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2011 Power Metal
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Original post

Posted by Susan, 01.12.2011 - 17:05
Ok, by now I hope you guys are full of suggestions! We're entering December and have had 11 months to devour as much of this genre as possible.

Was anyone else a little underwhelmed again this year? I certainly was... but.. lately I've heard a few really stellar releases that might be saving the genre. I KNOW there are more out there so let's discuss favorites.

For me, Shadowside - Inner Monster Out and Pagan's Mind - Heavenly Ecstasy are battling it out for #1. Other greats are Borealis - Fall From Grace, Iron Savior - The Landing, ReinXeed - 1912 and MAYBE Axenstar - Aftermath. Honorable mentions might be Serenity - Death & Legacy which is nice, so is Jag Panzer - The Scourge Of The Light, but they're really missing that something "special" that the others have. I'm trying to get my hands on Ancient Bards and a few others.

But seriously: if you haven't heard Shadowside or Pagan's Mind... get thee to a record store. Like yesterday.
06.12.2011 - 20:58
Stabby
Account deleted
I kind of agree that this wasn't the greatest year for the genre, but it had plenty of gems. I didn't see anybody mention Powerwolf yet, that's my favorite album of theirs so far, for no reason other than clever songwriting. Jag Panzer also released my favorite album of theirs, which I know is blasphemy, but that's what I think. Battelore also rose to knew heights for me, but the biggest bands didn't really improve. Edguy, Nightwish, Rhapsody, etc, have been much more epic in the past. I really can't tell if I like some of these albums more or less than anything else these bands ever did, like with Stormwarrior. Is this progress? It's catchy, but is it the progress?

STORMWARRIOR IS THE TABLE.

Sorry, getting old I'm sure.
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06.12.2011 - 21:11
Susan
Smeghead
Elite
^Oh yes, Battlelore really outdid themselves this year. I'm tempted to say they feel much more like symphonic metal than power with their last few releases and this is no different, but definitely one of their best performances.

Powerwolf... yes lots of people are enjoying that one. I just don't get it! I tried, I really did, but it just seems like a joke. It's far too cheesy and campy even for power metal, and that's saying something. It was fun but I didn't even feel it was that well performed enough to be worthy of such praise above any other decent PM band.
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"A life all mine
Is what I choose
At the end of my days"
--The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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06.12.2011 - 22:02
Stabby
Account deleted
Yes it is unbelievably cheesy, but it is also a great parody of Catholicism. It's kind of like they have deflected the hot, gooey cheese wiz onto somebody else, and have emerged unscathed. Whereas Stormwarrior parodies their own genre, and Manowar parodies themselves, and all of that is pretty trite, Powerwolf distinguishes themselves from the others by being clever and topical. Songs like We Drink Your Blood and All We Need Is Blood are clever and a change from the black metal approach of RAWR IMA KILL YOU AND BURN DOWN YOUR CHURCH.

But your point is still valid, because most people who listen to power metal aren't looking for humor, it's still goofy. So they win artistic points at the cost of epicness.
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07.12.2011 - 01:13
Susan
Smeghead
Elite
^Ok, you make an excellent point. I still don't think I'll start listening to them often but at least now I can understand why others do. And love the metaphor about the cheese and them emerging unscathed
----
"A life all mine
Is what I choose
At the end of my days"
--The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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07.12.2011 - 01:25
Ag Fox
Angel No More
Elite
Written by Susan on 06.12.2011 at 21:11

Powerwolf... yes lots of people are enjoying that one. I just don't get it! I tried, I really did, but it just seems like a joke. It's far too cheesy and campy even for power metal, and that's saying something. It was fun but I didn't even feel it was that well performed enough to be worthy of such praise above any other decent PM band.

i was gonna check that out, but if you found it cheesey then I think I'll drop it...
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loves 小巫
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07.12.2011 - 04:08
Angelic Storm
Melodious
Written by Ag Fox on 06.12.2011 at 03:46
I was very disappointed with the new bloodbound album. I'm a huge fan of their third album Tabula Rasa. Nosferatu is very good too. And it has largely to do with Urban Breed, the vocalist, as he sang only on the first and third album, but not the second or the latest one =P

Well, I hadn't heard any of Bloodbound's previous stuff before I heard the new album, so I had nothing to compare it to. Which is sometimes a good thing, as you go into the listening with no real expectations.
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15.12.2011 - 21:47
Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk
To Mega Therion
Nobody mentioned Merging Flare yet? Their sound could probably be described as something halfway between Gamma Ray and Iron Savior
They released their debut album titled "Reverence" this year and even Kai himself makes a guest appearance on a couple of songs.

Take a listen, you shouldn't be disappointed:
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Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one, and they all stink.
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16.12.2011 - 06:55
Stabby
Account deleted
Sounds great, thanks for that. I was just asking for more bands that sound like this earlier in the Iron Savior thread. This should be good for a few listens. They may have a bright future if they can write some extremely memorable songs.
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04.01.2012 - 11:31
Ag Fox
Angel No More
Elite
Almah's Motion is worthy to be mentioned in this thread
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loves 小巫
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06.01.2012 - 09:19
Stabby
Account deleted
Written by [user id=111172] on 05.01.2012 at 19:26

Check out my Top 100 Power Metal albums Of 2011 list:

http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=1936

Wow, look at all of the power metal I haven't heard! Nice list. Dreamtale, eh? I have listened to them, before and thought that they were interesting and somewhat unique, but ultimately irritating. But listening to some of these songs this is pretty good. I'll have to use this list as a reference.
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06.01.2012 - 13:06
Vombatus
Potorro
My head would explode if I had to listen 110 different power metal albums in a year. Huh, still a couple of the albums listed are pretty good.
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06.01.2012 - 21:50
Susan
Smeghead
Elite
Behold!!! Another entry in the short list of 2011 Power Metal Albums That Don't Suck!!! I finally heard Brainstorm - On the Spur of the Moment. It's quite nice. Not Shadowside/Pagan's Mind nice, but still, it gets a giant thumb up from me.

Highly recommended. It stands alongside ReinXeed, Borealis, and Iron Savior.
----
"A life all mine
Is what I choose
At the end of my days"
--The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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12.04.2012 - 12:54
Samedi
Twins Crew "Judgement Night"
With twin guitar shredders are one of the finest power metal albums in 2011

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