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Heavy Metal Thunder Power Metal

Genres Heavy Metal Power Metal

Power Metal

Fast, melodic and unashamedly heroic, with high clean vocals and choruses built for a crowd. The most fun metal ever lets itself have.

Active years
1985 – present
Origin
Germany / USA
Family
Power Metal
Bands here
25

Start here

Four records in order of how easy they are to get into — which is not the same as best first.

  1. Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II Helloween, 1988 The landmark

    The record that invented European power metal wholesale — Michael Kiske singing higher than seemed advisable, twin guitars playing harmonised runs, and a thirteen-minute closer about a keeper of seven keys. Utterly sincere and enormously influential.

    Listen to Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II

  2. Hall of the Mountain King Savatage, 1987

    The heavier, darker end of it. Jon Oliva writing genuine drama rather than fantasy, and Criss Oliva playing the best guitar on this list.

    Listen to Hall of the Mountain King

  3. Kings of Metal Manowar, 1988

    Utterly ridiculous and entirely sincere, which is the whole point. If you cannot enjoy this you will not enjoy power metal.

    Listen to Kings of Metal

  4. Somewhere Far Beyond Blind Guardian, 1992

    Where the layered-choir approach arrives. Hansi Kürsch multitracked forty times over, singing about Stephen King and Tolkien.

    Listen to Somewhere Far Beyond

What it sounds like

Everything is turned upwards. Double-kick drumming that gallops rather than blasts, guitars playing bright major-key harmonies, keyboards for scale, and a singer in the very top of their range holding notes for a very long time. Choruses are enormous and layered with backing vocals until they sound like a crowd, which is the point — this is music written to be sung back at the band. There is almost no aggression in it and very little darkness. The subject matter runs to dragons, battles and heroism, delivered without a trace of irony, and either that sincerity works on you immediately or the genre is never going to land.

  • Heaviness 3 out of 5
  • Speed 4 out of 5
  • Aggression 2 out of 5
  • Technicality 3 out of 5
  • Darkness 2 out of 5
  • Melody 5 out of 5

Where the name came from

A descriptive term emphasising the powerful, anthemic, larger-than-life character of the music. Emerged in the mid-1980s as bands like Helloween and Iced Earth began applying it to themselves. The word 'power' was already embedded in track titles and band names before being codified as a genre label.

The bands

Hear these first

  • Helloween Germany
  • Blind Guardian Germany
  • Manowar USA
  • Savatage USA
  • Iced Earth USA

And 20 more

  • Dio USA
  • Riot USA
  • Grave Digger Germany
  • Running Wild Germany
  • Crimson Glory USA
  • Fates Warning USA
  • Queensrÿche USA
  • Rage Germany
  • Angra Brazil
  • Shaman Brazil
  • Hibria Brazil
  • Viper Brazil
  • Dr. Sin Brazil
  • Elvenking Italy
  • Labyrinth Italy
  • Domine Italy
  • Secret Sphere Italy
  • Suicidal Angels Greece
  • Bio-Cancer Greece
  • Stoicus Greece

Where it happened

Counting this genre and everything descended from it.

  • Germany German Power & Teutonic Thrash 7 bands
  • Brazil Brazilian Thrash & Extreme Metal 5 bands
  • Finland Finnish Metal — Folk, Symphonic & Extreme 5 bands
  • Italy Italian Power, Gothic & Extreme Metal 5 bands
  • Greece Hellenic Black, Death & Power Metal 4 bands
  • Argentina Argentine Heavy Metal 3 bands
  • Austria Austrian Black & Symphonic Metal 3 bands
  • Netherlands Dutch Symphonic, Gothic & Death Metal 3 bands

What it led to

If you liked this

Closest in sound outside this family, leaning towards the similar or the gentler rather than straight into the deep end.