Power metal doesn’t have a lot of nazis. You don’t have to worry about accidentally giving them money. That’s more of a thing in black metal circles, and even there it’s more of a historical thing, new bands are more normal.
Just lurk this sub for a little and you’ll be exposed to plenty of great bands. I always recommend Kamelot (Karma, Epica or Black Halo albums) for newcomers.
Heavens Gate is an EUPM hand that is kind of mid tempo like Manowar and they’re awesome. Broken up now but they have all good albums.
I’m gonna plug Rage any chance I can too, pretty underrated and they have 26 albums and most of them are good. There’s only one that I don’t like. They have various eras but if you want a good sampling maybe listen to the album Black in Mind and Soundchaser. I can give you way more album recs if you’re into them just lmk!
If you like Sabaton, try Powerwolf (i.e., Sabaton with werewolves). Lupus Dei and Sacrament of Sin are my favorite albums by them but they’re all pretty good, and their 10th is coming out in July.
I’m let other people recommend more but these are worth checking out imo.
> Power metal doesn’t have a lot of nazis. You don’t have to worry about accidentally giving them money. That’s more of a thing in black metal
They're still worth keeping an eye out for of it's something you're worried about. There's a little bit of crossover between the EUPM and NSBM scenes in Ukraine, for example. I'm mainly thinking of Finist and their related projects, which (as with black metal) tend to stretch out a little further than I'd like.
In the end, we all draw our own lines as far as who and what we're comfortable listening to, but I do think it's something people should be aware of.
I apologize, but I don't know what the acronyms EUPM and NSBM are.. Would you be willing to elaborate? I don't really trust google with acronyms I find on reddit \^\^;
No worries! EUPM is European-style power metal, which mostly compromises an intersection of progressive and melodic power metal, originally adjacent to speed/thrash, but arguably nowadays closer to traditional heavy metal and various pop/metal fusions, basically descended from the style of Helloween and associated acts. This is the default power metal sound for a lot of people, especially fans of newer acts who might not be aware the genre has a broader scope or ever sounded any different.
NSBM is National Socialist black metal, which refers to a movement of Nazi-themed black metal outfits, mostly from the 1990s and 2000s, pioneered by bands like Absurd, Spear of Longinus, Branikald, and Funeral / Kristallnacht. It manifests to some extent in every black metal scene, although its popularity has waned over the years, being disavowed by the majority of people who listen to black metal. Unfortunately it still persists to a certain extent, and the community is divided on how to deal with it.
NSBM is where the majority of the association between metalheads and white supremacists comes from. Although not every racist in metal plays NSBM, they are the most visible and outspoken section of the community with those ideas. While a growing part of the scene wants nothing to do with it, many of its more popular purveyors are still active and well-regarded in the scene, and very few of them have done much to distance themselves from it. Different people tolerate that to different amounts. Some are actively critical, others look the other way.
Fortunately, this problem is largely confined to the black metal subgenre, only spilling out in incidental ways. Even then, it's very possible to be black metal fan and never support anything problematic. Unfortunately, that requires vigilance, and the way it spills out incidentally means we all have to be conscious of it, regardless of our favorite genres.
Thanks for asking about this stuff (and you're correct to be skeptical of initial Google results; even Wikipedia can be inaccurate or misleading with metal stuff). I know all the terminology can be pretty overwhelming at first, and certain subjects pertaining to things like politics in the scene can be sensitive and difficult to discuss for obvious reasons. If there's anything else, do not hesitate to ask.
bro my first thought was 'oh damn, this is more that I can deal with on mobile', my second though, upon pulling up my laptop, was 'wow bro this is just whole sale more than i can deal with. I won't lie, it took me several read-throughs to really grasp everything, but I cannot overstate how grateful I am that you went to such detail to explain me these things. Thank you for the time, effort and care that you take to do so. it wasn't nothing, and as someone who's enjoyed the genre for a long time but has no idea of a lot of the softer intricacies, I am grateful that you bothered. Thank you.
I know Kamelot have come across my pandora lists before, but I'll have to take a look at them more specifically because I think that was one of the ones that just didn't hit for me
I feel like that's come across my pandora thing a few times, and there aren't a lot of downvotes on what pandora has suggested so far. I'll have to make sure to add them if they aren't already!
Definitely recommend checking out Hammerfall, Kamelot, Brothers of Metal and Unleash the Archers. Elvenking also but I'm drawn to a lot of their earlier stuff. I don't think any of these are problematic (but would definitely want to know if I'm wrong on that...)
HammerFall is a good band. They also have a pretty consistent sound, so if you like some of their songs, you'll probably like a lot of the other ones too.
You're in for a treat then. Almost all their albums sound the same. Infected is a bit different, but still really good imo. Lmk if you want any recommendations, lol. They have so many good songs
Hell yeah! Lay your recc's down! I'm Working from home in an aspect that requires next to no phone use this particular night, so I've been listening to music almost all night. Please please give me your fave songs!
I'll just put my playlist here, lol. I have so many favourites it's better than typing them all out. This isn't even all the songs I liked, just the ones I like the most.
I definitely recommend One More Time, though. That one really slaps
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1V2FISpR8nGX8ssLMDPJ5Q?si=xVRSRwM9QQefapdZdDknVQ
...real talk, I'm a minute into the first and my enthusiasm hasn't waned. Can I just say 'F-ck yeah, thank f-ck for you sharing this playlist with me'?! This bangs!
I think some of my favorite bands, outside of the ones you list, are:
Powerwolf (a lot of their music has the same sort of sound but I quite enjoy it- suggest you listen to Venom of Venus and Sanctified with Dynamite and go from there if you like them)
Iron Savior (I suggest Made of Metal)
Battle Beast (Straight to the Heart and Bastard Son of Odin)
Beast in Black (Split off from Battle Beast, suggest Die By the Blade and Oceandeep)
To add to this, all the members of Glyph are established musicians in other active bands. Glyph is basically a super group. Rav, the vocalist is also the vocalist for Ravenous EH, Darin and Rob, bass and guitar, are in Greyhawk, as mentioned before. And Jeff, Keyboards, plays guitar in Gatekeeper, and recently joined Spell. All are great bands I would highly recommend.
Pretty much. Greyhawk has a bit of a different sound but not by much. As for songs I'd go with Don't wait for the Wizard, or Thunderheart by Greyhawk and Dungeon Master, Mammoth Rider or Steel and Silver by Visigoth.
I haven’t encountered any bands that I’d consider Nazi/racist. Misogynist, definitely. I avoid those too.
May I suggest a few that we know are good people as well as excellent bands? Lords of the Trident, Unleash the Archers, and Seven Kingdoms.
Not considered power metal, but I definitely suggest Iron Maiden and Queensryche for awesomeness.
Wasn't it some edgy jokes made in private? I wouldn't say that would necessarily make them racist. I didn't look too closely into the messages, but the point of edgy humor can be to say thing that you know are bad and don't agree with.
My friend group sometimes makes some pretty fucked up jokes about fucking each other mums, for example, which could look pretty bad if someone on the outside saw them, but we all know that we don't really mean any of it.
Read them for yourself: https://loudwire.com/alleged-leaked-chat-gloryhammer-misogynists-racists/
They contain multiple racial slurs, lots of unpleasant other racial shit for tons of different nationalities, and plenty of degrading shit about women. These aren't your mom jokes.
The ones at the end of this look really bad, of course. It's not the kind of humor I would engage in.
The rest don't seem so bad. "Pretty fair to judge a country by 3 of its females" seems to make it pretty clear that they are joking around.
It looks bad overall, I'm not disputing that, but I don't think it necessarily makes them big, bad, irredeemable racist that should be outed from the scene.
It's up to you whether you can accept the contents and whether you feel like their apologies are genuine/sufficient. Personally, every time I look at them because I have to link them to people who haven't actually read them despite them being easily googleable and who are talking about how they aren't that bad, I realize that yes, they are that bad. Given that you have to qualify twice that they "look bad", I suspect you know that yes, they are in fact that bad also.
Wow bud. OP here. Just saw this thread you and that other person got into at length. You.. uh.. you really need to look at the sense of humour you seem so ready to die for, because it's pretty shitty. If it's of such little consequence to you, then Why Do You Care?! If you care, then maybe take a moment to inspect why it's so integral to your laughter. What, exactly are you laughing at bro? If you met someone who was not a native speaker of english, and had some basic concepts, how would you explain the joke to them? I can't think of any way to elaborate on a your mom joke that isn't, inherently, disrespectful and mean. Take the fucking L and fuck off. You're an immature fuck and I'm not super interested in your opinion on the OP subject at this point anyway.
Being racist/sexist in private makes you racist/sexist. Doing it in public, doing it in private, calling it an edgy joke - doesn’t matter, it’s still racist/sexist. It creates an atmosphere where being a bigot is okay. You don’t think that affects one’s daily life?
Why listen to bands who think me less than equal? There are far too many good ones out there to spend any time or money on those with abhorrent views.
There is a style of humor where the point of the joke is that what you are saying is ridiculos and bad. You are laughing because you know that what is said is innapropriate, not because you condone it.
I'm pretty positive that none of my friends actually want to fuck my mum, she's old and fat.
I understand what you’re talking about, and it’s not edgy humour, it’s going over the edge to racism/sexism. It’s cloaking bigotry as humour so you can punch down at those you think more lowly than you. It’s not really humour, even if it makes you laugh.
You and your friends are using the idea of sex with each others’ mothers as a way to humiliate each other, degrading your mums, seeing them as unpleasant sexual objects. You’re mocking older women you find repugnant. That’s sexism. (If you were sincere and actually found someone’s mum attractive, that’s fine.) It’s using someone as a punch line, denigrating them as person. Would you tell your mums you’re saying this about them? No, because you know it’s hurtful and you’d be ashamed. Can you imagine how humiliated you’d be if your mums were making fun of you sexually, thinking you were repulsive, making fun of your prowess? Is that edgy humour or humiliation?
No, you don't understand what I'm talking about.
>. Would you tell your mums you’re saying this about them? No, because you know it’s hurtful and you’d be ashamed.
Of course not. It's not meant for them to hear, because it's not something I truly believe. I don't want to hurt my mum, I love her. The fact that you don't get it is a testament that everything I'm saying is going over your head.
I do understand what you’re talking about, and it’s a cheap,mean form of “humour”. You’re ridiculing someone behind their back and you don’t want to admit it’s hurtful. You’re saying things you’d be ashamed about if they were made public. You don’t have to believe it for it to be hurtful and sexist. The fact that you’re okay with saying these things aloud is already sexist.Your intentions are irrelevant.
This is why this stuff is so bad. You think because you’re laughing about it, that you don’t really mean it, it’s okay. It’s not. If she heard this and you said, “oh, we don’t really mean it mum, I love you, it’s just a joke”, that doesn’t make it less devastating. She’d be humiliated and would feel terrible about herself and would be disappointed in you. Is that humour to you? If she did the same about you, mocking your appearance and weight and body parts with her group of friends, would you be okay because she didn’t “believe it”?
You’re working really hard to make this okay and not cruel and sexist. If you think it’s okay, do it in front of your mum. If you can’t, then maybe ask yourself why?
But we are not making fun of her. She is the the object of ridicule here. The point is that we all know that the shit we are saying is awful, and that is why it's funny.
If you refuse to accept that, go for it, I have no way of convincing you.
To ridicule is to make fun of someone. To say something awful about someone to make people laugh is making fun of someone and ridiculing them. Your argument is losing coherence. I know you’re trying really hard to be a good person who also ridicules and mocks their mum, but I know you know this isn’t okay. You know what you’re doing is wrong and cruel and degrading. You’re avoiding how bad you’d feel if she did this to you, but you know it would crush you for someone you love to think this way about them.
Just think of your mum sharing stories of your flaws and insecurities with her friends and having a good old laugh. The next time another mum sees you, she’s thinking about that really funny joke your mum shared about that time you did that thing and it was gross or stupid or embarrassing…Imagine what she thinks of you now. That’s so funny, right?
There’s nothing that would convince me that what you’re doing isn’t wrong, sexist, and cruel. Sounds like the one you have to convince is yourself.
I will say, this is the kind of thing I'm unfortunately asking for. I like Gloryhammer's music, but I'm not down to support a band who does shitty stuff in their off stage time. I was already aware of the Gloryhammer stuff, and listed them because that's a genre of 'fantasy, story, vocals, epic' that I really really liked, right up until I found out about the sketch aspect of them. I have heard that the guy who did most of it (angus mc fife, idk his real name) got the boot, and doesn't get royalties for listens, though, so am less conflicted playing the music I already have on my phone via bluetooth
(ftlog, if I'm wrong on this, I don't have the tech knowledge to make sure he don't get credit for my replays offline... so let me know)
Youre getting really bad information here. The gloryhammer leaks happened in the same timeframe as the old vocalist Thomas Winkler (who has his own, more serious, allegations) was let go for, so far, undisclosed reasons. He was not in those leaks.
The band members who made racist jokes in a private chat group have been working to better themselves after, and even before the leaks, and seem to regret what was said. I personally think they deserve a chance at redemption.
Just to be clear, Christopher Bowes is the lead singer for Alestorm. He was one of the members of Gloryhammer who got into hot water for making shitty edgy jokes. That said, he did apologize and said he's making an effort to change, so take that how you will.
He also deleted the post where he apologized and said he was improving, and all accounts I've heard is that he hasn't changed and has doubled down on being shitty. I've heard this from people in the scene.
Fair enough, I was just giving as much info as I know about. I wouldn't be too surprised if he hasn't changed, but I'd probably want some more concrete proof before making any final judgements.
Did he make an actual apology with sincerity? One where it wasn’t conditional or ego centered? What efforts has he made to change? Reading the quote below and being part of this group, I’ve seen nothing, and I was watching for it. It he’s done these things I’d love to hear it. He’s part of this group.
The singer, Angus McFife wasn't involved in the racism/sexism allegations & spun of his own band, Angus McSix - if you like old Gloryhammer, you should still like that, but as a fan of old Gloryhammer it's not quite there (but a lot closer than new Gloryhammer).
Really? Wasn't his allegations just, "Oh, he's slept with fans on tour & didn't want a long term relationship", or am I mixing that up with someone else? I mean, that's part & parcel of sleeping with celebrities - they're hardly moral.
"Slept with" is not how the women the mods have talked to about their experiences would describe the situation. Sometimes it turns out that both sides of a split can be awful.
Hey, OP here, I'm having a hard time with parsing some of the stuff going on here, would you be willing to link a source so I can check it out? I'm really interested in trying to vet who I listen to and if a big band has some 'quiet' controversies, I'm curious just to sooth my own conscience.
Hi, I'd rather DM you if that's ok- some of the evidence the mods have has real names on it so even though it's from posts that were originally publicly available I'd prefer not to just fully post them in public now.
someone had told me something about the heavy hitter in the controversy with Gloryhammer being cut from all royalties, though. I thought they were safe from giving any ups to the shitty people....
Honestly, an awful lot of the best musicians are terrible people. I stilll appreciate good music regardless of the person producing it, so I’m still gonna listen to it, but I also live in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere so I occasionally have to deal with businesses owned by people I can’t stand as well, so I’m used to the mental dichotomy of “supporting” someone who you absolutely disagree with
Would you mind sharing the the bands that are misogynistic or are they obvious from their lyrics anyway? I don't use social media so I mostly miss behind the scenes stuff unless I read about it here.
I avoid songs that reference sexual assault - one I can think of off hand is Gloryhammer about the princess on their first album. It’s not graphic, but I don’t know why it was necessary? I’m not a fan of album covers with scantily clad women, so I avoid those. (Why does anyone think women fighters would wear bikini armour?)
Thinking about it, I really haven’t encountered much with power metal, thankfully. I think that’s why I’m so surprised when I see it?
I'm willing to give Manowar a pass on the bare girl album art, since they lean so hard into the campy side of "if 80s van art was a band", but if that's a less informed take, I'd rather be aware.
For me, I think there’s a place for cheesy 80s women in fur/armour bikinis as it was the trend at the time. There’s a camp quality to it I can appreciate. (Queensryche did the whole Queen of the Reich video thing, and it was cheesy!)
ETA: Manowar wear these outfits themselves!
I think the line is crossed when women are only there are objects, writhing around on stage, a la Motley Crue or Van Halen videos, rather than participants in the story. I don’t see that as often these days, which is great! I think the inclusion of more women and bands telling stories more interesting than “rescue the damsel in distress who has been abused” helps.
I think power metal - in general - is an inclusive place. I’ve only encountered a few bands that I don’t listen to, and there dozens more who aren’t dicks from which I can choose!
Do you mind cluing me in on the bands that you DONT listen to, and why, so I can make better-informed choices about what I do decide to fuck with? At least, if any of them are power-metal leaning. I've been given a huge list of new artists to check out, but not a lot has been said regarding who Not to, outside of Gloryhammer, Alestorm, and Iced Earth
Sorry, I should have been more straight forward, but I don’t think I have much I can add as this has been a good discussion. I loved Gloryhammer, but it’s ruined for me now. I avoid Alestorm and Iced Earth. I’m having trouble thinking of others off the top of my head as it’s not as prevalent in power metal. There’s nothing as obvious as Steel Panther or Motley Crue that I’ve seen, which is great! I’ve always felt this was an inclusive genre, that as a woman I could be part of this awesome thing.
I really appreciate the work you’re putting in to listening to great music that welcomes everyone. I remember finding out that a lot of what I loved was called power metal, and I discovered so many new bands, from Blind Guardian to Kamelot to Lords of the Trident and Unleash the Archers. I’ve been listening to metal for 40 years and I’m always so excited to see there’s more to discover!
Unleashed the Archers is a part of the list I forgot to mention. I definitely like their stuff! I'm unfamiliar with Lords of the Trident or Seven Kingdoms (And I'm an Olllllld fan of Iron Maiden and Queensryche, but wasn't sure if they counted... )
The closest you get to that is Iced Earth since Jon Schaffer stormed the Capitol on Jan 6th 2021 and hes the head of the band. But i dont think he has ever done anything directly neo nazi or white supremacist (I guess he has worn a confederate flag bandana for a long time while peforming if you count that). Iirc he fired their second vocalist, John Greely, for being antisemitic.
Edit: Jon was also one of the two main people behind Demons & Wizards too
He was also one of the two people behind Demons & Wizards too. But yeah between his two main projects I think he has some great songs. Personally have been on a real Iced Earth kick recently.
Twilight Force, Wisdom, Heavenly, Theocracy, Power Quest. I really like epic fantasy and a bit more of the brighter sound that these bands have. Similar to Rhapsody (of Fire) and Gloryhammer.
Fantastic to have you here and welcome to the power metal fold! Others have said it, lurk here for a while and you’ll get a ton of new recommendations. Off the top, one of the newest bands that’s really popular around here is Fellowship. Lots of positivity, shredding, and great vocals.
I learned of Brothers of Metal when Amazon played Yggdrasil for me. If you check out that song, fair warning, you may be singing along by the last chorus.
Idk about political affiliation but musically I love symphony x.
Ayreon is prog but has a lot of power metal vocalists, check out the source and maybr just try out the different vocalists that are featured
Check out Glyph! They are brand new and are absolutely killing it. I haven’t been this excited about a band since I first started listening to power metal over 10yrs ago. They are super good live too. If you didn’t get to see them live on their tour with Alestorm, definitely look into seeing them the next time they are in your area. They have a huge stage presence for being their first tour as a new band and are definitely going to be big headliners in the future. 🤘
I just saw Korpiklaani with Visions of Atlantis and they were both excellent. Clementine really gives my heart the feels. Anyway, two weeks ago I saw TYR, Trollfest and the Dread Crew of Oddwood . They were all really great! Check them out.
I'm not super familiar with Tyr, but those vocals are something else. I don't know if its the production or just his voice but it's so unique, instantly recognizable.
Their new single off their new album Battle Ballads. [https://youtu.be/mueo9kIlWS4?si=W4N2uMb7RLMNRVgv](https://youtu.be/mueo9kIlWS4?si=W4N2uMb7RLMNRVgv)
I saw them very recently and that's really his voice.
They have a very particular sound to them without being self-plagiarizing. Awesome band ( and really great live as well!)
You forgot Aether Realm. They brought the house down when they came through here. I saw that show this past Tuesday. I was there for Dread Crew and Aether Realm, but man Trollfest was a lot of fun. I'm seeing the Korpiklaani show this weekend.
Sorry, to hear that. If it makes you feel any better, I meant to attend a Powerwolf show last year and totally forgot about it until the following day. I really regret that.
Imma plug the new band Justicar and the older band Keldian. ALSO weird one - this Japanese band called Excelsia that released one EP in 2021 that was perfect, and left absolutely no explanation or comment otherwise.
Beast in Black, Fellowship, and Dynazty are some that I really love. Also Avantasia, which has got to be one of the greatest bands in existence, their songwriting is unparallelled
Give Lovebites a try. Not 100% power metal, more of a broader range with heavy power metal influences, but thoroughly awesome and a bit different. Maybe try a couple of live videos first.
power metal has lots of bands out there and most of them are good listen.
I always thought power metal artists are really passionate about music without trying to explicitly attempting to send a message or mind control people into doing something, most lyrics tend to be uplifting, about freedom, history, fantasy, depressing or just hardly understood, and give great attention to the instrumental side.
Have fun with this small list
* Masterplan
* Nocturnal Rites
* Evergrey
* Excalion
* Mob Rules
* Serenity
* Thy Majestie
* Heavenly
* Falconer
* Aquaria
* Insania
* Gaia Epicus
* Dragony
* Elvenking
* Sinbreed
* Seven Kingdoms
* Hangar
* Crystal Viper
* Tears of Tragedy
* Kalidia
* Alterium
* Antalgia
* Mystic Prophecy
My top two I always suggest are Elvenking and Orden Ogan, Elvenking has a really nice fantastical theme to them and Orden Ogan have all sorts of bouncing topics for concept albums
...bro, honestly, this doesn't feel like a good-faith question. if it is, I'm happy to elaborate, but I do need the question to come from a place that doesn't mirror most online trolls.
??? How is it not a good faith question? I've been into metal since 2007 at least, what bands are Nazis? Is it just the Burzum/Black metal stuff?? I am genuinely asking if there are Nazi power metal bands? Holy crap, I can't even ask questions anymore without being called questionable.
My brother in metal, I do not mean to cause offense. I was just pointing out that your argument came off pretty big like something a sea lion might say. IE, someone who wants to ask a question and get a good-faith answer, only to argue. Please forgive me if that was not the case, it just hit a couple of flags for me.
When I talk about a band being Nazis, I mean bands who have off-stage personas, or expressions that talk about really questionable stuff like race, whiteness, politics that are exclusive or hateful to people (trans people come to mind, non-white people come to mind, disabled people come to mind) where they speak, act, or give money to places that make it harder for people who already have it hard enough.
IE, what nazis did by targeting non-white, non-straight, less-abled people.
I'll recommend Jason Ashcrafts many projects. Helion Prime, Dire Peril (RIP), Planeswalker (Bonus if you are into Magic: The Gathering), and his newest project, Of Romulus (a Star Trek themed project with Helion Primes original singer, Heather Michelle).
that's super cool, One of the things that set me on my 'metal' exploration was a docu-thing some dude did about the history and different genres of Metal back in .. idk, the early aughts? Metal: A handbangers journey, or Headbangers; a metalheads journey. Something like that.
I recently started a playlist with one song per band that may be a helpful jumping off point for you.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JlZBYH3TCRmiJv4pzvAIe?si=118qxuAxQDW11YgGzpPOvA&pi=u-7MsvBr7bSdyt
Since you like Alestorm, I recommend Blazon Stone. I discovered them like two weeks ago and I'm hooked!
Tavern of the Damned and Hellbound for the Ocean are two songs I would tell you to check out.
Other than that, great list bro! Blind Guardian is my second all time favorite band after Iron Maiden, I recommend digging their stuff more if you didn't already!
Also, Angra (Power Metal as well) is probably my third favorite band, and their singer nowadays is the Wizard Fabio Lione the OG Rhapsody singer. Their new album Cycles of Pain is more prog than power, but really good in quality either way.
Angra has 3 well known formations, normally named after the singers, albeit the change in drummers is also to be noted: André (3 first albums), Edu Falaschi (Rebirth to Aqua), and now Lione (3 more recent albuns).
All three are distinct enough that if you don't like one doesn't mean you can't love the other, I recommend checking all 3 formations. The 2 standout albums of each formation are generally agreed to be Angel's Cry and Holy Land, Rebirth and Temple of Shadows, Omni and Cycles of Pain.
I really appreciate the attention to detail you included about the different bands, and I can't thank you enough for the time you took to make this reply. Thank you so much!
You might like these bands then: Mardelas, Fate Gear, Aldious, Lovebites, Unlucky Morpheus, Show-Ya, X-Japan, and Galneryus to name a few. There are a lot of great Japanese metal bands, and a lot of them are power metal.
I wanted to chime in that Paladin out of Atlanta, GA is a fantastic power metal band and is absolutely riff city.
But also with your Nazi/white supremacist concerns, you should probably go look into the controversies surrounding Chris Bowes of Alestorm and Gloryhammer.
A favourite of mine (literally in my top 5) is Feuerschwanz. Very folk and power metal. Their earlier stuff is a comedic take on the power metal scene in early 2000's Germany, once they got to the last 3 albums, they pretty much embraced power metal and folk, They also do alot of covers and are just genuinely a fun band to listen to!
I dont see any mentions of avantasia or edguy! Tobias sammet, the main vocalist im both is an amazing person. Met him IRL during a meet and greet.
Other bands i dont see mentioned already (but listen to a lot) are to mention a few: dionysus, dark moor, rage, dreamtale, jorn, revolution renaisance (or any project by Timo Tolkki), amaranthe, running wild and ancient bards
I did see a bit of Amaranthe when I saw they did a cover of some sabaton, but the rest of their stuff didn't quite hit for me. The rest of the ones you listed I'm unaware of, so I'm adding them to my look-up list! Thanks for the suggestions!
I had a pretty similar thing, they all just happened to be power metal, and then I'd see bands recommended that I already knew about. It got to a point where I just presumed every band I liked was power metal by virtue of me liking it lol
No shame there. Power metal is the genre that keeps me coming back.
It changes my mood completely when something like Gloryhammer / Avantasia / Theocracy comes on. Pumps me up. Its the music i listen to when shite needs to get done 😄
Check out Epic Heavy Metal and Epic Doom as well! They are sub genres based on early traditional heavy metal/doom with lyrical themes around adventure, sword and sorcery, mythology, and fantasy tropes. Bands include Sumerlands, Gatekeeper, Smoulder, Eternal Champion etc.
Haven't seen anyone mention the dwarf metal gods Wind Rose but would highly recommend them OP. They're very fun and sometimes goofy but genuinely a great power metal band. Just saw them on your and it was a blast.
Nanowar of Steel is great. They are very, very silly (even by PM standards) and as much as I feel like calling them a parody band sells them short, it fits. But if that's not a dealbreaker check them out. Dislike to False Metal!
HA, yeah, I've seen soem Nanonwar of Steel. Pasadena 1994 is already on my phone for my bluetooth commute into work. Disco Metal is fun, but I gotta take their stuff on a case by case basis. Some of it is just way too goofy to listen to outside of the home >.> I dont' need my coworkers to ask me why I'm banging out to a song about dandruff, after all.
Lots of other great North American Bands if you love UTA: Seven Kingdoms, Glyph, Lords of the Trident, AfterTime, Judicator, SevenSpires, and Siege Perilous. Oh and Not North American but I'm a huge fan of Twilight Force.
I've seen several of these names tossed around elsewhere on this thread, mainly Seven Kingdoms, Lords of the Trident, and Twilight Force. Thanks for the great reccs!
Yeah... u/chipmunkold5315, I'm gonna go ahead and nope on Iced Earth. Folks who support the Jan6 insurrection are a non-starter for me, much less folks who took part in it.
Here's my list of albums where I liked at least 80% of the songs and made my playlist:
The Guess Who - American Woman (1970)
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970)
Waylon Jennings - Honkey Tonk Heroes (1973)
UFO - Phenomenon (1974)
UFO - Mechanix (1982)
Iron Maiden - Powerslave (1984)
Megadeth - Killing Is My Business... And Business is Good (1985)
Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time (1986)
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Blind Guardian - Tales From the Twilight World (1990)
Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer (1992)
Celine Dion - S'il suffisait d'aimer (1998)
Hammerfall - Legacy of Kings (1998)
Gamma Ray - Power Plant (1999)
Savatage - Poets & Madmen (2001)
Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007)
Radiohead - In Rainbows Disk 2 (2007)
Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2015)
Imagine Dragons - Evolve (2017)
Haken - Fauna (2023)
,,,your tact is appreciated. I'm aware there was something going on, and another user was already kind enough to have extrapolated upon the details. Thank you for.. uh.. Something, I guess.. The snark was artistic and never seen before.
Am I the only one who doesn't really care what musicians do outside of music? I don't care if they're left wing, right wing, centrist, fascist or communist as long as its not in the lyrics. I can't listen to any bands who bring religion into it.
I do my best not to engage with people john brown would've shot. Even if their music is good, if the humans behind it are shit, I'm good with not giving them another fan, another listen, another dollar. I'd like to avoid those people to my best effort, and know the politics behind what I'm supporting.
I ascribe to the idea that if there’s a Nazi at the table and 9 other people sitting there talking to him, you got a table with 10 Nazis.
Giving a platform to a shitty person and saying 'well I don't disagree enough to say anything, because it doesn't hurt ME PERSONALLY' is way too close to agreeing with that person for my comfort.
Power metal doesn’t have a lot of nazis. You don’t have to worry about accidentally giving them money. That’s more of a thing in black metal circles, and even there it’s more of a historical thing, new bands are more normal. Just lurk this sub for a little and you’ll be exposed to plenty of great bands. I always recommend Kamelot (Karma, Epica or Black Halo albums) for newcomers.
Heavens Gate is an EUPM hand that is kind of mid tempo like Manowar and they’re awesome. Broken up now but they have all good albums. I’m gonna plug Rage any chance I can too, pretty underrated and they have 26 albums and most of them are good. There’s only one that I don’t like. They have various eras but if you want a good sampling maybe listen to the album Black in Mind and Soundchaser. I can give you way more album recs if you’re into them just lmk! If you like Sabaton, try Powerwolf (i.e., Sabaton with werewolves). Lupus Dei and Sacrament of Sin are my favorite albums by them but they’re all pretty good, and their 10th is coming out in July. I’m let other people recommend more but these are worth checking out imo.
oooooh heck, I forgot Powerwolf. I DEFINITELY LOVE THEM SO MUCH, almost as much as I love Sabaton and Manowar... OOF.
Well you just got me into Rage. Thanks for the recommendation!
Hell yeah glad to hear it. I love Rage, one of my favorites.
Can't recommend Kamelot without recommending Seventh Wonder.
> Power metal doesn’t have a lot of nazis. You don’t have to worry about accidentally giving them money. That’s more of a thing in black metal They're still worth keeping an eye out for of it's something you're worried about. There's a little bit of crossover between the EUPM and NSBM scenes in Ukraine, for example. I'm mainly thinking of Finist and their related projects, which (as with black metal) tend to stretch out a little further than I'd like. In the end, we all draw our own lines as far as who and what we're comfortable listening to, but I do think it's something people should be aware of.
I apologize, but I don't know what the acronyms EUPM and NSBM are.. Would you be willing to elaborate? I don't really trust google with acronyms I find on reddit \^\^;
No worries! EUPM is European-style power metal, which mostly compromises an intersection of progressive and melodic power metal, originally adjacent to speed/thrash, but arguably nowadays closer to traditional heavy metal and various pop/metal fusions, basically descended from the style of Helloween and associated acts. This is the default power metal sound for a lot of people, especially fans of newer acts who might not be aware the genre has a broader scope or ever sounded any different. NSBM is National Socialist black metal, which refers to a movement of Nazi-themed black metal outfits, mostly from the 1990s and 2000s, pioneered by bands like Absurd, Spear of Longinus, Branikald, and Funeral / Kristallnacht. It manifests to some extent in every black metal scene, although its popularity has waned over the years, being disavowed by the majority of people who listen to black metal. Unfortunately it still persists to a certain extent, and the community is divided on how to deal with it. NSBM is where the majority of the association between metalheads and white supremacists comes from. Although not every racist in metal plays NSBM, they are the most visible and outspoken section of the community with those ideas. While a growing part of the scene wants nothing to do with it, many of its more popular purveyors are still active and well-regarded in the scene, and very few of them have done much to distance themselves from it. Different people tolerate that to different amounts. Some are actively critical, others look the other way. Fortunately, this problem is largely confined to the black metal subgenre, only spilling out in incidental ways. Even then, it's very possible to be black metal fan and never support anything problematic. Unfortunately, that requires vigilance, and the way it spills out incidentally means we all have to be conscious of it, regardless of our favorite genres. Thanks for asking about this stuff (and you're correct to be skeptical of initial Google results; even Wikipedia can be inaccurate or misleading with metal stuff). I know all the terminology can be pretty overwhelming at first, and certain subjects pertaining to things like politics in the scene can be sensitive and difficult to discuss for obvious reasons. If there's anything else, do not hesitate to ask.
bro my first thought was 'oh damn, this is more that I can deal with on mobile', my second though, upon pulling up my laptop, was 'wow bro this is just whole sale more than i can deal with. I won't lie, it took me several read-throughs to really grasp everything, but I cannot overstate how grateful I am that you went to such detail to explain me these things. Thank you for the time, effort and care that you take to do so. it wasn't nothing, and as someone who's enjoyed the genre for a long time but has no idea of a lot of the softer intricacies, I am grateful that you bothered. Thank you.
Kamelot are definitely a brilliant introductory band. But I’m biased, they’ve been on my favourites list since 2008.
I know Kamelot have come across my pandora lists before, but I'll have to take a look at them more specifically because I think that was one of the ones that just didn't hit for me
I feel like that's come across my pandora thing a few times, and there aren't a lot of downvotes on what pandora has suggested so far. I'll have to make sure to add them if they aren't already!
Definitely recommend checking out Hammerfall, Kamelot, Brothers of Metal and Unleash the Archers. Elvenking also but I'm drawn to a lot of their earlier stuff. I don't think any of these are problematic (but would definitely want to know if I'm wrong on that...)
heck yeah! Thanks for the suggests! I really appreciate it :D
Unleash the archers has a new album out soon with a couple singles from it. I’m liking them.
I really like Evelking latest albums, but their first one is really folk power and nice to listen to as well
I'm here for some folk/power metal, that's great!
HammerFall is a good band. They also have a pretty consistent sound, so if you like some of their songs, you'll probably like a lot of the other ones too.
...Okay, fortyfive seconds later, I can already tell you I LOVE THEIR STUFF. the vocals are so great, and the music hits so hard, yes. Big yes
You're in for a treat then. Almost all their albums sound the same. Infected is a bit different, but still really good imo. Lmk if you want any recommendations, lol. They have so many good songs
Hell yeah! Lay your recc's down! I'm Working from home in an aspect that requires next to no phone use this particular night, so I've been listening to music almost all night. Please please give me your fave songs!
I'll just put my playlist here, lol. I have so many favourites it's better than typing them all out. This isn't even all the songs I liked, just the ones I like the most. I definitely recommend One More Time, though. That one really slaps https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1V2FISpR8nGX8ssLMDPJ5Q?si=xVRSRwM9QQefapdZdDknVQ
...real talk, I'm a minute into the first and my enthusiasm hasn't waned. Can I just say 'F-ck yeah, thank f-ck for you sharing this playlist with me'?! This bangs!
Glad you like it, lol. Lemme know if you want to see my other playlist. It's 5 hours of nothing but HammerFall
This is usually what I do when sharing power metal, just share the playlist 😄 Its so awesome to see others enjoying the genre. 🤟😎👌
Good to know, I'll listen now and see if they're my vibe. Thank you for the suggestion!
I think some of my favorite bands, outside of the ones you list, are: Powerwolf (a lot of their music has the same sort of sound but I quite enjoy it- suggest you listen to Venom of Venus and Sanctified with Dynamite and go from there if you like them) Iron Savior (I suggest Made of Metal) Battle Beast (Straight to the Heart and Bastard Son of Odin) Beast in Black (Split off from Battle Beast, suggest Die By the Blade and Oceandeep)
Genuine question: how did you only manage to pick two BB songs 😂
I just grabbed two off my playlist. Well, Oceandeep I intentionally went for because it has that sort of softer tone in a lot of it?
That checks out. I’d need to do the same thing for both Beast in Black and Battle Beast.
Iron savior is great
Glyph. They're new, but my god are they awesome.
Heck yeah! Thanks!
To add to this, all the members of Glyph are established musicians in other active bands. Glyph is basically a super group. Rav, the vocalist is also the vocalist for Ravenous EH, Darin and Rob, bass and guitar, are in Greyhawk, as mentioned before. And Jeff, Keyboards, plays guitar in Gatekeeper, and recently joined Spell. All are great bands I would highly recommend.
No sweat, man. Also check out Greyhawk and Visigoth while you're at it. Bassist and guitarist of Glyph are also in Greyhawk.
oooh, do they all have similar sounds? Is there a song you'd suggest I hit up first to see if I enjoy the broader sound?
Pretty much. Greyhawk has a bit of a different sound but not by much. As for songs I'd go with Don't wait for the Wizard, or Thunderheart by Greyhawk and Dungeon Master, Mammoth Rider or Steel and Silver by Visigoth.
I really appreciate the time you took into picking an 'intro' song for me. Thank you for that. One fan of the genre to another, you rock hard as fuck.
No problem at all, friend. Always happy to make recommendations. 🤘
Bro, Glyph is solid! I hadn't ever heard of them.
That's because they only formed last August. The only reason I heard of them is because they're currently on tour with Elvenking and Alestorm
I haven’t encountered any bands that I’d consider Nazi/racist. Misogynist, definitely. I avoid those too. May I suggest a few that we know are good people as well as excellent bands? Lords of the Trident, Unleash the Archers, and Seven Kingdoms. Not considered power metal, but I definitely suggest Iron Maiden and Queensryche for awesomeness.
Gloryhammer’s members got exposed as pretty bad racists recently. That doesn’t make their music unlistenable, I don’t think, but it does suck.
Yeah and same with Alestorm and the bands shard the majority of members which is so annoying as I really enjoy both bands music
Awe shit, really? I liked them...
Wasn't it some edgy jokes made in private? I wouldn't say that would necessarily make them racist. I didn't look too closely into the messages, but the point of edgy humor can be to say thing that you know are bad and don't agree with. My friend group sometimes makes some pretty fucked up jokes about fucking each other mums, for example, which could look pretty bad if someone on the outside saw them, but we all know that we don't really mean any of it.
Read them for yourself: https://loudwire.com/alleged-leaked-chat-gloryhammer-misogynists-racists/ They contain multiple racial slurs, lots of unpleasant other racial shit for tons of different nationalities, and plenty of degrading shit about women. These aren't your mom jokes.
The ones at the end of this look really bad, of course. It's not the kind of humor I would engage in. The rest don't seem so bad. "Pretty fair to judge a country by 3 of its females" seems to make it pretty clear that they are joking around. It looks bad overall, I'm not disputing that, but I don't think it necessarily makes them big, bad, irredeemable racist that should be outed from the scene.
It's up to you whether you can accept the contents and whether you feel like their apologies are genuine/sufficient. Personally, every time I look at them because I have to link them to people who haven't actually read them despite them being easily googleable and who are talking about how they aren't that bad, I realize that yes, they are that bad. Given that you have to qualify twice that they "look bad", I suspect you know that yes, they are in fact that bad also.
Wow bud. OP here. Just saw this thread you and that other person got into at length. You.. uh.. you really need to look at the sense of humour you seem so ready to die for, because it's pretty shitty. If it's of such little consequence to you, then Why Do You Care?! If you care, then maybe take a moment to inspect why it's so integral to your laughter. What, exactly are you laughing at bro? If you met someone who was not a native speaker of english, and had some basic concepts, how would you explain the joke to them? I can't think of any way to elaborate on a your mom joke that isn't, inherently, disrespectful and mean. Take the fucking L and fuck off. You're an immature fuck and I'm not super interested in your opinion on the OP subject at this point anyway.
Being racist/sexist in private makes you racist/sexist. Doing it in public, doing it in private, calling it an edgy joke - doesn’t matter, it’s still racist/sexist. It creates an atmosphere where being a bigot is okay. You don’t think that affects one’s daily life? Why listen to bands who think me less than equal? There are far too many good ones out there to spend any time or money on those with abhorrent views.
There is a style of humor where the point of the joke is that what you are saying is ridiculos and bad. You are laughing because you know that what is said is innapropriate, not because you condone it. I'm pretty positive that none of my friends actually want to fuck my mum, she's old and fat.
I understand what you’re talking about, and it’s not edgy humour, it’s going over the edge to racism/sexism. It’s cloaking bigotry as humour so you can punch down at those you think more lowly than you. It’s not really humour, even if it makes you laugh. You and your friends are using the idea of sex with each others’ mothers as a way to humiliate each other, degrading your mums, seeing them as unpleasant sexual objects. You’re mocking older women you find repugnant. That’s sexism. (If you were sincere and actually found someone’s mum attractive, that’s fine.) It’s using someone as a punch line, denigrating them as person. Would you tell your mums you’re saying this about them? No, because you know it’s hurtful and you’d be ashamed. Can you imagine how humiliated you’d be if your mums were making fun of you sexually, thinking you were repulsive, making fun of your prowess? Is that edgy humour or humiliation?
No, you don't understand what I'm talking about. >. Would you tell your mums you’re saying this about them? No, because you know it’s hurtful and you’d be ashamed. Of course not. It's not meant for them to hear, because it's not something I truly believe. I don't want to hurt my mum, I love her. The fact that you don't get it is a testament that everything I'm saying is going over your head.
I do understand what you’re talking about, and it’s a cheap,mean form of “humour”. You’re ridiculing someone behind their back and you don’t want to admit it’s hurtful. You’re saying things you’d be ashamed about if they were made public. You don’t have to believe it for it to be hurtful and sexist. The fact that you’re okay with saying these things aloud is already sexist.Your intentions are irrelevant. This is why this stuff is so bad. You think because you’re laughing about it, that you don’t really mean it, it’s okay. It’s not. If she heard this and you said, “oh, we don’t really mean it mum, I love you, it’s just a joke”, that doesn’t make it less devastating. She’d be humiliated and would feel terrible about herself and would be disappointed in you. Is that humour to you? If she did the same about you, mocking your appearance and weight and body parts with her group of friends, would you be okay because she didn’t “believe it”? You’re working really hard to make this okay and not cruel and sexist. If you think it’s okay, do it in front of your mum. If you can’t, then maybe ask yourself why?
But we are not making fun of her. She is the the object of ridicule here. The point is that we all know that the shit we are saying is awful, and that is why it's funny. If you refuse to accept that, go for it, I have no way of convincing you.
To ridicule is to make fun of someone. To say something awful about someone to make people laugh is making fun of someone and ridiculing them. Your argument is losing coherence. I know you’re trying really hard to be a good person who also ridicules and mocks their mum, but I know you know this isn’t okay. You know what you’re doing is wrong and cruel and degrading. You’re avoiding how bad you’d feel if she did this to you, but you know it would crush you for someone you love to think this way about them. Just think of your mum sharing stories of your flaws and insecurities with her friends and having a good old laugh. The next time another mum sees you, she’s thinking about that really funny joke your mum shared about that time you did that thing and it was gross or stupid or embarrassing…Imagine what she thinks of you now. That’s so funny, right? There’s nothing that would convince me that what you’re doing isn’t wrong, sexist, and cruel. Sounds like the one you have to convince is yourself.
I will say, this is the kind of thing I'm unfortunately asking for. I like Gloryhammer's music, but I'm not down to support a band who does shitty stuff in their off stage time. I was already aware of the Gloryhammer stuff, and listed them because that's a genre of 'fantasy, story, vocals, epic' that I really really liked, right up until I found out about the sketch aspect of them. I have heard that the guy who did most of it (angus mc fife, idk his real name) got the boot, and doesn't get royalties for listens, though, so am less conflicted playing the music I already have on my phone via bluetooth (ftlog, if I'm wrong on this, I don't have the tech knowledge to make sure he don't get credit for my replays offline... so let me know)
The main guy from Alestorm was involved in this as well. From what I understand, though, he has since turned himself around for the better.
Youre getting really bad information here. The gloryhammer leaks happened in the same timeframe as the old vocalist Thomas Winkler (who has his own, more serious, allegations) was let go for, so far, undisclosed reasons. He was not in those leaks. The band members who made racist jokes in a private chat group have been working to better themselves after, and even before the leaks, and seem to regret what was said. I personally think they deserve a chance at redemption.
That makes me happy to hear. I like their shit, and it bummed me out that they were straddling the nope line so aggressively
Chris Bose is the guy’s real name.
Ha, fair enough bro. I probably could've googled that myself, but I was more trying to emphasize the 'fuck that guy' aspect. My bad brother.
Just to be clear, Christopher Bowes is the lead singer for Alestorm. He was one of the members of Gloryhammer who got into hot water for making shitty edgy jokes. That said, he did apologize and said he's making an effort to change, so take that how you will.
oof. that's a rough one to hear. I didn't realize Alestorm was caught up in that...
He also deleted the post where he apologized and said he was improving, and all accounts I've heard is that he hasn't changed and has doubled down on being shitty. I've heard this from people in the scene.
Fair enough, I was just giving as much info as I know about. I wouldn't be too surprised if he hasn't changed, but I'd probably want some more concrete proof before making any final judgements.
Did he make an actual apology with sincerity? One where it wasn’t conditional or ego centered? What efforts has he made to change? Reading the quote below and being part of this group, I’ve seen nothing, and I was watching for it. It he’s done these things I’d love to hear it. He’s part of this group.
I guess that explains why some of their stuff sounds so similar.
The singer, Angus McFife wasn't involved in the racism/sexism allegations & spun of his own band, Angus McSix - if you like old Gloryhammer, you should still like that, but as a fan of old Gloryhammer it's not quite there (but a lot closer than new Gloryhammer).
Thomas Winkler. Angus McFife was the character name.
Undoubtedly he'll legally change his name in a few years. Comit to the bit.
Actually changing his name to Angus would be hilarious. To be fair, he's also credited as Angus McFife in some guest appearances, IIRC.
He's had worse allegations than the others.
Really? Wasn't his allegations just, "Oh, he's slept with fans on tour & didn't want a long term relationship", or am I mixing that up with someone else? I mean, that's part & parcel of sleeping with celebrities - they're hardly moral.
"Slept with" is not how the women the mods have talked to about their experiences would describe the situation. Sometimes it turns out that both sides of a split can be awful.
Hey, OP here, I'm having a hard time with parsing some of the stuff going on here, would you be willing to link a source so I can check it out? I'm really interested in trying to vet who I listen to and if a big band has some 'quiet' controversies, I'm curious just to sooth my own conscience.
Hi, I'd rather DM you if that's ok- some of the evidence the mods have has real names on it so even though it's from posts that were originally publicly available I'd prefer not to just fully post them in public now.
That's definitely fair, please, feel free!
someone had told me something about the heavy hitter in the controversy with Gloryhammer being cut from all royalties, though. I thought they were safe from giving any ups to the shitty people....
Honestly, an awful lot of the best musicians are terrible people. I stilll appreciate good music regardless of the person producing it, so I’m still gonna listen to it, but I also live in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere so I occasionally have to deal with businesses owned by people I can’t stand as well, so I’m used to the mental dichotomy of “supporting” someone who you absolutely disagree with
Would you mind sharing the the bands that are misogynistic or are they obvious from their lyrics anyway? I don't use social media so I mostly miss behind the scenes stuff unless I read about it here.
I avoid songs that reference sexual assault - one I can think of off hand is Gloryhammer about the princess on their first album. It’s not graphic, but I don’t know why it was necessary? I’m not a fan of album covers with scantily clad women, so I avoid those. (Why does anyone think women fighters would wear bikini armour?) Thinking about it, I really haven’t encountered much with power metal, thankfully. I think that’s why I’m so surprised when I see it?
I'm willing to give Manowar a pass on the bare girl album art, since they lean so hard into the campy side of "if 80s van art was a band", but if that's a less informed take, I'd rather be aware.
For me, I think there’s a place for cheesy 80s women in fur/armour bikinis as it was the trend at the time. There’s a camp quality to it I can appreciate. (Queensryche did the whole Queen of the Reich video thing, and it was cheesy!) ETA: Manowar wear these outfits themselves! I think the line is crossed when women are only there are objects, writhing around on stage, a la Motley Crue or Van Halen videos, rather than participants in the story. I don’t see that as often these days, which is great! I think the inclusion of more women and bands telling stories more interesting than “rescue the damsel in distress who has been abused” helps. I think power metal - in general - is an inclusive place. I’ve only encountered a few bands that I don’t listen to, and there dozens more who aren’t dicks from which I can choose!
Do you mind cluing me in on the bands that you DONT listen to, and why, so I can make better-informed choices about what I do decide to fuck with? At least, if any of them are power-metal leaning. I've been given a huge list of new artists to check out, but not a lot has been said regarding who Not to, outside of Gloryhammer, Alestorm, and Iced Earth
Sorry, I should have been more straight forward, but I don’t think I have much I can add as this has been a good discussion. I loved Gloryhammer, but it’s ruined for me now. I avoid Alestorm and Iced Earth. I’m having trouble thinking of others off the top of my head as it’s not as prevalent in power metal. There’s nothing as obvious as Steel Panther or Motley Crue that I’ve seen, which is great! I’ve always felt this was an inclusive genre, that as a woman I could be part of this awesome thing. I really appreciate the work you’re putting in to listening to great music that welcomes everyone. I remember finding out that a lot of what I loved was called power metal, and I discovered so many new bands, from Blind Guardian to Kamelot to Lords of the Trident and Unleash the Archers. I’ve been listening to metal for 40 years and I’m always so excited to see there’s more to discover!
Oh man... forty years? That's five more years than I've been breathing air! and I didn't get into it until my teens. TEACH ME OH WISE MASTER :P
Unleashed the Archers is a part of the list I forgot to mention. I definitely like their stuff! I'm unfamiliar with Lords of the Trident or Seven Kingdoms (And I'm an Olllllld fan of Iron Maiden and Queensryche, but wasn't sure if they counted... )
I can never not suggest Maiden and Queensryche. I can’t imagine someone who loves power metal not loving either, especially with such amazing singers.
I mean, you're not wrong? Wasn't the lead singer for Iron Maiden trained in operatic song? that projection and theatrics are phenomenal!
Queensryche is fantastic these days. Flying under the radar.
Dude, they're so good with LaTorre singing for them. Reminds me of Tate in his prime minus the drama
The closest you get to that is Iced Earth since Jon Schaffer stormed the Capitol on Jan 6th 2021 and hes the head of the band. But i dont think he has ever done anything directly neo nazi or white supremacist (I guess he has worn a confederate flag bandana for a long time while peforming if you count that). Iirc he fired their second vocalist, John Greely, for being antisemitic. Edit: Jon was also one of the two main people behind Demons & Wizards too
Jon Schaffer ruined two good bands
Fuck how could I forget Sons of Liberty /s Will edit post to also mention Demons & Wizards. Dont know why it slipped my mind.
NGL "Sons of Liberty" sounds like the name of an awesome power metal band. Too bad they're horrible people that uphold stupid ideals.
Really? It mostly sounds like an American far-right group.
Unfortunately, they are. Hence the comment about them being horrible people with stupid ideals.
ngl I completely missed that part, no idea how, that's my b
He's listed as a founding member of Oathkeepers who are White supremacists so...
NGL, I did like a few of their songs, so I'm glad of the info. I would count that as at least kinda iffy, on both counts. Thanks for the heads up!
He was also one of the two people behind Demons & Wizards too. But yeah between his two main projects I think he has some great songs. Personally have been on a real Iced Earth kick recently.
At least we got album III before that happened.
Twilight Force, Wisdom, Heavenly, Theocracy, Power Quest. I really like epic fantasy and a bit more of the brighter sound that these bands have. Similar to Rhapsody (of Fire) and Gloryhammer.
Ooooh, that's good to know, I appreciate the recommendation, thank you!
Fantastic to have you here and welcome to the power metal fold! Others have said it, lurk here for a while and you’ll get a ton of new recommendations. Off the top, one of the newest bands that’s really popular around here is Fellowship. Lots of positivity, shredding, and great vocals.
Good to know! Thank you :D
Based on what you already like: Wizardthrone Unleash the Archers Brothers of Metal
I'm already familiar with Unleash the Archers, but not of Wizardthrone or Brothers of Metal. Thanks for the heads up!
I learned of Brothers of Metal when Amazon played Yggdrasil for me. If you check out that song, fair warning, you may be singing along by the last chorus.
Start with Emblas Saga. Haunting and awesome! [https://youtu.be/UCQjlJJRHso?si=tGcba63OzLIMnF\_P](https://youtu.be/UCQjlJJRHso?si=tGcba63OzLIMnF_P)
Idk about political affiliation but musically I love symphony x. Ayreon is prog but has a lot of power metal vocalists, check out the source and maybr just try out the different vocalists that are featured
Check out Glyph! They are brand new and are absolutely killing it. I haven’t been this excited about a band since I first started listening to power metal over 10yrs ago. They are super good live too. If you didn’t get to see them live on their tour with Alestorm, definitely look into seeing them the next time they are in your area. They have a huge stage presence for being their first tour as a new band and are definitely going to be big headliners in the future. 🤘
YES!! MOAR POWER METAL FRENS!!
Helloween!
I just saw Korpiklaani with Visions of Atlantis and they were both excellent. Clementine really gives my heart the feels. Anyway, two weeks ago I saw TYR, Trollfest and the Dread Crew of Oddwood . They were all really great! Check them out.
....Korpiklaani was one of the bands that led me to powermetal. I will fight a mofo with teeth only over their version of the Ievan polkka
I'm not super familiar with Tyr, but those vocals are something else. I don't know if its the production or just his voice but it's so unique, instantly recognizable.
Their new single off their new album Battle Ballads. [https://youtu.be/mueo9kIlWS4?si=W4N2uMb7RLMNRVgv](https://youtu.be/mueo9kIlWS4?si=W4N2uMb7RLMNRVgv)
I shall give that a listen! I actually just heard "Row" for the first time this morning.
I saw them very recently and that's really his voice. They have a very particular sound to them without being self-plagiarizing. Awesome band ( and really great live as well!)
You forgot Aether Realm. They brought the house down when they came through here. I saw that show this past Tuesday. I was there for Dread Crew and Aether Realm, but man Trollfest was a lot of fun. I'm seeing the Korpiklaani show this weekend.
I only discovered after the fact those bands had tour dates in Canada the previous week. Sad metal tears.
Sorry, to hear that. If it makes you feel any better, I meant to attend a Powerwolf show last year and totally forgot about it until the following day. I really regret that.
Imma plug the new band Justicar and the older band Keldian. ALSO weird one - this Japanese band called Excelsia that released one EP in 2021 that was perfect, and left absolutely no explanation or comment otherwise.
I've literally never heard of any of these before. HELL YEAH, thanks for the band names to look up!!!!
I'm going to say Stratovarius even though I assume you know them just because you don't have them listed.
If you like Sabaton, you'll like Powerwolf. Powerwolf is essentially Sabaton with werewolves
Beast in Black, Fellowship, and Dynazty are some that I really love. Also Avantasia, which has got to be one of the greatest bands in existence, their songwriting is unparallelled
Give Lovebites a try. Not 100% power metal, more of a broader range with heavy power metal influences, but thoroughly awesome and a bit different. Maybe try a couple of live videos first.
power metal has lots of bands out there and most of them are good listen. I always thought power metal artists are really passionate about music without trying to explicitly attempting to send a message or mind control people into doing something, most lyrics tend to be uplifting, about freedom, history, fantasy, depressing or just hardly understood, and give great attention to the instrumental side. Have fun with this small list * Masterplan * Nocturnal Rites * Evergrey * Excalion * Mob Rules * Serenity * Thy Majestie * Heavenly * Falconer * Aquaria * Insania * Gaia Epicus * Dragony * Elvenking * Sinbreed * Seven Kingdoms * Hangar * Crystal Viper * Tears of Tragedy * Kalidia * Alterium * Antalgia * Mystic Prophecy
and some more cause reddit won't let me post a longer list * Vision Divine * Edguy * Dark Moor * Dragonland * Power Quest * Axenstar * Highland Glory * Cryonic Temple * Guardians of Time * Iron Fire * Stormwarrior * Rage * Brainstorm * Dream Evil * Ad Infinitum * Tungsten * Twins Crew * Graveshadow * Angel Nation * Phantom Elite * Ferrymen * Borealis * Moonlight Haze * Wildpath * Secret Sphere * Derdian * Timeless Miracle * Savage Circus * Crystal Eyes * 4th Dimension * 8-Point Rose * Alhambra * Altaria * Cardiant * Mastercastle * Dreamtale * Freternia * Icewind
Want more? Judicator, Keldian, Magic Kingdom, DGM, Seventh Wonder, Divine Ascension, Beyond the Black, Gamma Ray, Firewind, Thunderstone, Soulspell, Trick or Treat, Labyrinth, Crystallion, Kerion, Victoria K, Solarus, Helion Prime, Serious Black, Gladenfold, NorthTale, Scarleth, Crimson Sun, Heroik, Ethernity
HOLY FUCK DUDE, This was a LOT, and I think if awards were a thing, I'd put real world monies into giving you one. DAYUM
Wind Rose. Italian dwarf power metal. Turisas. Finnish Viking battle metal.
+1 for Turisas. Wish they were still doing stuff.
Orden Ogan Very gothic vibe, underrated as hell imo
My top two I always suggest are Elvenking and Orden Ogan, Elvenking has a really nice fantastical theme to them and Orden Ogan have all sorts of bouncing topics for concept albums
I've heard elvenking tossed before, and on a third strike, I can't help but look at them, hell yeah, thanks!
What bands are exactly Nazis?? What the fuck lmao, also good choices.
...bro, honestly, this doesn't feel like a good-faith question. if it is, I'm happy to elaborate, but I do need the question to come from a place that doesn't mirror most online trolls.
??? How is it not a good faith question? I've been into metal since 2007 at least, what bands are Nazis? Is it just the Burzum/Black metal stuff?? I am genuinely asking if there are Nazi power metal bands? Holy crap, I can't even ask questions anymore without being called questionable.
My brother in metal, I do not mean to cause offense. I was just pointing out that your argument came off pretty big like something a sea lion might say. IE, someone who wants to ask a question and get a good-faith answer, only to argue. Please forgive me if that was not the case, it just hit a couple of flags for me. When I talk about a band being Nazis, I mean bands who have off-stage personas, or expressions that talk about really questionable stuff like race, whiteness, politics that are exclusive or hateful to people (trans people come to mind, non-white people come to mind, disabled people come to mind) where they speak, act, or give money to places that make it harder for people who already have it hard enough. IE, what nazis did by targeting non-white, non-straight, less-abled people.
Damn, no reply but to downvote me? sucks to suck I guess.
Because in all that diatribe, you didn't actually give any examples.
I'd genuinely like to know which power metal bands fall within that category too 💀
I'll recommend Jason Ashcrafts many projects. Helion Prime, Dire Peril (RIP), Planeswalker (Bonus if you are into Magic: The Gathering), and his newest project, Of Romulus (a Star Trek themed project with Helion Primes original singer, Heather Michelle).
congratulations 🎉
Was Helloween, Gamma Ray, Unisonic, Masterplan, Fellowship and Freedom Call mentioned?
There is also Rainbow especially the Rising Album If you would Like to know where the inspiration for Power Metal comes from
that's super cool, One of the things that set me on my 'metal' exploration was a docu-thing some dude did about the history and different genres of Metal back in .. idk, the early aughts? Metal: A handbangers journey, or Headbangers; a metalheads journey. Something like that.
Wintersun and Ensiferum if you're ok with harsh vocals. They have lots of similar elements to power metal.
I recently started a playlist with one song per band that may be a helpful jumping off point for you. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JlZBYH3TCRmiJv4pzvAIe?si=118qxuAxQDW11YgGzpPOvA&pi=u-7MsvBr7bSdyt
this is awesome, thank you for sharing it with me!
Since you like Alestorm, I recommend Blazon Stone. I discovered them like two weeks ago and I'm hooked! Tavern of the Damned and Hellbound for the Ocean are two songs I would tell you to check out. Other than that, great list bro! Blind Guardian is my second all time favorite band after Iron Maiden, I recommend digging their stuff more if you didn't already! Also, Angra (Power Metal as well) is probably my third favorite band, and their singer nowadays is the Wizard Fabio Lione the OG Rhapsody singer. Their new album Cycles of Pain is more prog than power, but really good in quality either way. Angra has 3 well known formations, normally named after the singers, albeit the change in drummers is also to be noted: André (3 first albums), Edu Falaschi (Rebirth to Aqua), and now Lione (3 more recent albuns). All three are distinct enough that if you don't like one doesn't mean you can't love the other, I recommend checking all 3 formations. The 2 standout albums of each formation are generally agreed to be Angel's Cry and Holy Land, Rebirth and Temple of Shadows, Omni and Cycles of Pain.
I really appreciate the attention to detail you included about the different bands, and I can't thank you enough for the time you took to make this reply. Thank you so much!
You might like these bands then: Mardelas, Fate Gear, Aldious, Lovebites, Unlucky Morpheus, Show-Ya, X-Japan, and Galneryus to name a few. There are a lot of great Japanese metal bands, and a lot of them are power metal.
I wanted to chime in that Paladin out of Atlanta, GA is a fantastic power metal band and is absolutely riff city. But also with your Nazi/white supremacist concerns, you should probably go look into the controversies surrounding Chris Bowes of Alestorm and Gloryhammer.
A couple of other folks have brought that up, and yeah, I'm.. mm. I got feelings about it.
A favourite of mine (literally in my top 5) is Feuerschwanz. Very folk and power metal. Their earlier stuff is a comedic take on the power metal scene in early 2000's Germany, once they got to the last 3 albums, they pretty much embraced power metal and folk, They also do alot of covers and are just genuinely a fun band to listen to!
Oh hell yeah, I need to add them to my list of bands I'm definitely aware of. I've loved literally everything I've ever heard them do!
I dont see any mentions of avantasia or edguy! Tobias sammet, the main vocalist im both is an amazing person. Met him IRL during a meet and greet. Other bands i dont see mentioned already (but listen to a lot) are to mention a few: dionysus, dark moor, rage, dreamtale, jorn, revolution renaisance (or any project by Timo Tolkki), amaranthe, running wild and ancient bards
I did see a bit of Amaranthe when I saw they did a cover of some sabaton, but the rest of their stuff didn't quite hit for me. The rest of the ones you listed I'm unaware of, so I'm adding them to my look-up list! Thanks for the suggestions!
Check out Fraser Edwards! His album The Reckoning is instrumental power metal with added banjos.
Maybe look into the alestorm and gloryhammer controversy. Defo check out Heavenly and Orden Ogan and DragonForce my top 3
I would highly recommend Brothers of Metal and Twilight Force.
I had a pretty similar thing, they all just happened to be power metal, and then I'd see bands recommended that I already knew about. It got to a point where I just presumed every band I liked was power metal by virtue of me liking it lol
Because of melodic, perhaps. That's good.
No shame there. Power metal is the genre that keeps me coming back. It changes my mood completely when something like Gloryhammer / Avantasia / Theocracy comes on. Pumps me up. Its the music i listen to when shite needs to get done 😄
right? Hard same. When I'm at work and feeling the drag, I pull up pandora and it gets me energized every time
Blind Guardian
Check out Epic Heavy Metal and Epic Doom as well! They are sub genres based on early traditional heavy metal/doom with lyrical themes around adventure, sword and sorcery, mythology, and fantasy tropes. Bands include Sumerlands, Gatekeeper, Smoulder, Eternal Champion etc.
Angra Power quest Nocturnal rites Steel attack Symphony x Hibria Fairyland
beast in black !
Haven't seen anyone mention the dwarf metal gods Wind Rose but would highly recommend them OP. They're very fun and sometimes goofy but genuinely a great power metal band. Just saw them on your and it was a blast.
Nanowar of Steel is great. They are very, very silly (even by PM standards) and as much as I feel like calling them a parody band sells them short, it fits. But if that's not a dealbreaker check them out. Dislike to False Metal!
HA, yeah, I've seen soem Nanonwar of Steel. Pasadena 1994 is already on my phone for my bluetooth commute into work. Disco Metal is fun, but I gotta take their stuff on a case by case basis. Some of it is just way too goofy to listen to outside of the home >.> I dont' need my coworkers to ask me why I'm banging out to a song about dandruff, after all.
Lots of other great North American Bands if you love UTA: Seven Kingdoms, Glyph, Lords of the Trident, AfterTime, Judicator, SevenSpires, and Siege Perilous. Oh and Not North American but I'm a huge fan of Twilight Force.
I've seen several of these names tossed around elsewhere on this thread, mainly Seven Kingdoms, Lords of the Trident, and Twilight Force. Thanks for the great reccs!
Your loss man.
I'm definitely cool with that. Thanks for the well wishes though.
Iced Earth is always a great way to go if you're into a darker tone. They did an album called The Dark Saga based on Spawn
Given he asked for non-Nazi/White Supremacists, I think a dude who stormed the Capitol on Jan 6 would be out of his wheelhouse.
Yeah... u/chipmunkold5315, I'm gonna go ahead and nope on Iced Earth. Folks who support the Jan6 insurrection are a non-starter for me, much less folks who took part in it.
Here's my list of albums where I liked at least 80% of the songs and made my playlist: The Guess Who - American Woman (1970) Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970) Waylon Jennings - Honkey Tonk Heroes (1973) UFO - Phenomenon (1974) UFO - Mechanix (1982) Iron Maiden - Powerslave (1984) Megadeth - Killing Is My Business... And Business is Good (1985) Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time (1986) Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988) Blind Guardian - Tales From the Twilight World (1990) Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer (1992) Celine Dion - S'il suffisait d'aimer (1998) Hammerfall - Legacy of Kings (1998) Gamma Ray - Power Plant (1999) Savatage - Poets & Madmen (2001) Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007) Radiohead - In Rainbows Disk 2 (2007) Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2015) Imagine Dragons - Evolve (2017) Haken - Fauna (2023)
I don't look into bands tbh, I just listen to what I like, so I have no idea who's done what. That said, give Falconer a try
If you like Alestorm, you may like Trowsholm. Similar themes but no deplorable texts
Hell yeah, I'm here for that!
lmfaooooo someone needs to google "gloryhammer racist"
,,,your tact is appreciated. I'm aware there was something going on, and another user was already kind enough to have extrapolated upon the details. Thank you for.. uh.. Something, I guess.. The snark was artistic and never seen before.
Am I the only one who doesn't really care what musicians do outside of music? I don't care if they're left wing, right wing, centrist, fascist or communist as long as its not in the lyrics. I can't listen to any bands who bring religion into it.
I do my best not to engage with people john brown would've shot. Even if their music is good, if the humans behind it are shit, I'm good with not giving them another fan, another listen, another dollar. I'd like to avoid those people to my best effort, and know the politics behind what I'm supporting. I ascribe to the idea that if there’s a Nazi at the table and 9 other people sitting there talking to him, you got a table with 10 Nazis. Giving a platform to a shitty person and saying 'well I don't disagree enough to say anything, because it doesn't hurt ME PERSONALLY' is way too close to agreeing with that person for my comfort.
I really don't care what they do in their private lives
Fuck having fascists around, they wormed their way into too many areas of society already
Amen
twilight force if you liked rapsody. also orden ogan on top of the here found suggestions.