Power Metal

[JayKeeley]

So what are some of the best releases I've probably never heard? Aside from the obvious "big gun" headliners (like Blind Guardian) I'm curious as to what I might have missed over the years.

I remember reading Jim once mention Running Wild's "Black Hand Inn". I've never heard it, so should I?

Euro or US style is fine. And perhaps to make it easier, if there were only 10 PM albums anyone/everyone should own, which albums would make the list?

 

[DBB]

You can't go wrong with Gamma Ray as far as I am concerned. A lot of people call them power metal, but it is straight-up heavy metal now from where I'm standing.

Having said that, if you were a power metal skeptic, I would recommend starting with the later material. Land of the Free would proabably be the safest bet out of the earlier material and is considered a masterpiece by many (I don't like this Land of the Free II nonsense though).

Powerplant, No World Order and Majestic are the later ones that I dig the hell out of.

Order is one of my favorite metal albums of all-time--period.

 

[BenMech]

Gamma Ray is what you'd listen to only AFTER a lobotomy done in a back alley in Myanmar.

 

[Occam's Razor]

Running Wild's Black Hand Inn and Masquerade - totally relentless, especially in terms of Jörg Michael's drumming.

But then again, power metal is such a wide field. I have always seen that term in connection with what others call typical US metal, such as Helstar, Vicious Rumors, Jag Panzer, Agent Steel and the next generation with Steel Prophet or Destiny's End...

not to mention all that obscure stuff with the technical edge - Slauter Xtroyes and the likes...I really dig that stuff, and the discoveries you can make in that category are endless.

 

[DBB]

Steel Prophet

There is a band I have not thought about in awhile (except a flash of momentary surprise awhile back when I found out that Bruce Hall is singing on the next album).

Dark Hallucinations is a conceptual clusterfuck, but it is their best to my ears.

Unseen seemed like a band just going through the motions and Mythiasin jumping ship along with all the bad press surrounding Beware made me shy away from that album entirely.

You (or anyone else) have anything to say about the quality of Beware?

 

[Some Bastard]

Personally I think most of it is pretty terrible and I blame Helloween. I think they invented it with their Seven Keys-nonsense. Shame, before that they were a good band.

I don't even think of it as Metal. Most of it sounds like Queen on steroids.

The worst I ever heard was Rhapsody. With music like that is it any wonder people make jokes about Metal?

 

[Farseer of the Benighted Land]

Not sure if this is considered 'power metal' or not, but check out the Michael Schenker Group (esp Assault Attack).

Also, check out the band Tyran Pace.

I love Helloween's Keeper Part One. That album had a huge influence on me when I was a young'un. And it invented this mess called Power Metal.

 

[Some Bastard]

Yeah, do check out the Michael Schenker Group, especially the first album. And while you're at it, check out his former band UFO as well. Melodic Hard Rock and not Metal at all IMO but good.

 

[Occam's Razor]

Tyran Pace was Ralph Scheepers first band.

About Steel Prophet. I stopped after Book of the Dead, so no clue about Beware. Dark is probably the best, even though the follow up had the best sound. I also like Into The Void and the debut as well as the demo. Rick is a cool singer if you ask me, and the band has never had the possibility to live up to its potential, also with Kachinsky churning out albums like mad at one time, which affected the quality (see Skyclad).

 

[Professor Black]

'Black Hand Inn' is excellent, but 'Death or Glory' is the real gem of the Running Wild catalog.

 

[erekose]

I think Gamma Ray were a good band up until Somewhere Out in Space. I can't stand the last three albums, they are just boring Priest rip-offs. I would recommend Heading For Tomorrow, Land of the Free and Somewhere Out in Space.
Other interesting bands/albums would be:
-Rage, one of the most underrated bands around. I really love everything from Trapped to Soundchaser. I think their last album wasn't as good as the previous.
-Angra, Holy Land and Temple Of Shadows are great IMHO.
-Grave Digger,Tunes Of War
-Iron Saviour first two albums Iron Saviour and Unification are great especially the 2nd one.
-Scanner, Hypertrace.

 

[DBB]

I can't stand the last three albums, they are just boring Priest rip-offs.

Bah! That is a gross mischaracterization.

What makes me smile when I hear these comments is that Gamma Ray caught some flack for paying some homage to Priest by way of some “rapid-fire” riffing in “solid.” Then there is a blatant tip of the hat to “Sabbbath Bloody Sabbath” on “My Temple,” the first song on Majestic.

Hansen rules!

 

[Professor Black]

That's one of the fun things about Gamma Ray -- the hat-tipping. There's a more subtle but equally certain tip to Mercyful Fate's "The Oath" in the title track of the new album. Of course there's "Oh Susanna" in... um, "Lost in the Future" maybe? I noticed another one recently too and now I can't recall what it was...

s/t Iron Savior is another good pick, and I agree on Scanner 'Hypertrace', which seems to have influenced Blind Guardian's development in particular. There were a few good tracks on Angel Dust's 'Bleed' album too. Not much coming to mind at the moment...

As someone already said, it depends where you place the boundaries of power metal what sorts of recommendations would apply.

 

[erekose]

Bah! That is a gross mischaracterization.

What makes me smile when I hear these comments is that Gamma Ray caught some flack for paying some homage to Priest by way of some “rapid-fire” riffing in “solid.” Then there is a blatant tip of the hat to “Sabbbath Bloody Sabbath” on “My Temple,” the first song on Majestic.

Hansen rules!

... and that horrible "manowar" song Heavy Metal Universe. For crappy songs there are enough Manowars out there.

Anyway, yes, it was a gross mischaracterization (it was intended to be), but IMO the last three albums lack of new ideas and are full of riffs I've heard from them in the past. In addition their songs are "simpler" than ever (only one riff or melody for song)... and that's not what I want from Gamma Ray, maybe you do... Just listen to LOF and SOIS to tell the difference... their songs were interesting while nowadays they're not. (I don't know if I have made my point clear, my English is not very good )

And I agree Hansen rules!

 

[erekose]

You have the Hotel California ending solo in a song from Land of the Free... Gods of Deliverance I think

That's one of the fun things about Gamma Ray -- the hat-tipping. There's a more subtle but equally certain tip to Mercyful Fate's "The Oath" in the title track of the new album. Of course there's "Oh Susanna" in... um, "Lost in the Future" maybe? I noticed another one recently too and now I can't recall what it was...

s/t Iron Savior is another good pick, and I agree on Scanner 'Hypertrace', which seems to have influenced Blind Guardian's development in particular. There were a few good tracks on Angel Dust's 'Bleed' album too. Not much coming to mind at the moment...

As someone already said, it depends where you place the boundaries of power metal what sorts of recommendations would apply.

 

[DBB]

In addition their songs are "simpler" than ever (only one riff or melody for song)... and that's not what I want from Gamma Ray, maybe you do

I don't think that is very accurate either. Maybe more true of No World Order than Powerplant and Majestic, but you hear what you hear.

I have absolutely no problem with simplicity as long as the effectiveness of a song is not affected and sometimes the simplest things can be most stirring and original. But I'm whacky like that...

 

[erekose]

I have absolutely no problem with simplicity as long as the effectiveness of a song is not affected and sometimes the simplest things can be most stirring and original. But I'm whacky like that...

Neither do I, but I couldn't find any originality in those albums. Anyway to each his own.

 

[Professor Black]

You have the Hotel California ending solo in a song from Land of the Free... Gods of Deliverance I think

That's exactly what I was trying to think of. I knew it was a song that appears on "Skeletons in the Closet" but that doesn't exactly narrow the possibilities...

 

[Professor Black]

IMO the last three albums lack of new ideas and are full of riffs I've heard from them in the past. In addition their songs are "simpler" than ever (only one riff or melody for song)... and that's not what I want from Gamma Ray, maybe you do... Just listen to LOF and SOIS to tell the difference... their songs were interesting while nowadays they're not.

I tend to agree, in particular Powerplant and NWO have a lack of fresh material. I can enjoy the albums despite this, but there's a noticeable drop in creativity following SOIS.

Hmm... I think Dirk was writing a lot more of the exotic and theatrical songs that were so enjoyable from their early/mid period ("Shine On", "Heal Me", etc.) and now his share of the songwriting falls to Henjo and Dann. Henjo tends to write a lot of the more "repeated" stuff (even "Guardians of Mankind" from SOIS), so maybe his philosophy is that while his band has used a melody before, he hasn't actually composed it, so it's ok. That said, he wrote "Fight", one of the best songs on Majestic. Dann can't write well at all compared to his bandmates, evidenced by easily the two worst songs on Majestic.

Also, they were during the PP-NWO period a more regularly-touring act, whereas it seems they worked more sporadically as a live band during the mid 1990s. So naturally their newer material will be written as more suited to a live band's performance, or even the performance of four guys in the rehearsal room. In Flames is an example of what I'm talking about here, they didn't really tour until after Whoracle, and you can hear the influence of the stage format on the material that followed. (Obviously this is not an apples to apples comparison, just a clarifying analogy.)

There's also this to be considered -- heavy metal was not very popular or very cool when they started out.

 

[ohiogrinder]

call me lame, but I never got what was so great about power metal.

1. no aggression

2. silly lyrics about wizards and dragons

3. instrument wankery

sounds like garbage to me.

to be fair, I did give Blind Guardian a chance, it just wasn't my cup of tea. can anyone recommend power metal bands that have thrash elements and aren't cheesy?