I want to compile a list of the 100 most essential power metal albums (1 ALBUM PER BAND). I scavenged the internet looking for such a list, but I found nothing for power metal, only death and thrash essentials. PLEASE HELP!!!! Give me some suggestions, and I 'll make them into a list. I really want some alot of power metal to LISTEN to.

By my understanding, you want to make a list of music you haven't even heard?

Written by Troy Killjoy on 16.05.2011 at 03:01

By my understanding, you want to make a list of music you haven't even heard?

Sorry, maybe you misunderstood. I'll edit the first post. I mean that I will compile that list to listen to it, with your help.

Written by [user id=116405] on 16.05.2011 at 03:12

I mean that I will compile that list to listen to it, with your help.

That's what I'm asking. Do you want suggestions of - specifically - essential power metal albums that you haven't heard or are you creating a list of essential power metal albums overall, meaning you're adding the albums you've listened to and are taking suggestions from others?

In any case, here's a few (very few) power metal albums I've enjoyed, though I can't say if they're essential or not.

Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond (the first power metal album I ever listened to)
Jag Panzer - Chain of Command (more heavy than power I suppose, from what I remember)
Running Wild - Pile of Skulls (I think this was a little more heavy than power too, but it's still good stuff)

I think that's literally every power metal album I'm capable of recommending.

Blind Guardian-Nightfall in Middle Earth

Liege Lord-Master Control. More of a power/speed/thrash combo than pure power.

Iron Saviour's self titled

Helstar-Nosferatu

Rhapsody- Symphony of Enchanted Lands

Hammerfall-Glory to the Brave

Gamme Ray-Land of the Free

And a personal favorite that's not considered a classic-Iron Fire-To The Grave

For the record I'm not big into power metal, so I've surely missed a lot.

EDIT: Silly me, I forgot Helloween's self titled EP and Walls of Jericho.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 16.05.2011 at 03:20

Written by [user id=116405] on 16.05.2011 at 03:12

I mean that I will compile that list to listen to it, with your help.

That's what I'm asking. Do you want suggestions of - specifically - essential power metal albums that you haven't heard or are you creating a list of essential power metal albums overall, meaning you're adding the albums you've listened to and are taking suggestions from others?

In any case, here's a few (very few) power metal albums I've enjoyed, though I can't say if they're essential or not.

Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond (the first power metal album I ever listened to)
Jag Panzer - Chain of Command (more heavy than power I suppose, from what I remember)
Running Wild - Pile of Skulls (I think this was a little more heavy than power too, but it's still good stuff)

I think that's literally every power metal album I'm capable of recommending.

That's it? That's awful, I mean I would recommend JP for sure, but Blind Guardian? Terrible....lol I'll make a big ole list here in a minute, well sorta big. lol
I'll start with Mr.Void's good ones and expand, some of these will be considered prog by some, but they're going in anyway.

Rhapsody- Symphony of Enchanted Lands
Hammerfall-Glory to the Brave
Angel Dust - Bleed
Steel Prophet - Messiah
Communic -Waves of Visual Decay
Falconer - Northwind
Grave Digger - Knights of the Cross
Jag Panzer - Thane to the Throne(Way more accomplished than CoC)
Kamelot - The Black Halo
Mystic Force - Man vs Machine (Personal favorite, quite progressive though too with good vocals)
Manitcora - The Black Circus 1
Nocturnal Rites - Shadowland
Onward - EverMoving
Primal Fear - Nuclear Fire
Sabaton - Primo Victoria
Seven Witches - Passage to the Other side
Sanctuary - Into the Mirror Black
Tad Morose - Undead (another fave due to Urban's very powerful voice)
Steel Attack -Diabolic Symphony
Lost Horizon - A Flame To The Ground Beneath
Dark Moor - The Hall Of The Olden Dreams
Symphorce - Sinctuary
Dionysus - Sign of Truth
Fairyland - Of Wars In Osyrhia
Iron Savior - Condition Red
Dungeon - One Step Beyond
Dragonland - The Battle Of The Ivory Plains
Virgin Steele - Age of Consent
Heavenly - Dust to Dust

I'm not a big power metal fan in general, but I can recommend at least one that is classic for me:

Falconer - Falconer

Leaving out Blind Guardian is foolhardy, considering they're one of the biggest and most essential power metal bands out there; wether you like them or not.

Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth; this will be controversial and some people prefer Imaginations, but I think it's their most boring, cookie-cutter album. This has solid songwriting.
Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys part II; my personal favorite is their debut, but I think this is the most essential piece of history.
Gamma Ray - How the hell do I choose? They're an essential band with many standouts in their discography. Land of the Free is often cited, but I would propose Somewhere Out in Space or Heading for Tomorrow.
Running Wild - Black Hand Inn; I don't know what's their most essential album, but this is good and popular. It's more power metal than their earlier classics like Under Jolly Roger.
Avantasia - The Metal Opera; this is as cheesy as it gets, but it's also a power metal with solid songwriting and a good cast.
Kamelot - Epica; their most subtle, complete and tasteful album, IMO. This is where they grew up from the (great) cookie-cutter power of Karma, but they hadn't succumed to the straightforward bombast of The Black Halo.
Nightwish - Oceanborn; whatever you think of their later efforts, this is a perfect power metal album. Considering their popularity, it's also very essential.
Grave Digger - Excalibur; truth be told, I don't really know many other of their albums. I understand this is a classic, but you could probably go with either of the two previous albums, too.
Symphony X - Divine Wings Of Tragedy; something between power and progressive, this is their breakthrough album. I maybe prefer The Odyssey, but this is more important if you want to know the band at single glance.

Those are some of my old favorites and what I think are pretty big and essential power metal albums. To me, "essential" doesn't mean "best" but rather something that everybody into the genre should be aware of, because of their historical and popular signifigance. I haven't been following the scene for a long time and I never got too deep into it, so I can't comment on most of the previous picks (except where I've disagreed with them above). I'm going to vouch for some aobve-mentioned albums I know and think should be on the list:

Rhapsody - Symphony of Enchanted Lands
Hammerfall - Glory to the Brave
Falconer - Falconer
Lost Horizon - A Flame To The Ground Beneath

You'll definetely need Virgin Steele, Jag Panzer, Iron Savior, maybe Sabaton and Nocturnal Rites too. I just don't know which albums would be the most essential. Don't forget Iced Earth Freedom Call, Wuthering Heights or Angra (though the latter are pretty awful), either.

Masterplan - Masterplan, since nobody mentioned them so far.

Sonata Arctica - Ecliptica
Stratovarius - Visions
Angra - Temple Of Shadows
Hibria - Defying The Rules

Oh, and the following three (didn't see them mentioned)


Tarot - Suffer Our Pleasures

Kiuas - The Spirit of Ukko

Persuader - The Hunter

No mentioning of Iced Earth's 'Night of the Stormrider' yet!?

Other than IE I don't listen to much Power Metal but I'd also recommend (Of those not mentioned yet):
Mystic Prophecy's 'Vengance'
Pharoah's 'The Longest Night'
Pyramaze's 'Immortal'

Written by [user id=116405] on 16.05.2011 at 02:27

I want to compile a list of the 100 most essential power metal albums

You gonna post that list for us to see once it's done?

OK so why isn't there any Helloween in here Explain that to me, are you guys on F-ing crack or some ?

Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt. 1 and 2
enough said.

Not big on Halloween or Gamma Ray, hugely overrated. They get mention because of the harmonys like Blind Guardian but have subpar vocals, etc.

Well, you don't know shit about power metal if you dislike Blind Guardian, Helloween (the two bands that are the epitome of power metal) and Gamma Ray. Even worse, you're recommending some mediocre generic stuff like Mystic Force, Symphorce and Dionysus over the first three bands?

Strike the recommendation of Communics Vaves Of Visual Decay. It's an ok album but it's way more progressive that it is power.
Then add Edguy with Mandrake. Their best album in terms of structure and atmosphere.

I already mentioned Helloween. Whether you like them (or Gamma Ray or Blind Guardian) or not, they still belong in an intersubjective "essential albums" list without a doubt. I hate Metallica myself, but I still wouldn't exclude them from an "essential thrash" list.

Dunno about subpar vocals. I actually really like Kai Hansen's distinct style and recognizable voice (to say nothing of Ralf Scheeper's performance on the amazing Heading For Tomorrow!), and Hansi Kürsch is easily above-average even if I'm not a huge fan of his timbre and English pronunciation.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 19.05.2011 at 05:27

Written by [user id=116405] on 16.05.2011 at 02:27

I want to compile a list of the 100 most essential power metal albums

You gonna post that list for us to see once it's done?

The topic's been sticky for some time, but;D I'll wait 2 more days, then I'll do it.

Truth be told, if you want a truly instersubjectively valid list you should use some tools like Last.fm, Rate Your Music and Metacritic to help you. Those will show you the most popular bands and highest rated albums in the genre, and then you can listen yourself or consult enthusiasts here to see if you need to make changes. Random namedropping in a topic like this won't get you very far.

I see Primal Fear, Iced Earth, Sabaton and a couple of others of my favorites are already recommended, so the only album I can think of right now that I love and aren't already mentioned is a masterpiece released last year;

Black Majesty - In Your Honour.

Amazing power metal.

Written by Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk on 19.05.2011 at 10:29

Well, you don't know shit about power metal if you dislike Blind Guardian, Helloween (the two bands that are the epitome of power metal) and Gamma Ray. Even worse, you're recommending some mediocre generic stuff like Mystic Force, Symphorce and Dionysus over the first three bands?

Mystic Force's Man vs Machine is better than anything those genric bands ever did. Hansi's voice blows compared to Wern's. And listening to the same melodies over and over and over again from Gamma ray is just annoying as shit. Stop being a fanboy, Hansi's vibrato is so awful the dude uses layers and layers of vocals. All Kai does is talk.

Is this power metal? Sometimes I don't even know anymore... good album though.

Ice Age - The Great Divide
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqX7Ke5Ldyg

Written by Introspekrieg on 20.05.2011 at 01:38

Is this power metal? Sometimes I don't even know anymore... good album though.

Ice Age - The Great Divide
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqX7Ke5Ldyg

I'd say so, decent singer too.

Written by Yasmine on 20.05.2011 at 01:34

Written by Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk on 19.05.2011 at 10:29

Well, you don't know shit about power metal if you dislike Blind Guardian, Helloween (the two bands that are the epitome of power metal) and Gamma Ray. Even worse, you're recommending some mediocre generic stuff like Mystic Force, Symphorce and Dionysus over the first three bands?

Mystic Force's Man vs Machine is better than anything those genric bands ever did. Hansi's voice blows compared to Wern's. And listening to the same melodies over and over and over again from Gamma ray is just annoying as shit. Stop being a fanboy, Hansi's vibrato is so awful the dude uses layers and layers of vocals. All Kai does is talk.

Hansi's vocal are mostly layered on ANATO and latter albums, but Imaginations From The Other Side are a different thing and you know that very well, otherwise you wouldn't have given it a 9. Same goes for Gamma Ray, Kai ain't the best vocalist (or near it) but it's about atmosphere rather than perceived vocal qualities. And hmmm, I see you've rated Gamma Ray's No World Order with 10, so please stop being a hypocrite and accusing me of "fanboy-ism" when you yourself rated those bands with 9's and 10's. Not all of their albums are perfect, but they sure are damn good.

Also, I really don't know how can you associate the term "generic" with the three bands that defined power metal.

Essential ones and only one for each band? Then I can only give you three albums:

Sonata Arctica - Silence (THE Power Metal album!)
Nightwish - Wishmaster (I guess, can just as easily be "Oceanborn" or "Century Child".)
Power Quest - Wings of Forever (Cheesier than cheese itself, I should hate it, but I just can't for some reason.)

Written by Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk on 20.05.2011 at 14:51

Written by Yasmine on 20.05.2011 at 01:34

Written by Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk on 19.05.2011 at 10:29

Well, you don't know shit about power metal if you dislike Blind Guardian, Helloween (the two bands that are the epitome of power metal) and Gamma Ray. Even worse, you're recommending some mediocre generic stuff like Mystic Force, Symphorce and Dionysus over the first three bands?

Mystic Force's Man vs Machine is better than anything those genric bands ever did. Hansi's voice blows compared to Wern's. And listening to the same melodies over and over and over again from Gamma ray is just annoying as shit. Stop being a fanboy, Hansi's vibrato is so awful the dude uses layers and layers of vocals. All Kai does is talk.

Hansi's vocal are mostly layered on ANATO and latter albums, but Imaginations From The Other Side are a different thing and you know that very well, otherwise you wouldn't have given it a 9. Same goes for Gamma Ray, Kai ain't the best vocalist (or near it) but it's about atmosphere rather than perceived vocal qualities. And hmmm, I see you've rated Gamma Ray's No World Order with 10, so please stop being a hypocrite and accusing me of "fanboy-ism" when you yourself rated those bands with 9's and 10's. Not all of their albums are perfect, but they sure are damn good.

Also, I really don't know how can you associate the term "generic" with the three bands that defined power metal.

I gave it a 9 based on it's music, his voice is still awful, and I do love NWO, again based only on the music, but it's been years since I listened to more than 1 song off it. I enjoy these albums IF I can ignore the vocals, which I can. One reason I liked NWO is cause it came acrossed as darker than many of their other albums.

If I couldn't ignore the vocals I'd rate those albums 6 and 7 respectively.

If I couldn't ignore vocals I would hate Death Metal with a passion, but I find vocals are easy to ignore in metal. However there's nothing "Perceived" about the vocals as you admit Kai's are lacking, Where Olaf Hayer and Wern are actually good vibrato singers thus I must recommend those albums before a Gamma Ray album. I tend to enjoy all power metal, but Gamma Ray has been doing the samething for a long time, yes it works, I do like them to some extent, same for Helloween. I also tend to like the American PM sound lately a bit more as well. The reason I poke at Blind Guardian here is the threads like, best power metal singer where Hasnsi gets tons and tons of praise as "the best", that's all, I'm not actually a huge hater.

EDIT: I forgot this ....Nightwish - Wishmaster (I guess, can just as easily be "Oceanborn" or "Century Child".)
And Zamj, you did see that Void had already recommended both Gamma Ray and Blind Guardian, right?

Written by Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk on 16.05.2011 at 19:31

Oh, and the following three (didn't see them mentioned)


Tarot - Suffer Our Pleasures

´
Its heavy where you hear a power, ok there is power elements but if its be power I would never listen thgis band

List wont be complite whit out Salamandra ''Great Moravian Elegies''

My essential list:

Helloween: 1) Keeper of the Seven Keys I, 2) Keeper of the Seven Keys II, 3) The Dark Ride and 4) 7 Sinners
Gamma Ray: 1) Heading For Tomorrow and 2) No World Order
Masterplan: 1) Masterplan and 2) Aeronautics
Edguy: 1) The Savage Poetry and 2) Mandrake
Primal Fear: Seven Seals
Kamelot: 1) The Fourth Legacy and 2) The Black Halo
Stratovarius: Infinite
Sinergy: To Hell And Back
Avantasia: Angel of Babylon
HammerFall: Glory To The Brave
Nightwish: Century Child

I just mentioned some albums, but there are a lot of them which could be also labeled as "essentials".

In the other hand, there are many bands which sound cloying, like Rhapsody of Fire, Avantasia's Operas, Luca Turilli, Heavenly, Freedom Call and many many others. But it mostly depends on your likings.

Written by GroundZero on 24.05.2011 at 08:22

My essential list:

Helloween: 1) Keeper of the Seven Keys I, 2) Keeper of the Seven Keys II, 3) The Dark Ride and 4) 7 Sinners
Gamma Ray: 1) Heading For Tomorrow and 2) No World Order
Masterplan: 1) Masterplan and 2) Aeronautics
Edguy: 1) The Savage Poetry and 2) Mandrake
Primal Fear: Seven Seals
Kamelot: 1) The Fourth Legacy and 2) The Black Halo
Stratovarius: Infinite
Sinergy: To Hell And Back
Avantasia: Angel of Babylon
HammerFall: Glory To The Brave
Nightwish: Century Child

I just mentioned some albums, but there are a lot of them which could be also labeled as "essentials".

In the other hand, there are many bands which sound cloying, like Rhapsody of Fire, Avantasia's Operas, Luca Turilli, Heavenly, Freedom Call and many many others. But it mostly depends on your likings.

I don't think that is Kamelot's Album "The Forth Legacy" that much of brilliant...