What? Sabaton's sound incorporated that "epic" feeling one gets when listening to power metal: ripping off your shirt to expose the thick, shag-rug of growth, defending a small village against eight million enemies while simultaneously drinking, shooting, stabbing and saving small, crying babies whom are falling from the sky.

But realistically, nothing else about them is power metal.

Sabaton - 'The Lost Battalion'

So this band are hot shit huh? It's easy to see why, completely manufactured verse-chorus power pop metal that is as plastic as is imaginable. The catchiness of the song has a certain cold and calculated feel to it, the vocals are so processed he is basically a robot, the guitars are hilariously slick and the exact antithesis of aggressive (or audible). I've honestly heard more aggressive radio fodder modern rock songs. Bloody hell this is boring.

Well said, man. My beef with them is, why are they called power metal when there is no power in their music? Fine, I guess they're "epic" and "melodic", but that's not enough to make them a power metal band. If anything, they're just a regular heavy metal band that has power metal tendencies, though still a very shitty and bland one. Very uninteresting and below average Nuclear Blast pop metal.

They're not that good of a band, no, but that whole 'why are they called power metal when there's no power in the music' thing always bugs me - it's because that's a very subjective quality. They do have more qualities than not of power metal though, it's not that hard to see.

"The Lost Battalion" is one of the songs that has grown on me. It's kind of cool that instead of using drums, they recorded themselves shooting guns. It's still one of the worst songs they've ever done though.

Also, is today State the Obvious About Sabaton Day? Perhaps I'll make a thread tomorrow about how Rhapsody songs have fantasy lyrics!


Orden Ogan - Dying Paradise

I absolutely love the beginning of this song.

This sounds like something a child would say.

Saying something has "power" gives no indication to one's opinion. You're just saying words that have no meaning. It's like me saying, "why is this band called black metal? There's no blackness in the music!"

Minstrel - 夢蝶

Really good folk/progressive power metal from Taiwan.

Yeah it shows a pretty flimsy understanding of what the genre means, i.e. a broad spectrum of metal bands with forceful, clean, melodic vocals and speedy riffing and anthemic moments, and that doesn't even encompass it all.

Empyreal, just curious, what exactly would be power metal then? I'm not testing you, but I'm legitimately asking. Everything you said in that post is exactly what I think of when I think of power metal. Is my conception of what the genre is a bit off?

I see why Sabaton is considered power metal, but I personally don't consider them so. They lack a ton of what power metal should have in my opinion. When I think of power metal, I think of a more ambitious speed metal. Lots of speedy riffs and drums, really powerful soaring vocals, and an overall anthemic, empowering, and sometimes even theatrical theme in the music. Something like this is what I think is like THE embodiment of power metal.

I think they fall under the definition of power metal - they're quite a wimpy example of the genre but they are power metal nonetheless. All the tropes are there, watered down and crisply filtered hundreds of times to pure pop 'perfection'.

Okay I guess that makes sense. That band always struck me as a really theatric and overblown heavy metal with waaaaay too many keyboards rather than power metal - I guess that's why.

Not sure I get your question, man. What I said above is what power metal is - a lot of bands that usually have upbeat melodies, speedy riffs and melodic or anthemic qualities. Like any genre it can be broad. Gamma Ray are certainly what many people think of as a stereotypical PM band, but if you think the genre is so narrow that anything that sounds different isn't PM at all, then you're being too narrow with what you think a genre is. No genre is really that restrictive that nothing else slightly different can be under the same genre.

This song is certainly power metal, and Sabaton have plenty of others like it.

Plenty of other bands like Tad Morose also are PM despite not sounding like that.

Nightwish - 'Stargazer'

I like. A lot.

Well, you got a snort-chuckle out of me.

Sabaton leans way heavier in the direction of whatever-the-fuck we're calling Rhapsody Of Fire these days, what with all of the keyboards and synths and shit.

Why? Is it wrong to call them that?

Perhaps "Screaming Eagles" would be a better example of typical power metal.

No. I can't remember the last time I heard something described as "wimpy" much less a band called that, and I thought it was funny.

Oh right, fair enough.

I mean, I sit here calling them wimpy as I listen to Nightwish so it isn't necessarily a bad thing.

At least early Nightwish had riffs, some good ones too!

"Doomsday Machine" -
Arch Enemy

I haven't listened to them since around middle school and freshman year until this Summer and it's held up surprisingly well.

I recently tried to give Entombed another chance and I will continue to call them Enwimped without shame, like Dead did.

Which album did you listen to?

Left Hand Path

The Nihilist songs re-recorded for the album are the only thing close to highlights, but are weaker than their original versions. The new songs have that weird upbeat riffing, makes me think the love for morbid riffs went with Johnny, because there's a lot more of that in early Unleashed.

Ravenia - We All Died for Honor

I'm not sure a symphonic metal band could possibly get more symphonic if they tried. I love this song.

Unleashed - Where No Life Dwells

Yeah this is a little darker.

Gorguts - Considered Dead

From what i have heard from Obscura, this album kicks the shit out of. Really fucking solid old school death metal.

Running Wild — Black Soul

In a big RW mood lately

I havent listened to any Sabaton past their first 2 albums but their first album definitely had power: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7tTavUcwFg

Avantasia - Mystery Of A Bloodred Rose

Glad to be listening to some actual good PM after reviewing the Sabaton and Iron Savior albums.

Yeah, I found Titancraft to be completely mediocre. Nothing too horrible, but I'll never listen to it again.

NP: オモイメグラス - ReS-04-8分後副作用有り
Not sure how to describe this one. Interesting though.

Hmm. Some flashy power metal scale runs that were worth a damn, but people act like they were actually "heavy" - which wasn't the case at all.

And agreed, Titancraft was a pretty big step down. Band is phoning it in. Piet needs to stop producing other bands' work and focus on his own.

Really fucking BORING old school death metal. Sometimes I think it's the same phenomenon as the first two Dimmu Borgir albums, that people only listen to it so they can say they love the stuff "before they sold out."

Nihilist - Morbid Devourment - Live bootleg 1989

Haha exactly, DB's debut is such a crock... it really says something about the fans that they can push that as some sort of eclectic masterwork. More like the band had no idea what to do with it since they could barely play their instruments. Not a death stroke in and of itself, but come on... listen to it.

It's just a slog. I still go back to Condition Red once a year or so and it smokes - but yeah, new stuff's just not so great.

Avantasia - Seduction Of Decay

The best Geoff Tate has been in years, and probably ever will be again.

Also, sometimes I think In Flames' "before they sold out" debut is to this day even wimpier than any of their emo metalcore musings, it's all super pretty sugary lead guitar fiddles that sound like Iron Maiden if you remove all the cool parts including riffs and heaviness and replace them with eightfold increase lead guitar noodling. Oh and replace Bruce with a monotonously croaking guy who's only achievement for the band is that he's not Anders Friden. AMAZING album, too bad they sold out.

Really? Because i actually listened to this one first and enjoyed it. Obscura i just found really boring for some reason. So nice try trying to make me look some sort of hipster, better luck next time, I guess?

I rarely agree with you on metal but this is spot on.

Avantasia - Ghostlights

Sabaton - Carolus Rex

In one of the album trailers, they said the new album would sound like this album. Lying bastards.

While I agree 100% that For All Tid is worthless and amateurish, you can't put Stormblast in the same category at all. The second track "Broderskapets ring" has to be one of the most elegant, sublime, and well written compositions in the scene- totally awesome at both an artistic and aesthetic level. It makes the eyes water even if one is in the mood, a track that cleanses the soul. There is other great stuff on that album as well.

Einherjer - Ironbound

I should hate this but 1:19 is just so fucking perfect for tapdancing. God.

Skepticism - Stormcrowfleet

Someone mentioned them when I asked for recs in the funeral doom thread. Fell asleep by the second song, which is a good thing.