Powermetal Essentials

Allowing for the broadest possible definition of the word (Cage -> Heavenly and anything in between) , what are your ESSENTIAL Powermetal bands.

10 Only!!

Mine:





Blind Guardian
Cage
Dark Moor
Elvenking
Ensiferum
Falconer
Masterplan
Rob Rock
Sonata Arctica
Wuthering Heights





Ugh!!! That means I left out SO many awesome bands, but that's my top-10

This is my favorite genre - so this is a toughy for me.


1. Pagan's Mind
2. Avantasia
3. Hammerfall
4. Primal Fear
5. Manowar
6. Virgin Steele
7. Heavenly
8. Secret Sphere
9. Iced Earth
10. Nightwish



but I'm leaving out SO many favorites ... so here are some honorable mentions.


Kamelot
Sonata Arctica
Metal Church
Onward
Firewind
Brainstorm
Stratovarius
Kotipelto
Rhapsody

etc. etc.

Running Wild
Crimson Glory
Labyrinth
Grave Digger
Gamma Ray
Rhapsody (early)
Keldian
Nightwish (early)
Falconer
and finally, not one band, but all the early Dio stuff that qualifies i.e. 'Kill the King', 'Neon Knights', if we're using the word essential, his place in this needs to qualify in some way and it just isn't limited to a band or album..especially since those albums were typically quite varied.

and hopefully mine own once we get an album or three out

In no particular order

Jag Panzer
Iced Earth
Iron Savior
(old) Helloween
Vicious Rumors
Brainstorm
Primal Fear
Manowar
Tad Morose
Morgana Lefay

I realize some of those are also thought of as trad heavy metal.

sure, but Manowar had some of the earliest stuff out in the genre, no contest. Too inconsistent for my liking which is why I left them out but something like 'Battle Hymn'..come on. Hugely influential in ways..

Black Coffee wrote:

I realize some of those are also thought of as trad heavy metal.

yeah, sometimes the lines are pretty blurred in these areas.

It's a pet peave of mine when people start arguing over stuff like this.

Orion Crystal Ice wrote:

sure, but Manowar had some of the earliest stuff out in the genre, no contest. Too inconsistent for my liking which is why I left them out but something like 'Battle Hymn'..come on. Hugely influential in ways..

Manowar is one of my all time faves. There isn't an album they have recorded that I don't like.

JUDAS PRIEST
IRON MAIDEN
FATES WARNING
QUEENSRYCHE
CAULDRON BORN
CRIMSON GLORY
DEADLY BLESSING
MANOWAR
METAL CHURCH
SAVATAGE

Iced Earth
Gamma Ray
Axxis
Helloween
Rage
Mystic Prophecy
Angel Dust
Blind Guardian
Nightwish

and... Savatage!

If Iron Maiden counts, I'd have to re-think the whole list, but I'm thinking NWOBHM was a totally different genre/movement altogether.

See, to me Iron Maiden and Judas Priest are sheer traditional metal.

However, if someone sees it differently than I do - who am I to say differently?

But they won't be on my list.

Fates Warning
Manilla Road
Virgin Steele
Running Wild
Early Helloween
Cloven Hoof
Savage Grace
Satan
Blind Fury
Warlord

Theocracy
Sacred Warrior
Helloween
Metal Church
Fates Warning
Firewind
Primal Fear
Brainstorm
Cage
Iced Earth
Beyond Fear

Wow, this is going to be tough one too. And undoubtly I will probably edit time and time again. But what I'm going to go with (for the time being) are my top 10 choices. Not in order.

Running Wild
Grave Digger
Rebellion
Helloween (Hansen & Kiske years)
Seventh Avenue
Axxis
Gamma Ray
Virgin Steele
Edguy/Avantasia <- same difference
Pink Cream 69 <- kinda/sorta

Quote :

9) Edguy/Avantasia <- same difference

Smart. They both, seperately, made my top-15, but couldn't make top-10. You're right, the Tobias connection makes them sort of the same difference. Amazing the creativity of that one dude.

Dave the Boss wrote:

Warlord

Temple of Blood wrote:

Dave the Boss wrote:

Warlord

Definitely! And the Cannons of Destruction have begun is one of the finest US power metal records ever imo. I hated the reunion album though.

Dave the Boss wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:

Dave the Boss wrote:

Warlord

Definitely! And the Cannons of Destruction have begun is one of the finest US power metal records ever imo. I hated the reunion album though.

Yes, "Cannons" is a real masterpiece.

I have grown to enjoy the reunion album quite a bit although I was turned off by it at first and I am still not crazy about Cans' vocals. There are some great pieces of music on there and even with Cans lackluster performances some of the songs really work (like "Winds of Thor", for example).

Today I will be listening to their 82 demo, many songs of which ended up on LORDIAN GUARD albums and that reunion album.

Temple of Blood wrote:

Dave the Boss wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:

Dave the Boss wrote:

Warlord

Definitely! And the Cannons of Destruction have begun is one of the finest US power metal records ever imo. I hated the reunion album though.

Yes, "Cannons" is a real masterpiece.

I have grown to enjoy the reunion album quite a bit although I was turned off by it at first and I am still not crazy about Cans' vocals. There are some great pieces of music on there and even with Cans lackluster performances some of the songs really work (like "Winds of Thor", for example).

Today I will be listening to their 82 demo, many songs of which ended up on LORDIAN GUARD albums and that reunion album.

Too bad they are so darn hard to find!!

I need to hunt me down some Warlord.

I don't have any in my collection.

Metal Church
Helloween
Cage
Primal Fear
Gravedigger
Blind Guardian
Iced Earth
Firewind
Iron Savior
Savatage and all the spin offs.

Oh, I left off Jag Panzer and Brainstorm and Mystic Prophecy and.........

Temple of Blood wrote:

Dave the Boss wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:

Dave the Boss wrote:

Warlord

Definitely! And the Cannons of Destruction have begun is one of the finest US power metal records ever imo. I hated the reunion album though.

Yes, "Cannons" is a real masterpiece.

I have grown to enjoy the reunion album quite a bit although I was turned off by it at first and I am still not crazy about Cans' vocals. There are some great pieces of music on there and even with Cans lackluster performances some of the songs really work (like "Winds of Thor", for example).

Today I will be listening to their 82 demo, many songs of which ended up on LORDIAN GUARD albums and that reunion album.

Maybe I should give it a spin again soon. I just can't stand Cans' singing. They ruin the whole album for me. I love the 1982 demo. It isn't as good as Deliver Us and Cannons, but then again, very few albums are. Never heard Lordian Guard though. I'm not a big fan of female vocals.

Metallic Blaze wrote:

I need to hunt me down some Warlord.

I don't have any in my collection.

Get the Best of Warlord compilation CD! It's basically everything they recorded during their original run on one CD (minus the 1982 demo though).

Dave the Boss wrote:

Quote :

Fates Warning
Manilla Road
Virgin Steele
Early Helloween
Cloven Hoof
Savage Grace
Blind Fury
Warlord

This list fascinates me. The 80's had great metal, but because of this list of yours I spent a couple hours checking these bands out on youtube (throwing in Caldron Born from ToB's list) and...I just can't get into them. Not one of them. I want to like them, but there's something about them that throws me off. It's funny how subtle differences in taste can create such different looking "essentials" lists. You'd think at least early Helloween would appeal to me, but it doesn't. I've tried over and over to like those early ones. It never happens. Go figure.

Anyhow, still a cool list, just not my thing.

I think the older stuff can be kind of unwieldy compared to the recent stuff, but it does have a certian (post NWOBHM?) charm to it too. Here are some faves, but I split eras

1. Sortilege
2. Trance
3. Tyson Dog
4. Overdrive
5. Oz

1. Tad Morose
2. Lefay
3. Morifade
4. Lion's Share
5. Rough Silk

I can't believe that I've been sucked into addressing this topic yet again! Oh well, never say never again (which is a Rough Silk song).

Manilla Road is just something I cannot get into. The vocalist sounds like Gollum, and the songs are too atmospheric. Should kick more ass for me to be interested.