Power metal is a subgenre of metal which grew out of Traditional Heavy Metal and Speed Metal with the help of progressive rock in the late eighties, and is characterized by a more melodic sound than most other subgenres. An emphasis on speed, especially fast guitar solos, is also frequently present. Many power metal bands also have fantasy-based lyrics and themes with singing styles usually being higher-pitched clean vocals, operatic vocals or Soprano and Gravel; however, lower-pitched cleans and Harsh Vocals are not unheard of.
Because the genre formed practically simultanously in Europe and North America, there are distinct differences in styles from the two scenes. While both scenes share the same New Wave of British Heavy Metal influence, American styled power metal tends to be also influenced by classic thrash metal and is codified with bands such as Iced Earth, Vicious Rumors, and Jag Panzer, while European power metal is also influenced by Progressive Rock and Progressive Metal, causing European bands to usually be more melodic with a heavy focus on keyboards; this is codified with bands such as Blind Guardian, Rhapsody of Fire and Nightwish. To add to this, beginning in The '90s and ramping up in the 2000s, Japan began to produce its own brand of power metal, with most bands producing styles and sounds reminiscent of neo-classical metal bands like Stratovarius and Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force. Japanese codifiers include Galneryus, Concerto Moon and Versailles. South American (largely relegated to Brazil and Argentina) power metal, meanwhile, tends to lie somewhere between Europower and J-power; it's usually grittier than Japanese power (but still fairly light for the most part) but also tends to be "shreddier" than a lot of Europower and also tends to overlap with prog. While it doesn't really have a particularly distinctive sound, famous South American acts include Angra, Rata Blanca, Viper, Shaman, and Hibria. Additionally, Finland is home to a variant of it that is essentially Melodic Death Metal with extremely prominent power metal elements and heavy use of keyboards; Finnish melodeath/power codifiers include Children of Bodom, Norther, and Kalmah. Lastly, there is shred; while usually not viewed as a power metal subgenre, it has historically had extremely heavy overlap with the genre due to shred-style leadwork in power metal and guitarists from established acts forming instrumental rock and metal side projects and thus gets a mention.
Power metal is also known for the ease it can be fused with other styles, to the point that Symphonic Metal, Neo-Classical Metal, Thrash Metal and, correctly or otherwise, Progressive Metal are often considered directly linked to power metal, and a lot of early progressive metal acts (Fates Warning, Crimson Glory, and, to a degree, Watchtower) overlapped with the genre. 3 Inches of Blood is a blatant fusion of Thrash Metal and power metal and Symphony X is the Trope Codifier of progressive power metal.
Or in laymans' terms: power metal is what would happen if you take five teenagers, lock them in a room with every single Iron Maiden, Rush and Metallica CD, a few classical records, and every Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook ever, let them out ten years later, and made them really good at playing instruments.
Not to be confused with literal metals for powering up your goods.
Examples of bands frequently associated with power metal:
Due to the stylistic differences between American, European, and Japanese Power Metal, this list is sorted by region.
North American Power Metal:
- 3 Inches of Blood
- Aether Realm (also melodic death metal and folk metal)
- Agent Steel (also Speed Metal)
- Apocrypha
- Attacker
- Black Majesty (an Australian band straddling the line between American and European styles)
- Brocas Helm
- Eric Calderone
- Cauldron Born
- Cellador
- Crescent Shield
- Crimson Glory (also Progressive Metal)
- Damien Steele
- Deadly Blessing
- Demon Bitch
- Demons & Wizards
- Fates Warning (the John Arch era, also Progressive Metal; the Ray Alder era is straight prog)
- Fifth Angel
- Flotsam And Jetsam (also Thrash Metal and/or Groove Metal, depending on the album)
- Forte
- Heathen (also Thrash Metal)
- Heir Apparent
- Helstar
- Hexx (was death/thrash during the Morbid Reality era)
- Holy Grail
- Iced Earth (also Thrash Metal for their early releases)
- Immortal Guardian
- Impellitteri
- Jag Panzer
- Judicator
- Kamelot (decidedly Europower-leaning)
- 2003-5 - Epica Album Series
- 2012 - Silverthorn
- Leatherwolf
- Liege Lord
- Lizzy Borden (also Hair Metal)
- Manilla Road (also Doom Metal and traditional heavy metal, very much on an album-by-album basis)
- Manowar (arguable Trope Maker for both scenes of power metal)
- Meliah Rage (also thrash)
- Nasty Savage (their 1985 self-titled debut is considered seminal USPM, but all of their following albums lean much closer to Thrash Metal)
- Metal Church (also Thrash Metal and Speed Metal, depending on the album, but the Mike Howe and Ronny Munroe-era material is almost strictly power metal)
- Necromancing The Stone
- Nevermore (overlaps with Progressive Metal, Thrash Metal, and (believe it or not) djent)
- NovaReign
- Omen
- Outworld (also Progressive Metal)
- Paladin (some melodic death metal elements)
- Pentakill (Originally a side project, evolved into legitimacy when they hit No. 1 on Metal charts after their second album. Also Industrial Metal.)
- Pharaoh (mixed with Progressive Metal)
- Powerglove (a video game music cover band)
- Project: Roenwolfe (also thrash metal)
- Ravage
- Realm (also prog on Suiciety)
- Riot (early material is traditional metal. Trope Maker for US Power Metal with their track "Warrior" from their first album.)
- Sanctuary
- Savatage (also Progressive Metal)
- Streets: A Rock Opera (1991)
- Handful of Rain (1994)
- Dead Winter Dead (1995)
- The Wake of Magellan (1998)
- Poets and Madmen (2001)
- Seven Kingdoms
- Slauter Xstroyes (also Progressive Metal)
- Spellcaster
- Starkill (also Melodic Death Metal in the Finnish vein)
- Symphony X (also Progressive Metal)
- Temple Of Blood
- Theocracy (also Progressive Metal)
- Thor (Possibly the Ur-Example, having used elements of power metal in their music since the late 70s.)
- Toxik (also Thrash Metal)
- Unleash the Archers (started with more Melodic Death Metal influence but shifted towards Progressive Metal by Apex)
- Vicious Rumors
- Virgin Steele
- Visigoth (also some epic doom elements)
- Watchtower (also a Trope Codifier for Progressive Metal)
- Alissa White-Gluz
- Witherfall (also Progressive Metal)
- Jonathan Young
European Power Metal:
Germany
- Angel Dust (also Thrash Metal)
- Avantasia
- Axel Rudi Pell (notable for having Johnny Gioeli on vocals, aka "the guy who sings the songs for Sonic")
- Axxis
- Blind Guardian (also Speed Metal and later Progressive Metal)
- Edguy
- Eternitys End (a Christian Muenzner project)
- Firewind
- Freedom Call
- Gamma Ray
- Grave Digger (also Speed Metal)
- Heaven's Gate
- Helloween (also Speed Metal)
- Iron Savior
- Masterplan
- Majesty
- Orden Ogan
- Paradox (also Thrash Metal)
- Pink Cream 69
- Powerwolf (albeit much heavier and darker than the majority of Euro-power bands)
- Primal Fear
- Rage (Band) (also Progressive Metal)
- Running Wild (although far closer in style to USPM and Speed Metal with first-wave Black Metal influence)
- Sacral Rage (also in the style of USPM)
- Savage Circus
- Scanner
- Schlafes Bruder
- Silent Force
- van Canto
- Xandria
Sweden
- Amaranthe
- Bloodbound
- Civil War
- Dragonland (Overlaps with Melodic Death Metal, although they rarely use the traditional deep throated screams.)
- Dream Evil
- Dynazty
- Evergrey (falls under Progressive Metal as well)
- Falconer (also Folk Metal)
- HammerFall
- Heavy Load
- Machinae Supremacy fuses this with Electronic Music
- Majestica (formerly ReinXeed, also Symphonic Metal)
- Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force
- Narnia (a Christian Rock example)
- Nocturnal Rites
- Persuader
- Portrait (Burn the World, earlier material was traditional heavy metal)
- Sabaton
- Tad Morose
- Twilight Force (An Affectionate Parody to Power Metal and Heavy Mithril tropes, although not as overt as Gloryhammer.)
Finland
- Altaria
- Amberian Dawn
- Battle Beast
- Battlelore
- Beast in Black
- Children of Bodom (overlaps with Melodic Death Metal)
- The Dark Element (overlaps with Symphonic Metal)
- Ensiferum (also Melodic Death Metal and Folk Metal)
- Kalmah (Overlaps with Melodic Death Metal. Later albums replace the power metal element with Thrash Metal)
- Kiuas
- Nightwish (also Symphonic Metal)
- Norther (also Melodic Death Metal)
- Sonata Arctica
- Stratovarius
- Symfonia
- Tarot
- Terasbetoni
- Thunderstone
- Turisas
- Wintersun (also Melodic Death Metal)
Misc.
- Adagio (France. also Progressive Metal, later material has some djent elements)
- Alestorm (UK)
- Ancient Bards (Italy)
- Artch (Norway)
- Black Majesty (an Australian band straddling the line between American and European styles)
- Daedric Tales (Austria. Overlaps with Symphonic Metal and Melodic Death Metal)
- Dark Moor (Spain)
- Derdian (Italy)
- DragonForce (UK)
- Elegy (Netherlands. Also Progressive Metal)
- Epica (Netherlands)
- Epidemia (Russia)
- Fairyland (France)
- Frozen Crown (Italy)
- Gloryhammer (UK. An Affectionate Parody)
- Keldian (Norway)
- Christopher Lee (UK)
- Lonewolf (France)
- Manticora (Denmark. Also Progressive Metal)
- Mercenary (Denmark. Also melodic death)
- Moonlight Haze (Italy)
- Neonfly (UK)
- Pathfinder (Poland)
- Power Quest (UK)
- Pretty Maids (Denmark)
- Radio Tapok (Russia)
- Rhapsody of Fire (Italy)
- Savage Messiah (UK. Also thrash)
- Serenity (Austria)
- Luca Turilli (Italy)
- Vision Divine (Italy)
- Visions Of Atlantis (Austria)
- Wind Rose (Italy)
- Wisdom (Hungary)
- Wuthering Heights (Denmark)
Japanese Power Metal
- Aldious
- Alhambra
- Ancient Myth
- Ark Storm
- Bridear (also Metalcore)
- Concerto Moon
- Cross Vein
- Cyntia
- Dragon Guardian
- Double Dealer
- Fate Gear
- Fatima Hill
- Galneryus
- Jupiter
- Light Bringer
- Liv Moon
- Lovebites
- Mary's Blood
- Matenrou Opera
- Megaromania
- Minstrelix
- Octaviagrace
- Sex Machineguns (also Speed Metal, likely a Trope Maker)
- Tears Of Tragedy
- Unlucky Morpheus (they started out making Touhou Fan Music, and have a folder on that page)
- Versailles
- Wizards Hymn
- X Japan (also Progressive Metal, Speed Metal and Thrash Metal)
South American Power Metal
- Almah
- Andre Matos (solo band of the former Angra and Viper vocalist)
- Angra (also prog and folk)
- Barilari (solo band of Rata Blanca vocalist Adrian Barilari)
- Dragonheart
- Edu Falaschi (solo band of the former Angra and Almah singer, also prog)
- Hangar (also prog)
- Hibria
- Rata Blanca
- Shaman (also prog)
- Tierramystica (also prog)
- Viper
Shrednote
- Michael Angelo Batio
- Jason Becker
- James Byrd
- David T. Chastain (not to be confused with Chastain, which he also helms and is a full band)
- Rusty Cooley
- Gus Drax
- Gus G (earlier material, his later works are vocal-oriented and mostly fall under hard rock)
- Stephane Forte (some djent and industrial elements, but ultimately rooted in power metal)
- Marty Friedman
- Darren Housholder
- Andy James
- Toby Knapp
- Andrew Lee (Andrew Lee's Heavy Metal Shrapnel specifically)
- Jeff Loomis
- Kiko Loureiro
- Tony MacAlpine
- Yngwie Malmsteen (Trope Codifier, mostly on his earliest material; he generally stuck to power metal after that)
- Vinnie Moore
- Christian Muenzner
- Joe Stump
- Syu
- Joey Tafolla
- Derek Taylor
- Jacky Vincent (some metalcore elements, but his solo work is ultimately rooted in power metal)
- Paul Wardingham (some djent elements, but ultimately has enough power metal influence to qualify)
Tropes commonly associated with power metal:
- '80s Hair: Very, very common among musicians in the scene, even in more modern acts, and usually the hairstyle choice for many J-power and some Europower artists.
- Americans Hate Tingle: The genre isn't nearly as popular in the U.S. as it is in Europe, Japan, and Brazil. Naturally, the reverse is often true for American power metal bands in these countries, with those bands often performing to far bigger crowds than they do at home.
- Arc Words: Dragons, fire, warriors, heroes and even roundabout things such as men being manly and swords made of steel.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: A very frequent theme of power metal. Possibly the only reason why power metal stays on the idealistic end of the Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism despite lyrics about war, bloodshed, conquest and/or violence.
- Epic Rocking: Typically, bands will have one very long and complicated song per album. Particularly oversized examples include Blind Guardian's "And Then There Was Silence" (14:15), Helloween's "Keeper of the Seven Keys" (13:38), Symphony X's "The Odyssey" (24:14), Manowar's "Achilles: Agony and Ecstasy in Eight Parts" (27 minutes!), and X Japan's "Art of Life" (29 minutes, and the only song in the album of the same name).
- From Clones to Genre: Shred. While fast, extended guitar solos have existed even before the days of shred guitar, the style has been so thoroughly Flanderized in power metal that there were enough guitar soloists to form a distinct microgenre based around super-fast and highly intricate guitar instrumentals
- Heavy Mithril: Many power metal bands sing about mythology and fantasy. Equally common are power metal bands that make Rock Operas that take place in original fantasy settings. Some bands opt for low fantasy or science fiction-based themes. It's so prevalent that before this page existed, Power Metal redirected to Heavy Mithril.
- Hot-Blooded: The genre itself.
- Instrumentals: The entire shred genre, though some artists may feature vocalists on select tracks.
- Large Ham: Very common in vocalists thanks to the genre's strong focus on theatrical performances.
- Lighter and Softer: Than its sister genre, Thrash Metal, and its parent genre, Speed Metal, but not always. In turn, Europower is this to USPM.
- Metal Scream: More prevalent in the American scene, where vocalists tend to favor Halford-esque shrieks or Dio-esque midranged belting over cleaner Dickinsonian operatic vocals; European acts are typically more about clean, operatic styles, but a ballsier, more aggressive approach is still commonly seen in German and (to a lesser degree) Swedish acts. Japanese and South American acts also typically skew towards cleaner styles, but Halfordesque (Hibria) and Dioesque (Concerto Moon) deliveries can still be found in both scenes. It has become increasingly common for modern power metal vocalists to employ gruff, throaty vocals similar to thrash or, as with some bands, Harsh Vocals.
- Progressive Metal: It is relatively common for power metal bands to cross over into progressive metal since both genres focus heavily on musicianship. Watchtower, Fates Warning, and Crimson Glory were all roughly equally responsible for planting those seeds.
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: All. Of. The. Time!
- Rated M for Manly: The genre overflows with manliness due to the ubiquity of Heavy Mithril and Hot-Blooded Large Hams in the scene. Most USPM bands favor bold, aggressive, hard-knocks machismo and conventional male power fantasies, while Europower aesthetics lean more towards a posh, cultured masculinity with a love of history and heroism. Less prominent in J-power, in part due to overlap with the extremely flamboyant Visual Kei scene, and in part because of Japan's large number of female-fronted and all-female power metal bands.
- Rock Me, Amadeus!: The genre (particularly Japanese, South American, and some European bands) is notable for its extreme emphasis on painfully fast and technical guitar shredding, which is often inspired by or outright ripped off from famous Classical Music pieces. Somewhat less present in USPM with bands preferring aggressive power-chord guitar work and pentatonic blues-based leadwork, but various bands (namely Symphony X, Heathen, Helstar, Apocrypha, and Toxik) are still famous for flashy neoclassical leadwork. Lastly, while the vast majority of shred players are neoclassical, some (namely Gus G. and Derek Taylor) are blues or jazz-based.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: The majority of power metal is very, very idealistic, though some USPM bands can be very cynical.
- Soprano and Gravel: Some power metal vocalists freely alternate between soaring operatics and gruff snarling vocals. Other bands employ a more traditional dual-vocal setup.
- Special Guest: Guest musicians are second only to Hip-Hop in their frequency. This is the entire point for some bands.
- Start My Own: A common phenomenon within shred, as most guitarists in the genre either get their start playing in full bands before starting solo projects, or start out as solo guitarists before forming full bands.
- Thrash Metal: The parent genre for USPM (and the sister genre of power metal in general), as it shares the same aggressive delivery, extremely masculine attitude and approach to musicianship. As with Progressive Metal, many non-USPM bands cross over into thrash. This creates some confusion for those new to the genre, as both Power Metal and Thrash Metal feature super-fast musicianship and excessively manly aesthetics.
- Trope Codifier: Manowar, Jag Panzer, Riot, Helstar, and Iced Earth for USPM; Versailles and Galneryus for J-Power; Angra and Rata Blanca for South American power; Stratovarius and Rhapsody for Europower, and Yngwie Malmsteen and Tony MacAlpine for shred.
- Trope Maker: Helloween for the European scene, X Japan and Sex Machineguns for the Japanese scene, Angra for the South American scene, Yngwie Malmsteen for shrednote . The lineage of the American scene is a bit more muddled. Manowar, Jag Panzer, Manilla Road, Riot, Omen, Vicious Rumors, and Helstar are all safe bets, however.
- Ur-Example: Manowar, Jag Panzer, or Helstar for the American form, arguably Helloween for the European form, Rata Blanca and Viper for the South American form, arguably X Japan's Vanishing Vision for the Japanese form, and Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force for shred. Some people have even suggested that the song "Stargazer" by Rainbow from 1976 is the ultimate ur-example of power metal, while most people will point to Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Accept, and the collective works of Ronnie James Dio as being the bands that were necessary for the creation of power metal.
- World of Ham: Arguably the most hammy genre of music in existence.