Your First Power Metal album

snooloui wrote:

My first power metal album would've been: Sonata Arctica - Ecliptica when I was just getting into music a few years ago.

that was my third!!!

TAnytime genre labels are used it can get confusing. But for me (the way I define things) it would be: Helloween--Walls of Jericho (although I remember it being also referred to as speed metal back then).

But I think you need to look at it as things are defined today. I would call Warrior and Savatage "heavy metal" or "straight up metal". But then again on Flotsam and Jetsam referred to their music as "power metal" on Doomsday for the Deceiver. There was a compliation LP in the early to mid-80's that had Running Wild and Helloween (and a couple of other bands) that was titled "Death Metal". Neither of those labels apply today--but that's what made that era so awesome. Metal was going in many directions.

Metal Church-s/t
Savatage-The Dungeons Are Calling
Queensryche- The Warning

To fit with the classic definition of power metal, my first (which I got around the same time as Keeper Pt.2) would be:



If King Diamond fits the definition, then even before that I got:

My first was:
OMEN - The Curse
HELLOWEEN - EP

Still love those and a lot of other Power Metal from that period.

DallasBlack wrote:

If King Diamond fits the definition

lol, no way.

DallasBlack wrote:

Helloween-Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt. 2 was my very first and much more would follow. I

That was the first one I bought, too.

I think the first Euro power metal album I owned was "Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I". First of any type of power metal was probably Metal Church's "The Dark".

mc666 wrote:

DallasBlack wrote:

If King Diamond fits the definition

lol, no way.

The classic definition, not the Euro/modern definition.

Helloween Keeper of the Seven Keys I (and II)

REAL power metal: Metal Church - s/t

Today's power metal: Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys part I

Metal Church defines real power metal.

Dark Horseman wrote:

Metal Church defines real power metal.

Classic power metal: Vicious Rumors - Welcome to the Ball

Modern power metal: Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part 2

Manowar..Battle Hymns

If Powerslave is considered PM, then that. If not, then either Kings of Metal or Glory to the Brave by Hammerfall.

It was the latter that got me hooked on PM for a while. I had fun with it, but it definitely got boring very quickly. I will still listen to a few of my faves from back then on occassion...but I rarely ever hear anything new, either a new band or a new album from an old band, that interests me enough to do more than listen to samples on Amazon, if that.

This is a tough one, as I don't really remember. If I had to take a stab at it, it would be one of the following three (but it could have been another album entirely):

Angra - Holy Land
Narnia - Awakening
Hammerfall - Legacy of Kings

If the Armored Saint EP is considered American Power Metal........... That one.


If not, then, Savatage Hall Of The Mountain King

Armored Saint definitely qualifies. Great stuff too.

It is interesting to see how bands at various times are variously defined as thrash, power or even black metal. Equally, it is interesting that the same bands which back in the 80s may have been defined as black metal are now seen upon as either power metal or thrash metal or something in between.

For me this sends a pretty clear message - those type of bands have withstood the test of time and do not cater to any specific sub-genre of metal music that may be the buzz of the day.

Take a band like Armored Saint - when I first heard them on March of the Saint I instantly thought they were power metal. Several albums I felt they were closer to thrash, but none of those labels really stuck. Ultimately by the time Revelations was released I saw them simply as a good heavy metal band.

It also questions the relevancy of genres. Genres as a whole serve as a method of categorization obviously but because they are created or rather coined by the media they cannot form a full proof representation of the style and artistry of a band.

Categorizing bands in genres serves a practical purpose because through a conglomeration of similar musical traits you can generally predict what a band may sound like and whether or not your tastes are compatible with that band's overall presentation. I don't propose that genres offer an indefeasible method of foretelling a band's style or predicting how you will react to that band's sound but they (genres) nevertheless act as a filing and as much as filtering mechanism for your brain. Depending on how 'open minded' you are, it prompts you to discard what you deem as undesirable to you.

For example, I cannot stand gore metal or grind gore. I don't understand the artistic value behind it - I can be very open minded when it comes to music but in this instance I admit that I cannot connect with this type of artistic representation. I find their imagery of live decomposed organs or some real dead person on the album cover repulsive, sickening and I simply do not want to have anything to do with those bands or have any of their releases in my collection. Musically the little I heard of grind sounds like just pure noise to me. Again, I probably do not get it but that is my way of dealing with genres, and how I filter these type of bands. Normally the name and band's album covers are an instant give away. In this way, though seemingly unfair, I can predict whether the band will be something I will like.

At the same time I also use genres as a way of filing my music. In this sense I use genres very loosely. So in my itunes I may have several bands defined as prog-rock or prog-metal. These bands may not necessarily be perceived as such by others, it is simply how I feel towards those bands and their sound. It is also a way for me to find other similar bands and group them together.

I'm with you on the imagery of grind (though I do like the occasional grind band). I would be willing to have digital copies of them, but I want nothing to do with most of their album covers (same thing with the satanic bands). Lyrics aren't much of a problem as you can barely hear what they're saying.

DallasBlack wrote:

I'm with you on the imagery of grind (though I do like the occasional grind band). I would be willing to have digital copies of them, but I want nothing to do with most of their album covers (same thing with the satanic bands). Lyrics aren't much of a problem as you can barely hear what they're saying.

I should say there are some 'gore' exceptions - for example, I don't generally mind Cannibal Corpse. Some of their newer album covers don't look so bad but generally speaking it is like a gore comic book. The gore I detest is the real life stuff. I am not sure (nor do I want to know) where those images are taken from but I cannot look at them. This reminds, several years ago I went to see Carcass live. Now I like Carcass' last 3 albums quite a lot and at the time of seeing them live I was only remotely familiar with their first two albums (I knew they were more gore grind inspired but didn't really know how much of a part they played in the band's live set). In any case, they had a massive projection screen behind the stage which showed the most grotesque images I had ever seen. Those images were also played during songs from Heartwork.

How should I describe those videos - I mean they were videos of doctors performing autopsies on real corpses. They were cutting them open and showing all sorts of stuff inside.

I couldn't even watch the band half the time, and most other people around me were the same. Most kept covering their eyes or trying to block the screen with their hands and just see the band play. I thought this was in very poor taste and kinda ruined the experience for me a bit, even so the band sounded great live.

With Satanic lyrics, basically anything like Deicide I cannot stand. I don't see that stuff as an affront to religion. It is not social commentary against the ills of religion it is just simply mocking God and Jesus which I don't agree with. Anything like that has no place in my collection.

S.D. wrote:

The genre tends to be bombastic in all the ways that annoy me to the point of insanity, so generally I avoid it like the plague now.

At one point I owned the Keepers records, but those albums are almost a textbook example of the elements that annoy me the most.

Yo! Why does it annoy you? I could not think of anything annoying about those albums, and is power metal a genre you really listen to a lot?

For me my first power metal albums were, Dawn of Victory and Keepers I'd say, also Running Wild Port Royal? If it counts?

RiseAndFall wrote:

S.D. wrote:

The genre tends to be bombastic in all the ways that annoy me to the point of insanity, so generally I avoid it like the plague now.

At one point I owned the Keepers records, but those albums are almost a textbook example of the elements that annoy me the most.

Yo! Why does it annoy you? I could not think of anything annoying about those albums, and is power metal a genre you really listen to a lot?

For me my first power metal albums were, Dawn of Victory and Keepers I'd say, also Running Wild Port Royal? If it counts?

I consider Helloween's Keepers Pt 1 & 2 to be the blue-print of european power metal. Those albums directly influenced the entire post-80s power metal movement. They weren't the only ones of course, Running Wild, Grave Digger, Rage, Virgin Steele, Manowar, early Crimson Glory, early Queensryche, 80s Fates Warning, Savatage all had a hand to play but Helloween seem to bring together all the elements of speed, melody combined with a bombastic epic vibe.

As I see it no Helloween = no Power Metal

I don't know, Helloween to me sounded like Iron Maiden without any restraint. Everything is just a bit "too much".

They most definitely had talent, I just don't get any enjoyment from that style of bombast any more.