2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
Being a fairly successful mixture of heavy but melodic guitar sound and lyrics that differ from other metal genres in a more optimistic and lighter direction (fantasy, science fiction and so on), power metal appeared in the late 80s of the last century and has since gained extraordinary popularity, giving rise to a large number of subgenres and mixtures.
At the origins
The best of the Power Metal bands from the very beginning of the genre have now become literally living legends.
Helloween. Their album Keeper of the Seven Keys is rightfully the standard of power. The band came to this style of playing after speed metal and heavy metal, simplifying the guitar parts and adding pathos to the lyrics. The material turned out to be quite life-affirming; later, such a mood in power became known as happy metal. The band has existed since 1984 to this day, having changed three vocalists and even more drummers. In particular, one of the founders of Helloween, Kai Hansen, having left the group, created a new one, Gamma Ray, which also became quite successful and famous.
Blind Guardian, likeHelloween, originate from Germany. The music they play is a bit darker and heavier. Their early albums were rightfully considered speed metal classics, but later they nevertheless became famous precisely as one of the best Power Metal bands with lyrics based on the works of famous science fiction writers, folklore and especially Tolkien's books, devoting an entire concept album to The Silmarillion with 24 songs in it.
American bands
In America, power metal also developed from heavy metal, but there it had a heavier sound and a darker overall feel.
Iced Earth. This group belongs to the so-called thrash-power genre. It combines the hard and fast riffs of thrash with the overall melodic and complex composition of power metal.
Symphony X. The band plays prog-power. It is distinguished by complex rhythmic patterns, which came from the progressive style, and the high technical skill of the performers.
Kamelot. Surprisingly, this band, although based in the USA, has a soft, melodic sound, typical of European artists. In her work, there are a lot of elements of symphonic metal - orchestral and choral inserts, general pathos in performance.
Finnish scene
In Europe itself, there is a fairly noticeable division of groups according to the most famous metalist countries. The best power metal bands from Finland have become truly world famous.
Stratovarius - thosewho is considered to be the founders of the Finnish power. Their work influenced the development of many other bands in the Finnish scene and made a significant contribution to the world's power metal collection. Throughout their career, the band has dabbled in adding numerous elements of other genres to their sound: symphonic metal, speed metal (speed metal) and so on.
Nightwish are considered to be the legends of symphonic power metal. Using the keyboards and operatic soprano Tarja Turunen, one of the most famous vocalists in the metal scene, to the fullest, Nightwish have achieved a truly unique sound. Then the vocalists changed, the music underwent significant metamorphoses, but the composer's talent of the founder of the group still allows her to be one of the best Power Metal bands with female vocals.
Italian scene
The most famous Italian metal band in general is Rhapsody of Fire. Despite the fact that the main direction of the group was and remains symphonic metal, elements of power are also present in Rhapsody. This is a conceptual group: all of its albums and singles are united by a through plot that tells about the events of a fictional kingdom. For their scope and pathos, the band is also often labeled as epic metal.
Russian Power
There is power metal in Russia too. The most famous bands playing it have a traditional European character. Archontes are considered to be the pioneers of the Russian power, however, Epidemia achieved the greatest success in this field, whichconsidered to be one of the best Power Metal bands in Russia. Like Blind Guardian, she also repeatedly turned to the works of Tolkien, in particular, she wrote the composition "Feanor", beloved by many Tolkienists.
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