year realities of Fahrenheit 911.
Likewise, this past year, the prog science of Dillinger Escape Plan and Meshuggah countered the pure fantasy of Power Metal.
Rest assured, however, the fans are not worried. Even when the next style replaces this form of Metal, the loyal fanbase will stay, says Blind Guardians Marcus Siepen. I am not afraid of any next wave of music, as there always will be loyal fans for traditional Metal.
Having tested the waters, Power Metal heroes are lining up their tours, videos and new albums for a direct attack on fortress America. The battle is far from over. Last year touring America with Dio was tremendous, says Hammerfalls Anders, but we need to follow that up. The last couple of years have been very good for us, and Id like to be able to continue doing what we do for a very long time.
Galloping hard amid the success of Lord of the Rings, the majestic warriors of Power Metal are reviving the age of Heavy Metal heroes. Even as the atonal actors in Slipknot rack up millions of sales with their jigsaw aggression, a proficient breed of ultra - traditional metal bands, including Rhapsody, Manowar and Hammerfall, advances with its arsenal of wizardly guitar solos, powerful battlefield drums and soaring eagle like vocals. After biding their time with a loyal legion of followers in Europe for the past decade, they returned to claim their metal crown in the States.
Forget about metals raucous heathen nature and its reputation as the devils music, this traditional and escapist strain of metal offers heroic tales of good versus evil, played with a virtuosity developed during years spent watching from the sidelines. Today, as even the more deathly likes of Arch Enemy, Dimmu Borgir, and Children of Bodom borrow traditional tricks, Power Metal paladins come to wipe the battlefield clean of the unwashed and tattooed orcs of Death Metal, metalcore, and in particular, Nu -metal.
Its all about escapism, says Scott Waldrop, guitarist for Twisted Tower Dire. Its the antithesis of bands like R.E.M. or Pearl Jam. For me, Power Metal, or traditional Metal, is like a soundtrack for slaying the singer of Creed. Its the perverse pleasure of doing something highly unpopular and antisocial that makes it cool.
As the simplicity of Motorhead and AC/DC rapidly evolved into the convoluted weirdness of Napalm Death and Morbid Angel, many of Metals basic precepts were thrown by the wayside. The fans who supported the American invasion of British bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest grew up and, like Puff the Magic Dragon, discarded the cheesy remnants of metals early years, the whole steaming cauldron of concept albums, banshee vocals, medieval costumes, neoclassical guitar solos and lyrics lifted from JRR Tolkien.
In Power Metal, the traditional spirit is reborn, sometimes slavishly. We dont do anything thats different, boasts Dream Evils Gus G. We just do what they did 20 years ago. The point is that were damn good at making great Eighties Metal songs, and the majority of our songs stick in your head after one listen. Today from Rome to Tokyo, Power Metal players have picked up the pieces and begun an ambitious assault that, Dream Evil to the contrary, is not entirely a retro assault. Many of the players in Nevermore, Hammerfall and Arch Enemy are skilled stylists who turned their backs on Death Metal after cutting their teeth in bands like Monstrosity, In Flames and Carcass. Instead of obsessing over death and Armageddon, the Power Metal crowd uses the epic story telling tradition of Metal to tell tales of honor and victory.
Meanwhile, the grandfathers of Power Metal bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Dio are back on the scene after years of career turmoil. Yet, the reborn Power Metal movement attracts not only a crowd of aging headbangers lusting for nostalgic glories, but also new fans who are bringing battle axes and crown back into fashion.
The scene has also spawned extreme bands in its own way. Looking more like romance novel heroes than headbangers, bands like Lost Horizon and Stratovarius preach self admiration and love of a higher power, while Finlands Nightwish expands the Power Metal repertoire by covering Broadway show tunes. Detractors dismiss the siren vocals and overblown guitar heroics as perfume metal or powder metal, but its adherents defend the faith fervently. And they do so with good reason. The playing is often times impeccable, the dedication is disarming and the stories of King Arthur, Middle Earth and Siegfried the Dragonslayer are timeless. POWER METAL RETURNS HEAVY METAL TO ITS CORE VALUES, bringing simplicity to a sound perpetually in danger of descending into noisy overkill. The horsemen of Power Metal have arrived, restoring hope to those who suffered Korn as an unthinkable glitch in the space time continuum.
Early Years: The Rise and fall of Power
When Heavy Metal was still in its formative stage, early Seventies heard rockers like Deep purple, Rainbow, Uriah Heep and Wishbone Ash were winding fantasy oriented imagery through their albums. We gave them fantasy for two hours, a chance to escape, says Ronnie James Dio, who, as the highly emotive singer of Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and later Dio, brought fantasy concepts to Metal. We thought it was important, and especially today it would be important because theres so much brutality in the world. The first true Power Metal appeared as Heavy Metal came into its own during the Eighties. Uptempo Metal standards such as Iron Maidens Where Eagles Dare and Judas Priests Sreaming for Vengeance spawned more extreme anthems like Anvils Forged in Fire and Accepts Fast as a Shark. These songs redefined Metal with double bass drums, saw toothed guitar tones and piercing screams that reinforced and buttressed the sound. Suddenly, Heavy Metal was more than the blues based Hard Rock of AC/Dc or Def Leppard. And then so the term Power Metal was born.
As heavier European Metal acts took over America, bands began to emulate their louder and often loftier aspirations. Warlord were one shining example. The California band was so self possessed that it celebrated its debut with a full length home video, where the group celebrated without distinction the influences of UFO, Scorpions, Paganini, and Bach. Along with Manowar, Jag Panzer, Helstar, Liege Lord, Virgin Steele, Attacker and Warlord took the classy traits of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest to the next level, and they expected to be the next wave of greatness.
Unfortunately just as Power Metal came into its prime in 1985, Thrash Metal rudely swept upward in the form of Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. Bands like Armored Saint and Manowar were scooted to the sidelines, along with their armory of leather stage armor and silver swords. Thrash masterpieces like Master of Puppets by Metallica and Reign in Blood by Slayer grabbed audiences by the throat with realism and gore, and crowds soon lost their taste for dragons and sorcery.
Bu the close of the Eighties, the moment for Power Metal seemed to have passed. Even Dio and Judas Priest were feeling the crunch, as they downsized their once epic stage show. Pity a band like San Antonios Slayer, who lost not only their audience but also their name to their evil Los Angeles counterparts. To most Metal fans, the challenges of Middle Earth seemed remote compared to lyrics about homelessness, environmental problems and nuclear war. Major label bands like Raven, Manowar, Savatage, Sanctuary, Saxon, and Helloween had the worst of it. Pressured by their labels to write radio friendly hits, they watched as indie label thrashers grabbed all the glory.
It was really a big thing for all of us, says guitarist Jeff Loomis, who joined Sanctuary in 1991. I remember sitting down writing songs for our new album, and one of the guys was bringing us all these ideas that were obviously influenced by grunge. That was when we knew Sanctuary was over. In different ways, the lords of Power Metal put their plans for the future into action. Manowar dug in deep and became a unique barbarian presence unwilling to lay down its weapons. Savatage, Queensryche and Fates Warning sought refuge in the conceptual stratosphere. Their music became more heady, mature and ambitious, cultivating an older audience that valued musicianship over teenage revolt. Though Queensryche found huge success with its high concept Operation Mindcrime, the bands roots as a black leather wearing Power Metal outfit remained buried in the Eighties. They understood their future lay in the strength of their musical ideas, not in the moshpit.
Hellowen adapted by playing Maiden style metal at Metallica like speeds. As Helloween/Gamma Ray guitarist Kai Hansen told metal-rules.com, A lot of bands in America are just following trends, and a lot of people who make music in America dont just make music for the sake of making music, they do it to get famous, to get rich, to be somebody. I think thats not the point about making music. You have to do it because you love to do it. You have to be somebody first as a person and then comes the second part.
Rebirth in Rheinland
While Metallica, Faith No More, Nirvana and Pantera took over America at the dawn of the Nineties, Power Metal found refuge in the castle ruins of Europe. Although continental audiences clamored for Megadeth and Sepultura, they never stopped supporting the classics. Forgotten in America, the German Power Metal bands Running Wild, Rage, Helloween, Grave Digger, Accept, and Gamma Ray refined a high speed but ultramelodic and clean style.
That period produced some great albums, notes Hammerfalls Oscar Dronja, citing as examples Helloweens Master of the Rings and Time of the Oath, Gamma Rays Land of the Free, Accepts Predator, and Manowars Louder than Hell. Unfortunately they were unnoticed by most people since the bands were regarded as remnants of a time passed.
The call to arms was heard, however, bringing a fresh wave of reinforcements, including Indianas Iced Earth and Germanys Blind Guardian. They adapted the commandments of classic Heavy Metal to the increased speed and heaviness demanded in a metal world gone berserk.
In 1994, from the ashes of Sanctuary rose Nevermore, a reinvented Power Metal band whose members filtered through Cannibal Corpse and Testament during the Nineties. People compared us to Death Metal, because the music is very intense, says guitarist Jeff Loomis. But I still think thats the best way to do Metal. By the mid Nineties, the sleeping giant of Power Metal had reawakened. Nirvana and Faith No More were gone and Metallica had cut their hair. Looking for purity and honesty in a landscape dominated by flawed heroes, European fans joined the battle cry. When we first went to Europe I was floored, says Loomis. Kids were still walking around in denim jackets with Iron Maiden patches, drinking tall cans of strong beer. It was like walking into a time warp, the tradition was so strong.
New German bands like Edguy and Primal Fear understood something others had forgotten: galloping old school Heavy Metal, with its Dungeons and Dragons themes was still a lot of fun.
I THINK AMERICA JUST EATS WHAT MTV FEEDS THEM, and the rest remains underground, says Gus G. A lot of people dont know about this music at all.
An American counterpart, Scott Waldrop of Virginias Twisted Tower Dire doesnt take exception to this assessment at all. Most American kids are complacent with main stream media spoon feeding them. Lots of would be fans think Headbangers Ball is the be all end all of sources for heavy music. The Europeans, by their culture, are more inclined to seek out underground music and support it.
With Power Metal spreading slowly in the underground, Hammerfall raised the stakes by proving that ultratraditional Metal was not exclusively for old geezers from the Eighties. I never liked the rhythm and aggression based music of Pantera or Machine Head, says Hammerfalls Oscar Dronjak. So when everyone and their aunt wanted to look and sound like them, I stayed away from that and concentrated on doing what I love best. Hammerfall formed in Sweden during the mid Nineties, comprising members of melodic Death Metal acts In Flames, Ceremonial Oath and Dark Tranquility. The group abandoned grunts and grindcore to play traditional Metal. I had stopped listening to new Death Metal at that point, says Dronjak. I wasnt impressed by anything that came out and quickly lost interest. Meanwhile, the bands I had been listening to all my life still gave me the same kick they did when I first heard them, so it was a very natural progression.
After winning acclaim through a regional battle of the bands contest, Hammerfall ignited the Power Metal movement with their successful Glory to the Brave album in 1997. They gleefully embraced the cornball stage postures along with the classic riffs of a herald metal era much as campy greasers Sha Na Na recreated Fifties rock n roll with a weekly television series during the Seventies. I am extremely proud to have been a part of bringing back the music I have loved for over 20 years, says Dronjak. The climate is great for extreme bands, right alongside the reunions and newcomers of melodic Metal music.
After languishing for years, old bands Omen, Agent Steel and Attacker returned with new albums and lauded appearances at Heavy Metal festivals. Long Island swordsmen Virgin Steele also thrived in the new environment, producing keyboard laden epic albums throughout the Nineties based on classic tales of mortals and gods. Warlord briefly reformed with the addition of Hammerfall singer Joachim Cans when their song Child of the Damned was featured on Glory to the Brave and earned them a new following. The floodgates had opened, and a new audience of teens united with its elders to worship at the altar of Power Metal.
For Manowar in particular, perseverance brought staggering international success that allowed them to heap scorn on any band that ever strayed from the well oiled musculature of axe wielding Power Metal. The return to form was sweet revenge for bands stalled or derailed by the mid Eighties onslaught of Thrash Metal. That doesnt sound strange to me, says Gus G., especially when you realize that bands like the Hives, who are just a cheap Sixties clone, can sell millions of albums.
Though Nu metal still ruled the record charts during the late Nineties and Black Metal reined in the underground, scads of bands formed under the positive message of Power Metal. The world was suddenly rife with bands like Kamelot and the intricate Italian group Labyrinth. After playing quirky pop during its early years, Finnish act Tricky Means converted to Power Metal and found success under the name Sonata Arctica. A Power Metal bandwagon had begun to form.
There were suddenly so many Power Metal bands that Europe didnt seem big enough for all of them. The elite acts frequently exchanged members, an act fostered either by the hard years they weathered together or by the rigorous demands of the musicianship. Hammerfalls drummer played briefly in Stratovarius, Seven Witches guitarist Jack Frost recorded a solo album with members of Symphony X, and Rhapsody lent its drummer to Blind Guardian for a Brazilian tour.
Demand for the music soon outstripped supply. As Iced Earth and Blind Guardian amassed large followings, their members joined forces in 2000 with the super group Demons and Wizards, an overtly fantasy themed project whose debut topped the album charts across Europe and went to number one in Greece. Unexpectedly, the one off side project became one of Power Metals most successful entities. Watching from close proximity, Blind Guardian guitarist Marcus Siepen remarked, It taught me that the fans will always respect and appreciate good, honest music.
Squeaky Clean Fighting Machines
Power Metal has matured in the new millennium, the flood of new faces bringing it to places no one could have imagined it would go. Once again, its safe for headbangers to appreciate the saccharine emotions of Journey and Kansas. The layers of synthetic pleasure are indulged in so often that an over processed band like Lost Horizon makes even Europes The Final Countdown sound downright primitive. There are noticeable differences between the violent, crude lyrics of veterans like Manowar and the almost spiritual outlook of newcomers like Rhapsody. Where the emphasis was once on the clashing of blood, fire and steel, bands now champions abstract virtues like honor, pride and bravery.
Whats more, after perfecting their talents for years and even decades, the players have elevated their skill sets to a ridiculous level, and only virtuosos need apply. A portion of Heavy Metal fans will always be dedicated to guitar heroes and fancy scales, and Power Metal often bridges the gap between instrumental shred records and regular bands.
Were trying to bring the guitar solo back, says Nevermores Jeff Loomis. Its just such a great thing to listen to old Iron Maiden. Those riffs and solos that Adrian Smith and Dave Murray would play were just so cool. Thats lacking nowadays, were trying to bring that back.
Not surprisingly, neoclassical guitarist Yngwie J. Malmsteen remains a powerful icon, revered as much for his albums with soaring singers like Jeff Scott Soto and Joe Lynn Turner as for his uber Blackmore mastery of the Fender Stratocaster. Malmsteens complicated melodic Metal is the guiding light for all European Power Metal, while the revolving door nature of his ensembles provides an invaluable training center for epic virtuoso Metal. His graduates have played with Kamelot, Axel Rudi Pells group and Stratovarius.
Though Finlands Stratovarius formed in 1979 and released its Power Metal debut in 1989, the band did not find its audience until it delivered a string of airy neoclassical albums in the late Nineties. The results barely resemble Heavy metal, except that no other musical tradition could have bred the clinical guitars, rushing keyboards and operatic vocals. Likewise, New Jerseys Symphony X pushes the definition of Power Metal into the nether reaches of pompous perfection.
Although Power Metal covers depict heroes slaying demons and Black Metal covers depict the opposite, the styles share several traits: epic themes, lavish use of keyboards and classical influences. The cackling and corrosive carnival music of Dimmu Borgir and Old Mans Child is anything but heroic, but they are the mirror image of Power Metal from the flipside of the looking glass.
One of the most complex and advanced Power Metal bands, Nevermore, shares many ties with extreme Metal bands and toured with Norways Black Metal band Dimmu Borgir in 2003. We gained a lot of new fans, but we had some bad nights, says guitarist Jeff Loomis. A couple of nights there were people in the front row flipping us off. Hey, thats something you have to deal with. The cool thing about the tour was the diversity, being able to see a bunch of different styles. I swear to God, most of the shows I go to nowadays there are five or sic Death Metal bands in a row, and it tends to get a little bit boring.
Its important to remember that, when Heavy Metal grew too ugly, many Power Metal players sought refuge in prog rock. The highly toured progressive act Dream Theater rewards the Metal tendencies of its obsessive fan base whenever possible. In 2002, the band performed complete live renditions of Metallicas Master of Puppets and Iron Maidens The Number of the Beast, stopping note for note homage only briefly to add jazz cadences to Maidens Gangland.
Malmsteen and Dream Theater have each covered Kansas Carry on Wayward Son. Embracing an even more alien influence, Finlands female fronted Nightwish offers the first Metal cover of a Broadway show tune via their faithful rendition of Andrew Lloyed Webbers Phantom of the Opera. Curiously, the band does not consider the tag Broadway Metal to be negative it embraces the drama and artifice of musical theater in a way that would probably cause a well seasoned Metal merchant like Motorheads Lemmy to eat his warts. Now signed to savvy Roadrunner Records the label behind Deicide, Slipknot and Fear Factory, Nightwish hope to translate their bizarre crossover appeal into unprecedented success for Power Metal.
The burden rides on the shoulders of the frontrunners to take this scene to a higher level. Players like Rhapsodys Luca Turilli take virtuosity out of the instrumental ghetto and let it shine in a conceptual wonderland of fairies and trolls. The undisputed king of hyperbole, the Italian band describes its over the top breed of fantasy music as Hollywood Metal for its use of massive sweeping soundtrack influences. The name owes nothing to the Sunset Strip and its Motley Crue offspring and everything to the mountainous film scores of pop classics like Lord of the Rings composer Howard Shore.
Heavy Metal needs to be noisy, abrasive and rebellious, but theres no disputing the appeal of a good clean hero. There should be ample room for the bare chested romantic heroes of Power Metal to plant their pennants on the Heavy Metal battlefield. Even the loudest, most untamed form of music ever created needs its knights in shinning armor. Now in 2004, the titans of Power Metal are joined by scores of newcomers, including Dragonland, Symphorce, Twilightning, Twisted Tower Dire, Firewind, Widow, Lord Weird Slough Feg, Wolf, Paragon and Power Quest, to name a few.
Outside the box, the popularity of Power Metal has made pompous harmonies safe for short haired metalcore screamers like Lamb of God, Avenged Sevenfold and Unearth. The ironic fashion statement made by classic Heavy Metal t shirts has crossed over to the music. In between shrieking fits and Slayer riffs, even the harshest bands are attempting the fast duel lead guitars that are the trademark of Power Metal. Buz McGrath of Unearth professes his love for Power Metal while proclaiming, It hasnt influenced my music yet. Yet, as independent major labels pad their rosters with Power Metal players, there is a disturbing aura of sameness in the purple airbrushed album covers. After all the proclamations and delusions of grandeur, the days of pizzicato arpeggios may be numbered if the music entirely loses touch with its dirty metal roots. After all, Lord of the Rings has run its three ring course in theaters, replaced by the election year realities of Fahrenheit 911.
Likewise, this past year, the prog science of Dillinger Escape Plan and Meshuggah countered the pure fantasy of Power Metal.
Rest assured, however, the fans are not worried. Even when the next style replaces this form of Metal, the loyal fanbase will stay, says Blind Guardians Marcus Siepen. I am not afraid of any next wave of music, as there always will be loyal fans for traditional Metal.
Having tested the waters, Power Metal heroes are lining up their tours, videos and new albums for a direct attack on fortress America. The battle is far from over. Last year touring America with Dio was tremendous, says Hammerfalls Anders, but we need to follow that up. The last couple of years have been very good for us, and Id like to be able to continue doing what we do for a very long time.
Tonberry
Cutthroat Crusader
Christ, that was some reading!
Now in 2004, the titans of Power Metal are joined by scores of newcomers, including Dragonland, Symphorce, Twilightning, Twisted Tower Dire, Firewind, Widow, Lord Weird Slough Feg, Wolf, Paragon and Power Quest, to name a few.
Enjoyed that bit thou!
Now in 2004, the titans of Power Metal are joined by scores of newcomers, including Dragonland, Symphorce, Twilightning, Twisted Tower Dire, Firewind, Widow, Lord Weird Slough Feg, Wolf, Paragon and Power Quest, to name a few.
Enjoyed that bit thou!
