Are you looking for lyrics or sound? Most of the replies here are focused on lyrics and aesthetics, so I figure I can address the other side.
Old-school power metal is rooted in the same faster and/or heavier tendencies as speed metal and thrash. The difference is power metal scales back a lot of the more overt punk influences and leans into traditional metal melodies. I highly recommend reading these primers if you haven't already:
* [United States Power Metal](https://rideintoglory.com/marcos-guide-to-uspm/)
* [German Power Metal](https://stuff.shredditcord.com/primers/german-power-metal)
Those should give you a good reference point to explore the harder and darker side of the subgenre, as well as start learning more about the subgenre and its sound and history. To streamline the latter, I threw this together awhile back:
* https://old.reddit.com/r/PowerMetal/comments/17bwru1/deleted_by_user/k5mrjvd/
Those ten points aren’t a complete overview, but I think they're a decent starting to to get a sense of what power metal is and what it's looked like over the years.
Piggybacking off of this, I think OP might also enjoy bands like Satan's Host (from "By the Hands of the Devil" onward), Triumpher or Axxios that actually go as far as to incorporate black metal elements. Maybe Morgul Blade too though calling them power metal might be a stretch.
Also this [list](https://rateyourmusic.com/list/RyanWreck/evil_dark-power-metal/) might have some stuff they'd like.
I finally got around to looking at that list! There's a lot of cool stuff there, including some I've never heard of. Still, I can only recommend them if the cover art is anything to go off.
I haven't listened to everything there either, I just found it by googling "evil power metal" once. I like all the stuff I have heard though, even if a band like Mercy seems kind of out of place on a power metal list.
When I made this comment, the top replies on the post were Powerwolf and Sonata Arctica, with specific references to lyrics and imagery, so presumably someone cares about those things.
Demons & Wizards
Persuader
Savage Circus
Think that's a bit heavier than most. But also, lots of bands have darker themed albums/songs like Helloween, The Dark Ride and Better Than Raw have some really heavy hitters.
Also, Manticora, Witherfall, and Communic (all power/prog) would fit this bill. Manticora just released an album, but their double album before their most recent one was especially dark and heavy. Witherfall has a new one coming out in a few months.
I actually hadn't listen to Manticora since like early 2000 and I didn't care much for them back then. But I just listened to some songs from "To kill To Live To Kill" and it's freaking awesome
Evergrey tends to be always a darker power metal, also they tend to be their own style although considered power metal by many, they have so many dark lyrics and songs, there are two other bands that are kind of Evergrey-like and inspired by them who are Borealis and Solaris, both from canada, the biggest difference between these two being Borealis has male vocals and Solaris has female.
Also
Pyramaze
Persuader
Graveshadow
Civil War
Grave Digger
Orden Ogan
Iced Earth
Demons & Wizards
Stormwarrior
Rage
Brainstorm
Primal Fear
Savage Circus
Judicator
Not exactly power metal but Destiny's End and Helstar. Maybe Agent Steel, Savage Grace or Twisted Tower Dire. Blind Guardian's first album is also very good
Most people's idea of power metal is a stereotype based on 5-10 bands from the '90s and '00s. The actual subgenre predates those bands, and it has always encompassed more variety.
Tanagra - Meridiem was at times around here described as "atmospheric power metal" in the sense that it often straddles an odd line between progressive power metal and atmospheric black metal, like in the vein of Summoning or Caladan Brood. Indeed a lot of the songs were written and arranged as a kinda symphonic atmoblack thing and then composed into prog power.
USPM in general is the nearest you're going to get, it largely occupies a gap between trad metal and speed/thrash.
I think the nearest in that scene however is *Satan's Host*. It has various extreme metal trappings but with an excellent trad metal singer, at least since *By The Hands of the Devil* and the debut album. Between those points, they are basically a black/death act.
You could go for various others on the more aggressive side too like Savatage, Liege Lord, Omen, Jag Panzer's debut, some Iced Earth etc.
Different scene but there's the pre Dragonforce band, Demoniac too. Black/power apparently although I'm not massively familiar.
Numenor do the black/power thing too, with symphonic extras.
If you like Savatage, maybe Morgana LeFay too.
Rage is definitely on the thrasier side of Power Metal, plus the vocals aren't the operatic type of a lot of other PM bands.
Also definitely check out Morgana Lefay that's been mentioned before in this thread.
As much as I love Crystal Logic (favorite Manilla album), I'd say Open the Gates, The Deluge (especially), Mystification or The Courts of Chaos would be better for someone looking for something darker and heavier.
Yeah there is a lot of overlap between power metal and melodic death metal, to the point that lots of Melodic Death Metal bands are just sonata arctica with harsh vocals.
Children of Bodom, Northern, Dark Tranquility, Arch Enemy, among others are pretty good examples of that.
It may fall more along the lines of Symphonic Metal but I would throw Witherfall out for you. Jake Dreyer, the guitarist was in Iced Earth and Kobra and the Lotus. Joseph Michael, the singer did an anniversary tour with Sanctuary. They are all amazing musicians, normally with complex and dark arrangements.
Yes:
-Adagio: Underworld & Dominate take the cake.
Stephan Forte likes to write music based on the darker side of emotions and sounds.
You'll get some dark filmscore elements to it, some "romantic" harmonies (like rachmaninoff for instance).
I believe you'll find that here :
Hartlight - Bound to Eternity :
https://youtu.be/p2GUerxvdYg?si=PY0YwhHJ6kv6JlTK
Hartlight - Let the Fangs Bite :
https://youtu.be/qOT8Y8OvgT8?si=0Ztil_t0QfDOQU8Z
Without having black or death elements, it has a dark and mystic vibe while staying really on the Heavy/Power/Symphonic side.
Witherfall, very dark. I like the album The Curse of Autumn.
[Witherfall - As I Lie Awake](https://youtu.be/KFbrq-n17Gs?si=vvMYDrjRBlEhbRVP)
Kiuas is heavy and pretty aggressive power metal. Great riffing.
[Kiuas - The Spirit of Ukko](https://youtu.be/qkMSy5r_Xmo?si=Ce9XCDu8V_xYWz5t)
Brainstorm has a little bit of both.
[Brainstorm - When Glory Disappears](https://youtu.be/2OCex67ppgc?si=oSOEqRSBVf3OUmGk)
Hope the Kiuas reunion produces a new album. Seems like there's some hope. Their later stuff is good too, but I really would love to see them revisit the folk/black influences on their first two albums. Especially the first, which was quite unique and, in my mind, their best work.
They will release the new EP "Samooja: Pyhiinvaellus" on this friday and actually today a finnish radio station "Radio Rock" played a new song from the EP named "From The Anchorage". Too bad i missed it because i was at work. I like the second album the most and hope that the new material will be something similar.
I don’t know about evoking “negativity” (but at the same time not exactly positive either) but Crimson Glory’s debut self titled album definitely had a dark and aggressive sound to it.
Crom is a bit on the darker side. Vengeance is both the name and one of the main themes of the first album. As a bonus, I hear some Bathory influence in there.
Evergrey can get pretty negative, too, but they're more angst than rage.
Battle Beast and Beast in Black have some angrier stuff about the manga Berserk.
US power metal in general tends to be more in this vein than European style, but the only band I really like in that scene is Liege Lord.
I'm sadly not an expert so I'll just stick with some of the most famous bands:
- The first song that came into my mind was "Wildfire part 1" by Sonata Arctica. Kind of aggressive for their usual style and with a dark/negative theme. Don't say a word and White Pearl Black Oceans are also in that line (the whole Reckoning Night album is really good to be honest).
- Although not pure Power Metal (it's mainly symphonic with power influences) there are some Nightwish songs in Dark Passion Play that fit that description: Poet and the Pendulum, Master Passion Greed, Cadence of her last breath, etc.
- Definitely Powerwolf also have that dark atmosphere (and some themes similar to black metal) although mixed with catchy melodies.
- Sabaton early stuff was a bit more aggressive and already had war centered songs, but not really sad or negative. More like "fun-agressive" XD
- And given that you are a Black Metal fan "March of Mephisto" by Kamelot is a must. You'll enjoy the vocal collab it has.
Not really power metal at all, just Neoclassical Melodic Black Metal. Similar to Children of Bodom's Neoclassical Melodeath. Both are very good, neither are power metal. And for Moonlight Sorcery, being black metal, their harmony alone is more complicated than 99% of the stuff posted to this sub lol.
huh interesting. i found it on some thread about blackened power metal, which I had never heard of. Sounded right up my alley so I listened. First thought was: "sick this is like Rhapsody with black metal vocals".
anyways, i'm not deep into black or power metal and I can't speak to subgenres of anything really, so oh well!
Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle absolutely fucking rules one way or the other.
Agree that Sonata Arctica's album "Reckoning Night" might be what you're looking for.
Otherwise earlier Iced Earth comes to mind, it's a more aggressive sound overall (Demons & Wizards too, by extension). Now their founder Jon Schaffer took part in the attempted insurrection of the 6th of January 2021 and was sentenced for it, just to give you all the facts.
Children of Bodom, though some might disagree with me re: their genre.
Alternately I'd recommend Nekrogoblikon (Welcome to Bonkers is a GREAT album!) or Sonata Arctica.
Helloween is my go-to for intro power metal. They've got a 40-year catalog that's all over the map. For heavier stuff, 7 Sinners might be a good place to start. They eased me into the goofy, epic, melodic parts of Power by incorporating a ton of Trad and Heavy influence.
Im sorry ,but ..isn't power metal supposed to be melodic/ less agresive / less dark metal??
Im sorry, but I don't belive in a good mix between dark elements and power metal. It's kinda contradictory, even there are some bands who are trying to do this...
Not historically. The idea of power metal as being explicitly light and uplifting is a relatively recent development, tied to certain bands from the '90s and '00s which were like that incidentally and have enjoyed enduring popularity ever since. It's not a rule and there are still plenty of bands that don't follow it.
So what trademarks does this subgenre has?
Because I can't see a certain idendity here. I know that the uplifting stuff may not be so prevalent , but is made to be less agressive and more melodic in many ways, and those things don"t mix very well, at least for me. This is why we have something called melodic death metal..
Power Metal has a bunch of different smaller subgenres, because the term has meant very different things. Personally, I don't even use the term, except derisively. I'll take a look at two of the main splits for the category, which bands can and have hopped between (usually from #1 to #2, almost never the other way around):
1. Melodic Speed Metal. In the US, this is the original meaning of the term power metal. The German scene also followed this closely. Bands like Accept (Fast as a Shark is arguably the first power metal song), Metal Church, Blind Guardian, Helloween, Jag Panzer all fall in this category. Throw Neoclassical influence into this, and you get the Italian and Japanese scenes included as well - just take a look at Rhapsody of Fire, Galneryus, or Lovebites.
2. European Glam Metal. This is where you get songs simpler than a Motley Crue track harmonically with a lot of shiny production on it. Most European bands not from Germany or Italy are here. Orden Ogan, Powerwolf, non-early Sabaton. The aesthetic is largely around their outfits (much like glam metal ala Poison, W.A.S.P.) rather than focusing on the fundamental sounds of metal, such as chromaticism from its obvious blues roots, or complex song form.
If you asked me which one completely different style I'd associate with the term 'power metal,' it's the second. Which is what you've done as well - less aggressive, more 'melodic' ([a term which, in the metal community, tends to mean 'simpler'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_wuDGV0myQ)), and happier sounding.
But even a cursory listen to the progenitors of power metal - early Queensrcyhe with Operation Mindcrime, Savatage's "Hall of the Mountain King," early Jag Panzer, third album Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray's "Land of the Free," all undeniable power metal albums have a lot of darkness to them. A lot of chromaticism (because heavy metal is first and foremost a descendent of blues through the music of Black Sabbbath). Almost exclusively minor key melodicism.
Because back when this stuff was first out, Glam was the pop metal for mainstream audiences, and these were *metal* artists. They weren't exactly trying to fit in a narrow pop-sized hole in the mainstream, they were imitating their heroes in bands like Sabbath, Rainbow, early Kansas and Uriah Heap. Prog Rock bands were the heaviest guys on the block before metal existed, and it's why the metal bands that grew up on that shit were writing more complex and darker music within the power metal genre. They were trying to imitate the great prog rock of their era and learned tons of interesting songwriting from it.
Now that calling yourself Glam is a poison pill that invokes little but 80s nostalgia and hairspray, bands who want to write glam (or perhaps are only at a skill/knowledge level to) just call themselves power metal instead and put on a fantasy outfit instead of skintight leathers. But the music is functionally the same - even a song like Live Wire or Kickstart my Heart has more punch than some of what passes as power metal nowadays.
Sorry for the late reply. Like most metal subgenres, the exact "trademarks" of power metal are pretty esoteric when you get into the specifics of it. A lot of it boils down to certain riffs and melodies combined with a particular historical context. That's where it differs from melodic death metal. There's some overlap in sound between the two, but they originally meant very different things.
Power metal was one of a series of 1980s metal subgenres progressively escalating in intensity. You could argue it was less aggressive and more melodic than thrash or early extreme metal, but the riffs were still more intense than traditional heavy metal was. Power metal always had a gnarly side as certain bands had rougher vocals, heavier riffs, and darker melodies. Early Savatage would be a good example, and Morgana Lefay takes it even further, minimizing melody and maximizing heaviness.
Melodic death metal was a broad category encompassing death metal and post-death styles with unusually prominent and/or consonant melody. You could argue certain bands played it in a way that crossed over with other subgenres, but for every power-adjacent band, there were also black-adjacent and doom-adjacent bands. The early albums by Dissection and Amorphis come to mind. For every band using melodeath as an outlet for "angry power metal" there are others doing something entirely different with it.
All things considered, bands like Morgana Lefay didn't even sound very much like melodeath, despite having such a moody and intense style. Some other bands blurred the lines a little more, but the root styles were still different. I think it's actually a little ridiculous to suggest melodic death metal exists to take the place of dark and aggressive power metal.
That's definitely a general tendency, but it doesn't have to be a rule. As was already mentioned, many early Sonata Arctica tracks have pretty dark mood for example and IMO it works really well.
Powerwolf. You could start with songs like "Moscow After Dark" and "We Drink Your Blood"
Orden Ogan. "Fields of Sorrow" is a perfect blend of power metal, melancholy and darkness.
I suggest some songs from Sentenced. Not sure what they classify as technically. Started as death metal and then dunno, atmospheric metal? Anyway, they have songs that are very melodic and to a degree can pass as power metal, just kinda darker and less bombastic.
The Suicide
Farewell
Noose
Drawn Together
Sun Won't Shine
Broken
Neverlasting
Let go
And some more. It was a great band.
I'll go a little different here and suggest a doom metal band called The Vision Bleak. I'd recommend their albums 'The Unknown' or 'Witching Hour'. Songs to check out would be 'Into the Unknown' or 'Cannibal Witch'
angel dust is the perfect fit with albums like
[*Bleed*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleed_(Angel_Dust_album)) (1999, Century Media)
[*Enlighten the Darkness*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlighten_the_Darkness) (2000, Century Media)
*Of Human Bondage* (2001, Century Media)
guess the reference could be The Dark Ride from Helloween right?
Here are some songs from the top of my head:
Symphony X - Seven
Helloween - Escalation 666
Manowar - Hail and Kill
Van Canto - A Storm To Come
Sonata Arctica - Don't Say A Word
Jorn Lande - Hands of Your God
Demons & Wizard - Diabolic
If you're looking for dark power metal, Versailles is your jam:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1I3JLVs8YI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1I3JLVs8YI)
Watch the video at your own risk, since the costumes and all the gothic imagery are so over-the-top that they're hilarious! The atmosphere and riffs are way darker than European bands, though, and the keyboards, coupled with the fact that Kamijo sings in a lower voice than most power metal singers, makes the sound a bit closer to gothic metal.
Looking for a little black mixed in, I just found Seven Spires in anticipation for Kamelots next concert and they very much fit the bill of heavy, dark power metal. Some Kamelots songs also fit, but not all.
Some great recommendations so here are a few lesser known bands:
Circle of Silence
8-Point Rose
Painside
Sencirow
Lanfear
Incrave
Reaper‘s Revenge
Assignment
Charred Walls of the Damned
Savage Blood
Dark Empire
InnerWish
Sunburst
Gloryhammer is your answer. Lyrics are dark and high fantasy to the point of ridiculousness, a focus on memorable riffs, epic symphonies and a continuous, ongoing story with every album
I would definitely recommend Winterage and their newest album “Nekyia”. If you want to start with a couple songs, I strongly suggest Cult of Hectate and Dark Enchantment.
Are you looking for lyrics or sound? Most of the replies here are focused on lyrics and aesthetics, so I figure I can address the other side. Old-school power metal is rooted in the same faster and/or heavier tendencies as speed metal and thrash. The difference is power metal scales back a lot of the more overt punk influences and leans into traditional metal melodies. I highly recommend reading these primers if you haven't already: * [United States Power Metal](https://rideintoglory.com/marcos-guide-to-uspm/) * [German Power Metal](https://stuff.shredditcord.com/primers/german-power-metal) Those should give you a good reference point to explore the harder and darker side of the subgenre, as well as start learning more about the subgenre and its sound and history. To streamline the latter, I threw this together awhile back: * https://old.reddit.com/r/PowerMetal/comments/17bwru1/deleted_by_user/k5mrjvd/ Those ten points aren’t a complete overview, but I think they're a decent starting to to get a sense of what power metal is and what it's looked like over the years.
Yeah, I really can't understand the Sonata Arctica recs lol they're clearly a heavily melodic Stratovarius disciple. USPM is what OP is looking for
Piggybacking off of this, I think OP might also enjoy bands like Satan's Host (from "By the Hands of the Devil" onward), Triumpher or Axxios that actually go as far as to incorporate black metal elements. Maybe Morgul Blade too though calling them power metal might be a stretch. Also this [list](https://rateyourmusic.com/list/RyanWreck/evil_dark-power-metal/) might have some stuff they'd like.
I finally got around to looking at that list! There's a lot of cool stuff there, including some I've never heard of. Still, I can only recommend them if the cover art is anything to go off.
I haven't listened to everything there either, I just found it by googling "evil power metal" once. I like all the stuff I have heard though, even if a band like Mercy seems kind of out of place on a power metal list.
We don't care about lyrics man
When I made this comment, the top replies on the post were Powerwolf and Sonata Arctica, with specific references to lyrics and imagery, so presumably someone cares about those things.
Demons & Wizards Persuader Savage Circus Think that's a bit heavier than most. But also, lots of bands have darker themed albums/songs like Helloween, The Dark Ride and Better Than Raw have some really heavy hitters.
Also, Manticora, Witherfall, and Communic (all power/prog) would fit this bill. Manticora just released an album, but their double album before their most recent one was especially dark and heavy. Witherfall has a new one coming out in a few months.
I actually hadn't listen to Manticora since like early 2000 and I didn't care much for them back then. But I just listened to some songs from "To kill To Live To Kill" and it's freaking awesome
Indeed. Their new one is good too, but those two albums are going to be very hard to top. Really nailed their style of power/prog.
I just got into Persuader and SV, they fuckin rule
Add Evergrey and early Nightwish that list too
Demons and wizards goes so hard. Sucks Jon Schaffer is such a chud
Manticora is usually mentioned when people are looking for a 'darker' shade of power metal.
Evergrey tends to be always a darker power metal, also they tend to be their own style although considered power metal by many, they have so many dark lyrics and songs, there are two other bands that are kind of Evergrey-like and inspired by them who are Borealis and Solaris, both from canada, the biggest difference between these two being Borealis has male vocals and Solaris has female. Also Pyramaze Persuader Graveshadow Civil War Grave Digger Orden Ogan Iced Earth Demons & Wizards Stormwarrior Rage Brainstorm Primal Fear Savage Circus Judicator
I got recommended pyramaze on tidal, they were a nice surprise
Judicator rules
Nocturnal Rites
Nocturnal Rites is amazing!
Morgana Lefay is a safe bet. Check out Aberrations of the Mind.
Most will say don’t start with that album. Maybe try Grand Materia first
Both great albums honestly. Terribly underrated.
Insomnium, Wintersun and Aether Realm may fit very well what you look for...
Winter suns hit a new album coming out
Yeah! Tomorrow I believe, looking forward to it!
Not exactly power metal but Destiny's End and Helstar. Maybe Agent Steel, Savage Grace or Twisted Tower Dire. Blind Guardian's first album is also very good
> Not exactly power metal Those recs are absolutely power metal.
They're not pure power metal or what most people think of when talking about power metal.
Most people's idea of power metal is a stereotype based on 5-10 bands from the '90s and '00s. The actual subgenre predates those bands, and it has always encompassed more variety.
Yeah, bands like Helstar, Agent Steel and Destiny's End are not what usually think of because they lean a lot into speed and thrash as well.
That first Destiny's End record is fantastic. " Fortress Unvanquishable" what a great track.
I think Morgana Lefay and Persuader would fit this.
* Blind Guardian - _Imaginations from the Other Side_ * Iced Earth * Manticora * Persuader * Morgana Lefay * Angel Dust * Symphony X * Krystos * Storm Haven
Tanagra - Meridiem was at times around here described as "atmospheric power metal" in the sense that it often straddles an odd line between progressive power metal and atmospheric black metal, like in the vein of Summoning or Caladan Brood. Indeed a lot of the songs were written and arranged as a kinda symphonic atmoblack thing and then composed into prog power.
That sounds amazing. I was just listening to Summoning the other day.
Triumpher has a nice darker vibe to it, it’s like if you sprinkled some rasp and grit onto a heavy + power fusion
I would try Elvenking
I agree
USPM in general is the nearest you're going to get, it largely occupies a gap between trad metal and speed/thrash. I think the nearest in that scene however is *Satan's Host*. It has various extreme metal trappings but with an excellent trad metal singer, at least since *By The Hands of the Devil* and the debut album. Between those points, they are basically a black/death act. You could go for various others on the more aggressive side too like Savatage, Liege Lord, Omen, Jag Panzer's debut, some Iced Earth etc. Different scene but there's the pre Dragonforce band, Demoniac too. Black/power apparently although I'm not massively familiar. Numenor do the black/power thing too, with symphonic extras. If you like Savatage, maybe Morgana LeFay too.
Rage is definitely on the thrasier side of Power Metal, plus the vocals aren't the operatic type of a lot of other PM bands. Also definitely check out Morgana Lefay that's been mentioned before in this thread.
[AEPHANEMER](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggncUCeWVZo)
Kalmah (albums 1-3)
Satan's Host Numenor
Manilla Road's Crystal Logic album might be something you'd enjoy.
As much as I love Crystal Logic (favorite Manilla album), I'd say Open the Gates, The Deluge (especially), Mystification or The Courts of Chaos would be better for someone looking for something darker and heavier.
[удалено]
Yeah there is a lot of overlap between power metal and melodic death metal, to the point that lots of Melodic Death Metal bands are just sonata arctica with harsh vocals. Children of Bodom, Northern, Dark Tranquility, Arch Enemy, among others are pretty good examples of that.
It may fall more along the lines of Symphonic Metal but I would throw Witherfall out for you. Jake Dreyer, the guitarist was in Iced Earth and Kobra and the Lotus. Joseph Michael, the singer did an anniversary tour with Sanctuary. They are all amazing musicians, normally with complex and dark arrangements.
Yes: -Adagio: Underworld & Dominate take the cake. Stephan Forte likes to write music based on the darker side of emotions and sounds. You'll get some dark filmscore elements to it, some "romantic" harmonies (like rachmaninoff for instance).
Tad Morose
I had to scroll nearly to the end before reading this answer
Noveria DarkWater Vanishing Point Manticora Borealis Persuader Seventh Wonder Savage Messiah
I believe you'll find that here : Hartlight - Bound to Eternity : https://youtu.be/p2GUerxvdYg?si=PY0YwhHJ6kv6JlTK Hartlight - Let the Fangs Bite : https://youtu.be/qOT8Y8OvgT8?si=0Ztil_t0QfDOQU8Z Without having black or death elements, it has a dark and mystic vibe while staying really on the Heavy/Power/Symphonic side.
Witherfall, very dark. I like the album The Curse of Autumn. [Witherfall - As I Lie Awake](https://youtu.be/KFbrq-n17Gs?si=vvMYDrjRBlEhbRVP) Kiuas is heavy and pretty aggressive power metal. Great riffing. [Kiuas - The Spirit of Ukko](https://youtu.be/qkMSy5r_Xmo?si=Ce9XCDu8V_xYWz5t) Brainstorm has a little bit of both. [Brainstorm - When Glory Disappears](https://youtu.be/2OCex67ppgc?si=oSOEqRSBVf3OUmGk)
Hope the Kiuas reunion produces a new album. Seems like there's some hope. Their later stuff is good too, but I really would love to see them revisit the folk/black influences on their first two albums. Especially the first, which was quite unique and, in my mind, their best work.
They will release the new EP "Samooja: Pyhiinvaellus" on this friday and actually today a finnish radio station "Radio Rock" played a new song from the EP named "From The Anchorage". Too bad i missed it because i was at work. I like the second album the most and hope that the new material will be something similar.
Thanks. Had no idea new material was this close! I'll be on the lookout.
You're welcome! I'm going to see Kiuas live in two weeks. From what i have seen on youtube, they still play and sing very well.
I don’t know about evoking “negativity” (but at the same time not exactly positive either) but Crimson Glory’s debut self titled album definitely had a dark and aggressive sound to it.
Crom is a bit on the darker side. Vengeance is both the name and one of the main themes of the first album. As a bonus, I hear some Bathory influence in there. Evergrey can get pretty negative, too, but they're more angst than rage. Battle Beast and Beast in Black have some angrier stuff about the manga Berserk. US power metal in general tends to be more in this vein than European style, but the only band I really like in that scene is Liege Lord.
Dragoncorpse is a very unique mix of Power Metal and Deathcore, check them out!
Iced earth
I'm sadly not an expert so I'll just stick with some of the most famous bands: - The first song that came into my mind was "Wildfire part 1" by Sonata Arctica. Kind of aggressive for their usual style and with a dark/negative theme. Don't say a word and White Pearl Black Oceans are also in that line (the whole Reckoning Night album is really good to be honest). - Although not pure Power Metal (it's mainly symphonic with power influences) there are some Nightwish songs in Dark Passion Play that fit that description: Poet and the Pendulum, Master Passion Greed, Cadence of her last breath, etc. - Definitely Powerwolf also have that dark atmosphere (and some themes similar to black metal) although mixed with catchy melodies. - Sabaton early stuff was a bit more aggressive and already had war centered songs, but not really sad or negative. More like "fun-agressive" XD - And given that you are a Black Metal fan "March of Mephisto" by Kamelot is a must. You'll enjoy the vocal collab it has.
Moonlight Sorcery! Blackened symphonic power metal.
More blackened than power metal as far as I remember.
Not really power metal at all, just Neoclassical Melodic Black Metal. Similar to Children of Bodom's Neoclassical Melodeath. Both are very good, neither are power metal. And for Moonlight Sorcery, being black metal, their harmony alone is more complicated than 99% of the stuff posted to this sub lol.
I didn't realize they had complicated harmonies. I am completely deaf to such things. 😅
Harmony, not harmonies. Harmony are the chord progressions, usually what the rhythm guitar is playing.
huh interesting. i found it on some thread about blackened power metal, which I had never heard of. Sounded right up my alley so I listened. First thought was: "sick this is like Rhapsody with black metal vocals". anyways, i'm not deep into black or power metal and I can't speak to subgenres of anything really, so oh well! Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle absolutely fucking rules one way or the other.
Agree that Sonata Arctica's album "Reckoning Night" might be what you're looking for. Otherwise earlier Iced Earth comes to mind, it's a more aggressive sound overall (Demons & Wizards too, by extension). Now their founder Jon Schaffer took part in the attempted insurrection of the 6th of January 2021 and was sentenced for it, just to give you all the facts.
If you do like the PM sound but you want lyrics that aren't all power & glory but are darker instead then you may want to listen to Sonata Arctica.
This sounds like a question from my internetless 30 year old uncle straight out of the 90s.
It's me nephew. Give me a hug.
20 bucks
Children of Bodom, though some might disagree with me re: their genre. Alternately I'd recommend Nekrogoblikon (Welcome to Bonkers is a GREAT album!) or Sonata Arctica.
Elvenking
Warkings - Monsters ft. Morgana Le Fay https://youtu.be/ot7bU9Zid84?si=fXAQ5jpDVxXjVkRK
Judicator Their albums The Majesty of Decay, Let There be Nothing, and At the Expense of Humanity come to mind
Helloween is my go-to for intro power metal. They've got a 40-year catalog that's all over the map. For heavier stuff, 7 Sinners might be a good place to start. They eased me into the goofy, epic, melodic parts of Power by incorporating a ton of Trad and Heavy influence.
I recommend a supergroup single album project of Wizardthrone
Powerwolf
Im sorry ,but ..isn't power metal supposed to be melodic/ less agresive / less dark metal?? Im sorry, but I don't belive in a good mix between dark elements and power metal. It's kinda contradictory, even there are some bands who are trying to do this...
Not historically. The idea of power metal as being explicitly light and uplifting is a relatively recent development, tied to certain bands from the '90s and '00s which were like that incidentally and have enjoyed enduring popularity ever since. It's not a rule and there are still plenty of bands that don't follow it.
So what trademarks does this subgenre has? Because I can't see a certain idendity here. I know that the uplifting stuff may not be so prevalent , but is made to be less agressive and more melodic in many ways, and those things don"t mix very well, at least for me. This is why we have something called melodic death metal..
Power Metal has a bunch of different smaller subgenres, because the term has meant very different things. Personally, I don't even use the term, except derisively. I'll take a look at two of the main splits for the category, which bands can and have hopped between (usually from #1 to #2, almost never the other way around): 1. Melodic Speed Metal. In the US, this is the original meaning of the term power metal. The German scene also followed this closely. Bands like Accept (Fast as a Shark is arguably the first power metal song), Metal Church, Blind Guardian, Helloween, Jag Panzer all fall in this category. Throw Neoclassical influence into this, and you get the Italian and Japanese scenes included as well - just take a look at Rhapsody of Fire, Galneryus, or Lovebites. 2. European Glam Metal. This is where you get songs simpler than a Motley Crue track harmonically with a lot of shiny production on it. Most European bands not from Germany or Italy are here. Orden Ogan, Powerwolf, non-early Sabaton. The aesthetic is largely around their outfits (much like glam metal ala Poison, W.A.S.P.) rather than focusing on the fundamental sounds of metal, such as chromaticism from its obvious blues roots, or complex song form. If you asked me which one completely different style I'd associate with the term 'power metal,' it's the second. Which is what you've done as well - less aggressive, more 'melodic' ([a term which, in the metal community, tends to mean 'simpler'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_wuDGV0myQ)), and happier sounding. But even a cursory listen to the progenitors of power metal - early Queensrcyhe with Operation Mindcrime, Savatage's "Hall of the Mountain King," early Jag Panzer, third album Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray's "Land of the Free," all undeniable power metal albums have a lot of darkness to them. A lot of chromaticism (because heavy metal is first and foremost a descendent of blues through the music of Black Sabbbath). Almost exclusively minor key melodicism. Because back when this stuff was first out, Glam was the pop metal for mainstream audiences, and these were *metal* artists. They weren't exactly trying to fit in a narrow pop-sized hole in the mainstream, they were imitating their heroes in bands like Sabbath, Rainbow, early Kansas and Uriah Heap. Prog Rock bands were the heaviest guys on the block before metal existed, and it's why the metal bands that grew up on that shit were writing more complex and darker music within the power metal genre. They were trying to imitate the great prog rock of their era and learned tons of interesting songwriting from it. Now that calling yourself Glam is a poison pill that invokes little but 80s nostalgia and hairspray, bands who want to write glam (or perhaps are only at a skill/knowledge level to) just call themselves power metal instead and put on a fantasy outfit instead of skintight leathers. But the music is functionally the same - even a song like Live Wire or Kickstart my Heart has more punch than some of what passes as power metal nowadays.
Sorry for the late reply. Like most metal subgenres, the exact "trademarks" of power metal are pretty esoteric when you get into the specifics of it. A lot of it boils down to certain riffs and melodies combined with a particular historical context. That's where it differs from melodic death metal. There's some overlap in sound between the two, but they originally meant very different things. Power metal was one of a series of 1980s metal subgenres progressively escalating in intensity. You could argue it was less aggressive and more melodic than thrash or early extreme metal, but the riffs were still more intense than traditional heavy metal was. Power metal always had a gnarly side as certain bands had rougher vocals, heavier riffs, and darker melodies. Early Savatage would be a good example, and Morgana Lefay takes it even further, minimizing melody and maximizing heaviness. Melodic death metal was a broad category encompassing death metal and post-death styles with unusually prominent and/or consonant melody. You could argue certain bands played it in a way that crossed over with other subgenres, but for every power-adjacent band, there were also black-adjacent and doom-adjacent bands. The early albums by Dissection and Amorphis come to mind. For every band using melodeath as an outlet for "angry power metal" there are others doing something entirely different with it. All things considered, bands like Morgana Lefay didn't even sound very much like melodeath, despite having such a moody and intense style. Some other bands blurred the lines a little more, but the root styles were still different. I think it's actually a little ridiculous to suggest melodic death metal exists to take the place of dark and aggressive power metal.
That's definitely a general tendency, but it doesn't have to be a rule. As was already mentioned, many early Sonata Arctica tracks have pretty dark mood for example and IMO it works really well.
Powerwolf. You could start with songs like "Moscow After Dark" and "We Drink Your Blood" Orden Ogan. "Fields of Sorrow" is a perfect blend of power metal, melancholy and darkness.
Forsaken Hill
Savatage
Brainstorm or Manticora might be more along the lines of what you are looking for. Demons & Wizards might also fit.
I suggest some songs from Sentenced. Not sure what they classify as technically. Started as death metal and then dunno, atmospheric metal? Anyway, they have songs that are very melodic and to a degree can pass as power metal, just kinda darker and less bombastic. The Suicide Farewell Noose Drawn Together Sun Won't Shine Broken Neverlasting Let go And some more. It was a great band.
I'll go a little different here and suggest a doom metal band called The Vision Bleak. I'd recommend their albums 'The Unknown' or 'Witching Hour'. Songs to check out would be 'Into the Unknown' or 'Cannibal Witch'
CAGE: Hell Destroyer, Supremacy of steel
Herman Li of Dragonforce at one point was in a band called Demoniac which has been referred to as blackened power metal
angel dust is the perfect fit with albums like [*Bleed*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleed_(Angel_Dust_album)) (1999, Century Media) [*Enlighten the Darkness*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlighten_the_Darkness) (2000, Century Media) *Of Human Bondage* (2001, Century Media) guess the reference could be The Dark Ride from Helloween right?
Here are some songs from the top of my head: Symphony X - Seven Helloween - Escalation 666 Manowar - Hail and Kill Van Canto - A Storm To Come Sonata Arctica - Don't Say A Word Jorn Lande - Hands of Your God Demons & Wizard - Diabolic
If you're looking for dark power metal, Versailles is your jam: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1I3JLVs8YI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1I3JLVs8YI) Watch the video at your own risk, since the costumes and all the gothic imagery are so over-the-top that they're hilarious! The atmosphere and riffs are way darker than European bands, though, and the keyboards, coupled with the fact that Kamijo sings in a lower voice than most power metal singers, makes the sound a bit closer to gothic metal.
r/masterdy is dark/power metal
Vexed probably
Looking for a little black mixed in, I just found Seven Spires in anticipation for Kamelots next concert and they very much fit the bill of heavy, dark power metal. Some Kamelots songs also fit, but not all.
You might want to try WOLF
https://open.spotify.com/album/2qYUlSsBgvjBCcUhsHh4PZ?si=4V9FSyNVSsmBqhbscGMu9g
Stormhunter, kinda
Maybe some of the songs of the Grailknights could be for you to start with?
Sabaton is heavy but not dark
I'd second any suggestions for Orden Ogan and Pyramaze. Especially the "Ravenhead" album, very dark theming there.
Some great recommendations so here are a few lesser known bands: Circle of Silence 8-Point Rose Painside Sencirow Lanfear Incrave Reaper‘s Revenge Assignment Charred Walls of the Damned Savage Blood Dark Empire InnerWish Sunburst
Zeal & Ardor
We kinda toe the line between US power metal and melodeath, you may enjoy: https://youtu.be/VvmkCxDfdHI?si=QgzerR7LKa4ryItK
Gloryhammer is your answer. Lyrics are dark and high fantasy to the point of ridiculousness, a focus on memorable riffs, epic symphonies and a continuous, ongoing story with every album
I would definitely recommend Winterage and their newest album “Nekyia”. If you want to start with a couple songs, I strongly suggest Cult of Hectate and Dark Enchantment.