Power metal

Power metal Stylistic origins: Heavy metal, NWOBHM, Thrash metal Cultural origins: Typical instruments: Mid 1970s Europe Mid 1970s, United States Vocals - Electric guitar - Bass guitar - Drums - Keyboards

Power metal is a style of heavy metal music with the aim of evoking an "epic" feel, often within a fantastic or (less often) symphonic context. There is some dispute about the term, which can refer to two different, but related styles: one pioneered and largely practiced in North America, and one based in Germany and Scandinavia. In contemporary usage, "power metal" generally refers to the European style.

American power metal

American power metal, like European power metal, was influenced by Queen, Rainbow, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Dio, Queensrche, Plus Ultra, and Helloween. Some consider modern American bands like Iced Earth and Nevermore to be the descendants of this style, but others claim that the movement has ended, swallowed by better known styles such as thrash and European power metal. Others consider the genre in America on the rise again, with fledging American power metal bands in places such as New York (home to Manowar, Zandelle, Gothic Knights, Twilight Odyssey, and pioneering NY band Virgin Steele). Kamelot, who originated in the state of Florida, has recently emerged as a forerunner in popular power metal bands with the release of their album The Black Halo (with guest appearances from Dutch Simone Simons, vocalist for the Dutch Symphonic metal band Epica, and the lead vocalist of Norwegian Symphonic Black Metal band Dimmu Borgir, Shagrath). It should be noted however that in the musical sense, Kamelot is very much a European power metal band. Following Kamelot, the Nebraska-based power metal band Cellador was signed August of 2005 to Metal Blade Records, signalling a return of the style by a homegrown band to a noted record label in America, although their sound is more similar to European power metal.

European power metal

In the mid-1980s, European bands such as Helloween (Germany) and Europe (Sweden) put even more attention to the melodic development of the songs. Helloween mixed fast speed metal riffs with melodic ones and added Iron Maiden-like powerful vocals, further cleaning the sound. Their albums Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part 1 (1987) and Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part 2 (1988) are generally regarded as a milestone of this genre. Subsequently, European-style "happy metal" has spread across the continent (particularly to Finland) and worldwide, though it is comparatively unpopular in the United States, United Kingdom and other English speaking countries. Recently, however, many power metal bands have abandoned the "happy-metal" sound of their predecessors, and have adopted a more epic sound combined with the power metal core. Bands such as Blind Guardian have combined their classic power metal sound with an orchestral background as Rhapsody or Angra have done. [edit]

Musical characteristics
Power metal, as the term is used today, places primary importance on an epic sound, usually at high speeds, primarily due to its speed metal roots, and with catchy melodies. Whereas most rock lyrics focus largely on "the real world" - personal experience, historical incidents, social commentary, etc. - power metal often treats epic, cosmological or metaphysical themes. Many power metal songs draw inspiration from religion, science fiction, mythology, and fantasy, and they tend to be more optimistic than most metal lyrics. Power metal vocals are generally "clean", as opposed to the growling vocals that characterise death metal, and are delivered by a trained vocalist. Following in the tradition of Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford, power metal vocalists tend to sing in a high register and often in falsetto. Some singers, such as Hansi Krsch of Blind Guardian, record multi-layered vocals reminiscent of Queen. Because of the primary importance of vocals in power metal, vocalists can make or break a band of this style and generally do not double as instumentalists. Power metal guitarists and bassists generally play rapid streams of notes, but change chords comparatively slowly, with a harmonic tempo of once per measure or slower. Fast and demanding guitar solos, however, are almost guaranteed. Power metal drummers generally play with two bass drums for added speed, often playing a constant stream of sixteenth notes with snare drum accents on the beat. Some bands defy this formula, but it is surprisingly universal. Many bands also play with a keyboardist, but keyboards are not generally a musical focus. A few, such as the Italian band Rhapsody, have also been known to record with

more symphonic elements. Rhapsody actually calls their style of music "Hollywood Metal," emphasizing its resemblance to modern film scores. This style is most popular in Europe, Japan, and some countries of South America (including Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina and Chile), and has a growing popularity in certain parts of North America.

Short History of Power Metal

Power Metal: The history of Power Metal properly begins with the two Helloween albums "Keeper of the Seven Keys" parts 1 and 2. While Power Metal draws a lot of influence from traditional metal sources (Iron Maiden in particular), it has evolved over the decades into a distinct genre of its own. In fact Power Metal as a distinct entity, and as it is usually meant in the press nowadays, is very much a recent phenomenon. Power Metal, in its usual form, consists of fast songs with an emphasis on melody, often accentuated with keyboards. Vocals are melodic and usually high-pitched, and the use of the double-bass drum kick is practically mandatory. As a style, Power Metal tends to use the guitar as a melodic, rather than a rhythm instrument, though there are exceptions. Lyrical themes are largely fantasy based and are often accused of being too Happy'. The term Flowercore' is sometimes used (jokingly or not) to refer to those bands deemed too cheerful. Power Metal is almost entirely European, and all the biggest bands are from some part of the EU. Modern Power Metal owes a tremendous amount to innovators like Gamma Ray, HammerFall, Blind Guardian and Edguy. (HammerFall are seen as largely responsible for the modern popularity of the style, though they are much more a Traditional Metal band). Each country has their own regional variations on the basic Power Metal style, and as several of these scenes have become significant, and are used a lot in reviews, they are worth describing here briefly. German: Teutonic Power Metal is usually heavier and less keyboard-driven than other varieties, and shares much more in common with Traditional Metal. Running Wild, Wizard and Steel Attack are examples of this sort of metal. There is obviously a lot of crossover with Traditional Metal here. Italian: One of the most prolific schools. Italian Power Metal shares several characteristics in common: melodic, often classical or progressive-tinged songwriting, heavily fantastic lyrics, egregiously accented high-pitched vocals, and an addiction to speed, speed, speed. This scene exploded in the late 90s, and there are still a lot of these bands around. Notables include Rhapsody, Labyrinth and Domine. Swedish: A sort of blend of the two. Swedish Power metal is generally crunchier' and less speed-obsessed than Italian, but not so headbang-oriented as the Germans. Swedish metal often has a glossy, crisp sound to it. Proponents include Cryonic Temple, HammerFall, and earlier Lost Horizon. There are of course bands devoted to Power Metal from many countries besides these, but these three styles are the predominant modes that Power Metal bands today follow.

Of course many bands also mix in elements of other styles, hybridizing with Thrash, Death or Doom metal to produce new sounds. A use of keys or orchestral sampling to produce a symphonic effect is a notable trend since the advent of such successful bands as Rhapsody, Dark Moor, and Nightwish, and this shall be discussed further under "Symphonic Metal". As a further note, Power Metal bands that play extremely fast (DragonForce, Wizard, Cryonic Temple) are sometimes referred to as "Speed Metal", though the term had a much different meaning 15 to 20 years ago. (See "Thrash" above.) Pioneers: Helloween, Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian Notable Bands: White Skull, Dark Moor, Dragonforce, Angus, Kamelot, Lost Horizon, Angel Dust, Nocturnal Rites, Cryonic Temple, Nightwish, Human Fortress, Dragonland, Rhapsody, Athena, Domine, Rawhead Rexx.

Power Metal
The gods made heavy metal and they said that it was good. This is TRUE metal, only REAL metal fans will listen to this stuff. When you first introduce a potential TRUE metal fan to this, you can see their eyes just start to glaze over in a metal trance, and their fist will pound up in the air, expect headbanging to follow. Those that love this type of metal are in great abundance and are quite fanatical about it. If you like power metal, chances are you will hate glam bands but will practically worship progressive metal. Power metal is not as easy to define as glam bands are. The lines start to blur more, but basically the music is very dramatic, bombastic and has a huge sound. The vocalists are generally screamers and the guitarists do amazing things with their guitars. The overall sound is usually a brutal assault of metal beauty but has a certain power that other subgenres of metal lack, plus 50% of power metal also relies on a hook, that will have you singing the lyrics to certain songs for week, lyrics ranging from metal-promoting type songs ("The Gods Made Heavy Metal" ect), to songs about other worlds in the beyond. If its dramatic you will find it here. Bands include: Manowar, Iron Maiden, Dio, Iron Savior, Hammerfall, Saxon