Top 10 Greatest Power Metal Albums

scottmitchell74 wrote:

1b - Timeless Miracle - Into the Enchanted Chamber - greatest one-album-wonder ever. I simply can't believe how good this is. I love every note, including interludes. I love the vocals, the melodies, the keys.

And this one now goes to my want list. Thanks. I never heard this before.

Good list. I have almost all of those, and I think especially Wuthering Heights is an underappreciated band. Far From the Madding Crowd is probably their best album. "Longing for the Woods" is awesome.

Somehow I forgot Brainstorm, that is a great album.

My shortlist of albums that didn't quite make the cut included:

Running Wild - Death or Glory
Stratovarius - Visions
Riot - Thundersteel
Manilla Road - Crystal Logic
Armored Saint - Symbol of Salvation
Gamma Ray - Land of the Free
Mystic Prophecy - Savage Souls
Angel Dust - Enlighten the Darkness

Had the same idea Lari. Some of my "honorable mentions":

Jag Panzer - The Scourge of Light

Iced Earth - The Glorious Burden

Powerwolf - Bible of the Beast

Sacred Steel - Bloodlust

Rob Rock - Holy Hell

Gilbert wrote:

Here is a monster of a song by a band that should not be ignored:

I'll see that and raise you 20!

That Bloodbound album is a MUST OWN for any power metal fan IMO. 

Urban Breed has never sounded better and all the tracks are memorable and rockin'.

In no particular order;

Theocracy - Mirror of Souls : Glad to see this make other's list here, amazing album!

Narnia - Enter the Gate : Could've went w/"The Great Fall", but think this one is a shade better.

Saxon - Lionheart : The one that got me to take a second look at Saxon, glad I did!

Savatage - Hall of the Mountain King : Hall of fame stuff right here!

Blind Guardian - A Night at the Opera : Seen as an exercise in over bloated self indulgence by some, but isn't that what power metal is all about?!

Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

King Diamond - Abigail

Crimson Glory - Transcendence

Armored Saint - Raising Fear : Beyond me how this is not everyone's favorite from this band???!!!

Symphony X - The Odyssey

candlemass wrote:

Blind Guardian - A Night at the Opera : Seen as an exercise in over bloated self indulgence by some, but isn't that what power metal is all about?!

 Boy you nailed it with that one-sentence review, at least for me.

That damn thing started the downfall of one of my favorite bands.  I loved most everything BG produced prior to ANATO and when I bought that album my only reaction was "WTF is this crap?????"

Something about ANATO that I just love. I'm a sucker for Blind Guardian, but I don't think they have a bad album. Some are better than others, of course, but their whole catalog is outstanding.

I'm a big Blind Guardian fan and that's my least favourite album by them.

scottmitchell74 wrote:

Rob Rock - Holy Hell

That is great, though I think Garden of Chaos is better. Tracks 1 - 5 is just a straight flush run of perfect songs

My list of honorable mentions would be very long.

I don't hate ANATO but it's got too much filler and BG doesn't usually do that. I actually really like ATINTM a lot though.

That Bloodbound album is the second best one Urban has been on.

Dark Horseman wrote:

I actually really like ATINTM a lot

The what?

A Twist In The Myth.

Dark Horseman wrote:

A Twist In The Myth.

Oh, I like it too. Better than anything they did after Nightfall. It still has that epic sound, but the songs are a little more grounded. It could use a couple heavy fast thrashers like on their best records, but beyond that it's real good.

tohostudios wrote:

candlemass wrote:

Blind Guardian - A Night at the Opera : Seen as an exercise in over bloated self indulgence by some, but isn't that what power metal is all about?!

 Boy you nailed it with that one-sentence review, at least for me.

That damn thing started the downfall of one of my favorite bands.  I loved most everything BG produced prior to ANATO and when I bought that album my only reaction was "WTF is this crap?????"

Hard to imagine anyone considering this album to be crap...well, save for ToB!

It was my introduction to the band and I absolutely loved it! I like a lot of the prior efforts, but not as much as this one. Twist is great as well, though I've not really dug too much what has come after.