The evolution of (European) power metal over the years (ca. 1990 - today)

[Cronopio]

Ok, so I'm going to try to be serious for once. It would be nice to have your opinion on how power metal has evolved over the years, in particular European power metal. By that I do not strictly mean power metal from Europe, but of the European kind. I'm talking double bass drums, high pitched vocals, anthemic choruses and all that jazz. Aside from some South American countries (most notably Brazil) that variety of PM was usually a strictly European affair back in the days.

I've identified three time periods when EPM had its heyday. They are as follows:

1986-1992-ish.
The first wave. Bands like Helloween, Gamma Ray, the first trembling steps of giants like Stratovarius, Angra etc.

1997-2003-ish.
The resurgence after the time period when it was all about grunge and nu-metal. Bands like Hammerfall, Edguy, Sonata Arctica and a shitload of Italian bands were responsible for the rebirth of EPM.

Today
Yeah, I know that's a stupid and not very exact time period, but let's use the previously mentioned timespans as references to the power metal of today.

Naturally there were bands that continued to play ball-squeezearonic music even when it waned in popularity. But you get the gist.

So:

1. Are there any bands formed after, say, 2010 that are of the same caliber as those mentioned above? Will we ever have bands that are on par with the greats?
2. If so, which ones?
3. Has the trend of mixing EPM with dance music and whatnot (looking at you Battle Beast, Beast in Black and, to some extent, DragonForce) been detrimental to the genre?
4. What about bands that are all gimmick (Gloryhammer, Alestorm, Victorious, Wind Rose etc.)?
5. Are there any good PM bands that mix the catchiness of Eurocheese with "rawer" vocals and heavier riffs? If so, which ones?
6. Is the market saturated, and which labels / bands are responsible for the drop in quality?

Gimme your most ill-informed thoughts!

 

[Slammed]

Recently formed bands are always going to have the mantra of 'not being as good as the originals' and that's not genre specific, it's nostalgia.

80's thrash bands are better than today. 70's metal was the first so it was better. New bands are just copying old bands. None of those statements are necessarily wrong but it also doesn't make them accurate either.

For me, I've been listening to power metal since the 80's, (and I don't much give a fuck if it's prefixed with Euro or something else), so a newer band is always going to have to work harder to get my attention over bands like Helloween or Manowar. That's not and should never be a reflection of how good the newer band is or their potential as a band.

I used to listen to a lot of power metal, but over the years I've continually found myself going back to the classics. Not because of the bands but because I'm happy with familiar and I don't get the time to sit down with new stuff like I used to. Perhaps some of those newer albums would become classics if I had the same time to sit down with them that I did the classic, but that's not going to happen. An old band with a new album comes under the same banner, familiar, tested, happy. Does it mean I've missed out of a power metal gem somewhere along the road? Probably, but I can live with that. I can't possibly listen to every album releaased.

I used to listen to bands like Ogden Ogan, Battle Beast, Angra, Ayreon, HammerFall etc, and I liked them at the time. But as time went on I found myself less interested in their new releases and choosing them less and less when I went looking for something to listen too. There is some great music in those bands but I just don't need to own it all anymore.

I still listen to Gloryhammer and Alestorm because I love that goofy shit. I used to listen to Victorious a bit, who doesn'tlike space ninjas! But their last album didn't keep my very interested. Over all I don'tmind a gimmick, and I think any band who doesn't take themselves too seriously can be fun, but I'm not going to like every gimmick.

Every market is saturated, one look at M-A will prove that. 35,000 bands that fit into the thrash genre, 10,000 bands that fit into power, 51 000 bands that fit into black metal. But one does not have to listen to every band in a particualr genre to appreciate the genre.

 

[no country for old wainds]

sacred outcry's 'towers of gold' and ravenlaw's 'for the sign of trident crossed' are a couple of recent favourites for me, but i find even the classics pretty hit and miss as i think the genre peddled in more clichés than the average metal genre from the start. ravenlaw certainly fit into your #5 category as well.

all of those trends and gimmicky party bands are fucking lame but i don't know if shitty bastardised offshoots actually hurt genres except maybe when that sound acquires a monopoly on the genre in the way that SotS and in flames worship took over melodeath in the second half of the '90s. the entire metal market is saturated so i wouldn't say that's an EPM-specific thing either.

 

[Cronopio]

Some interesting thoughts here, thank you for sharing.

I agree that you can't really filter out the nostalgia factor and the fact that not only were the 80's and to some extent 90's bands first, music was also distributed and consumed in an entirely different way. Yeah, Metallica were among the first to "popularize" thrash, whatever the hell that means, but you also had to factor in that bands sold a shitton of records on account of the fact that internet was unheard of. Had MOP been released in 2011, it may not have flown completely under the radar, but it would not nearly have had the same impact. The same goes for any genre, obviously.

Gimmick bands are ok, provided they have good songs. What are good songs? That's for everyone to decide for themselves. It's when image is promoted at the expense of the music shit gets a pass from me.

 

[Slammed]

Gimmick bands are good for something, upsetting people. Sabaton, Alestorm, Steel Panther and Manowar, all get non fans on social media crying about them because they have a gimmick. They'll make silly excuses like "they can't play", or "they can't write songs", like their whinging actually means something to anyone but themselves.

Image over music is entirely subjetive too. A person is always going to think that is the case for a band they don't like. Look at a band like KISS, most of their detractors go on about lacking ability and poor musicianship, but millions of people still paid good money to see and appreciate they entire show from the music to the gimmick. Look at Sabaton, many claim they can't write for shit and that Joakim's schtick with the vest and the mohawk is all a joke. Yet their last Euro tour had 52 semi trailers worth of gear. That shit doesn't happen unless millions of people like what they do both musical and visually.

One band I don't often see get the gimmick BS thrown at is Powerwolf. Maybe they do and I've missed it but their stage shows and preformances are fucking massive, they play to huge audiences and their laser light shows are fantastic.

While I listen to bands like Powerwolf, Sabaton and Alestorm regularly they have been around so long now they are nearly considered nostalic bands too.

 

[Bloopy]

One of the subgenres I'm most selective with, so I don't have many answers. I basically discovered Stratovarius first, and after a handful of their albums I've almost had my fill of power. I do think it's undervalued here in NZ - I enjoy it more live but I'm lucky if there's 1 local power metal band active at a time. Main examples are House of Ousey, and Stormforge before that.

I love Battle Beast though - their combo of mixing something new into the music plus the badass vocals make them a standout. As to how they've affected the scene I have no idea.

I've enjoyed gimmick bands in other subgenres, but power metal is one of the last places I need to see them as it really doubles down on the cheese. Even ordinary bands already become quite gimmicky in concert if they repeatedly get their audience to chant and clap and whatnot. Just not my vibe. I've certainly seen the case of the band member acting like they're playing a stadium when there's 30 people in the bar, haha.