That pretty much covers all metal genres. There's quite a few bands I could recommend. I'm guessing about 10-15 000.
Are you ready for a list?

Could anybody recommend anything similar to Gamma Ray circa Land of the Free or Somewhere out in Space? Anything similar to Thundersteel too, because that album is the shit. I'm trying to expand my power metal tastes a little more, and would love something else to dig into.

Phantom's Cyberchrist might work for the Thundersteel search. FSM really enjoys this album, and it is pretty good. It's meatier, but it's still in the ballpark.

Not amazingly similar to Somewhere Out in Space by Gamma Ray, but I tend to think of Iron Savior's self titled as it's sort of companion. Watcher in the Sky appears on both, and I think it's a great listen overall. Some duff tracks in there, but stuff like Brave New World, For the World, Riding on Fire and Atlantis Falling are some prime power metal cuts.

Have you tried Imaginations from the Otherside by Blind Guardian? That band and Gamma Ray tend to get lumped into the same category despite being different enough. It has adventurous arrangements like the Gamma Ray albums, interesting vocal arrangements and some excellent guitar work. Might be worth a try.

I would try CLOVEN HOOF - A Sultan's Ransom as being in the same ballpark as Thundersteel.

Definitely Savage Grace's "After The Fall From Grace" is for you. It even predates Thundersteel (1986) and is one of the best American Power Speed metal records of the 80s along the RIOT classic. A shame is that's frequently underrated and overlooked. Here are examples ...

Thanks everybody for your recommendations, I'll be sure to check them all out. I'm already digging the Cloven Hoof album.

Couldn't resist here is another great Power Speed killer



A Cliff Burton type of performance by the bass player

What he said. A KILLER !

So far, four of my stories featuring the Cauldron Born mascot,Thorn,have been published. DMR Books(Chicago) published, "All Will Be Righted on Samhain", in SWORDS OF STEEL volume 1, and, "The Heart of the Betrayer", in SWORDS OF STEEL volume 2. Horrified Press(UK) pubished,"The Mask of the God Hunter" in BARBARIAN CROWNS, and "Guardian of the Rune Dagger" in DEVIL'S ARMORY.

Howie

Tony Moore-Riot is in a league of their own, but try these:

Lizzy Borden


Air Raid

Another contender for American Power Speed of the 80s - "Mater Control" by Liege Lord

Don't know if they are comparable with Riot though

Found a little hidden gem while browsing YouTube. Reminds me of Stratovarius, except more neoclassical, with some interesting riffs. Favourite songs: 02. Burn Down the Night (1:08); 04. Silent Killer (11:34) and 09. Raging Fire (38:34).

Xenophile's Systematic Enslavement is pretty killer power/prog/thrash, heavy on the thrash.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBKJnaVja8Q

also have people heard the new Helstar song? Way better than anything they've released lately, way more neoclassical and riff-oriented, hearkening back to Nosferatu:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1Iy_ke98S8&sns=fb

I don't love the production but other than that it sounds really good.

have you guys heard of Teramaze? power/prog that sounds like a mix between Anubis Gates vocals and Symphony X's guitars, although the music is much more accessible than those. An while not as great as those bands, I wouldn't be surprised if in the future they released a top tier album.

This sounds pretty great. Thanks for the recommendation.

Finally, I think the other half of Judas Priest is clicking with me! I've liked my playthroughs of Sad Wings of Destiny but haven't given it a lot of time yet. Definitely on the to do list for soon.

Listening to Sin After Sin right now though and it's freaking awesome.

Let me throw the finger to "You've Got Another Thing Coming", this stupid song... I think this song is why I ignored Screaming for so long and boy was I missing out on some of their coolest songs ever and quite possibly some of the best solos I've ever heard from Priest, dismantling everything that came out after. I'm a huge fan of Defenders too though, which kind of ignited the mood again. It's awesome how different these two albums alone are. Rob's vocals on Defenders is utterly sublime, USPM level technical prowess, delivery, and styling with him sticking to the higher notes a lot, but holy shit his more frantic yelling on Screaming is fantastic.

Still pretty curious about the Owens stuff too, since I dig Owens even though it's hard to stomach some of his stuff outside of Winters Bane (fuck Iced Earth).

I can't remember Turbo, probably for good reason. But Ram it Down and Painkiller are hilarious, average Manowar-like albums to me. I could probably come up with a solid "best of" playlist from the both of them, but otherwise... after endlessly listening to Defenders a ton again, I just know I can't make it through a full run of Painkiller without getting bored. But Defenders? That beast just keeps repeating and I barely even notice.

Do you guys think Venom was the first real Speed Metal Band?

no

Xeogred: I can't honestly tell from your post what the "other half" of Judas Priest's discography means to you. At first I thought you meant the old stuff, but then you start talking about the 80s classics! What gives homie?

I've been pretty vocal about this but I think Judas Priest's S-Trilogy from the 70s is the greatest run of albums ever recorded. Sad Wings is an absolute masterpiece. It's perfect. Stained Class is somehow, for me, even MORE perfect than that. Sin After Sin is also perfect, just slightly less so than those two? I can listen to any of those three albums at any time, anywhere, and it takes me to a place.

Screaming for Vengeance and Defenders took me forever to get into but now I love them. Just hard-charging dumb 80s glory.

Yeah I was jumping around a lot there so it IS kind of confusing.

Sad Wings of Destiny (somewhat, shocked this is their second album!)
Unleashed in the East (it's been awhile)
Screaming for Vengeance
Defenders of the Faith
Ram It Down
Painkiller (I'm of the camp that would slap a 70% on this or something)

These are probably the only albums I'm really familiar with compared to the rest and honestly, I just listened to a two disc compilation a lot back in the day so that was probably all over the place. I guess it's ironic since I used to always claim I liked Priest more than Iron Maiden, and Priest (80's) are obviously the blueprint for a lot of the German stuff I got obsessed with early on, but yeah I still would never call myself much of an expert on either Judas Priest or Iron Maiden. I can say the same about Manilla Road despite loving them as well, among other big bands. Guess it takes me years to dissect bands with huge discographies and I tend to gravitate towards bands that only put out a few releases.

Manowar is a bigger one I feel pretty confident about, because... half their stuff is samey or sucks. So it wasn't nearly as hard to break them down. Maiden is still kind of tough because a lot of stuff blends in to me, like The Number of the Beast -> Powerslave. I posted about my Blind Guardian journey here earlier this year haha.

I've heard Angel of Retribution more recently and it feels like that was enough. So I'll focus on the three S's, and the three after that look decently rated. I guess it's Point of Entry and Turbo that are the big pitfalls?

I've gotten more into tech/prog/white collar USPM/Rush more recently thesedays, so I'm getting a lot more into the 70's rockin' side of some bands now. I keep thinking of Cirith Ungol while listening to some old Priest, it's like Cirith Ungol never left the 70's haha. Also been digging some Dio now. Finally after 10 years or so, my speed metal demon blood is slowing down a bit. , the mid to later 80's was my soft spot for the longest time but it seems like lately I'm really loving late 70's and early 80's stuff that still seems amazingly heavy and advanced for their time.

"The Sentinel" is easily my favorite Priest song at the moment... Rob is literally perfect on it.


Seems to be what people say about some 80's Rush too, but I freaking love Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows.

The Sentinel is life-affirming heavy metal. Pure blood-pumping machismo, with a dash of dope storytelling.

I'm not the biggest fan of Painkiller. I really WANT to be. I put it on a few times a year but usually in the car or at work. It's an album I have a hard time giving my full attention. I guess in the end I just wish it were a bit faster? The production is killer and the energy/excitement is there but you're right I'd probably rate it about a 7/10. I was actually just looking for something to put on at work, I'm gonna give Painkiller another shot.

It's cool to me that you're getting into some of the more 70's inflected stuff. Those three Priest albums along with Frost and Fire and Invasion by Manilla Road were a big influence on my heavy metal development. I think it's a big part of why I obsess over production and tones the way I do. If you're getting more and more into that stuff I couldn't recommend "The Warrior's Spell" by Tarot any more. It's hard rock that flirts with doom and traditional metal. It's basically a guy who wanted to see what Deep Purple mixed with Uriah Heep would sound like. Except he fucked around and accidentally made something on par with both:

People 'round here are fucking weird.

I don't know about people around here but I'm definitely fucking weird. I just always felt like those two albums were SO dumbed down compared to the S-Trilogy and it drove me crazy. But then I heard British Steel and really understood what dumbed down meant.

Painkiller is super fun. I just wish it was the speed metal monster everyone touts it as. But for what it is, super fun. I love how enraged Halford sounds through the whole thing. He really carries the aggression on his back.

I don't at all agree with half their stuff sucks. I know on these forums, the vast majority attitude toward Manowar is "the first four albums are all you need" (just like Metallica ) But I think that's a crock. I love the epic scope of The Triumph of Steel, and the lesser epic scope but still epic scope of Kings of Metal. Warriors of the World has about half awesome songs, and mostly the other half is pretty good (American Trilogy kinda sucks though). I even love Gods of War. The orchestrations are just so epic, so grand, and some of it even reminds me of the 90s SNES Squaresoft RPGs, which is always a plus with me. Sure, if you're just looking for kickass metal, there's not a whole lot there considering the album's runtime, but for me, it definitely works as it is. Really the only original Manowar albums that I think outright suck are The Lord of Steel and Louder Than Hell (though I have only heard a few tracks from the latter. After a few tracks, I decided the album really sucks and the rest is not worth bothering with. ). I haven't bothered with the re-recordings and I don't count them.

And I will say, a lot of Manowar's albums needed time to grow on me. Before I liked the band at all, I couldn't get into Hail to England or Warriors of the World. Eventually I tried again with Sign of the Hammer, and that album hit right away. The rest of their first four took quite a while for me to appreciate after that, and even then, I only really like about half of Into Glory Ride. The Triumph of Steel and Kings of Metal both took me a while to get into as well, then I eventually tried Warriors of the World again and now I really like it.

So basically, I really like most of Manowar's albums now, but the only ones that I liked anywhere near instantly were Sign of the Hammer and Gods of War (two very different albums).



The vast majority of Dio after Holy Diver and before Killing the Dragon never clicked with me, But I'm hoping the new remastered box set of his first 6 albums will change that, as I think the production on my old versions is not very good, and that might be affecting my lack of enthusiasm for them. I ordered it for less than $30 after shipping and sales tax, so I think it's a really good deal. Now I impatiently wait for it to ship.

This Tarot track is definitely pretty awesome. It still seems like I resonate with the higher register melodic singers the most, I think that's how Rush was an instant click for me and Dio is pretty much as awesome as it gets along Dickinson, Halford, etc for the big names.

I really wonder if it's the Painkiller production that brings it down for me actually. The drums? I used to love that nonstop double bass style but not so much anymore, though I still love a good paced gallop. But really it's just too clean or soft. I have no idea but it's been years and I do the same, give it a few listens per year and usually drift away from it midway in. I also freaking hate "A Touch of Evil", lol.

But hey, speaking of the two greats and 1990... I honestly don't know if I've ever heard Iron Maiden - No Prayer for the Dying, at all. That "17 (65%)" might be why I never see it talked about either. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son finally clicked with me last year and is one of my favorites now. Somewhere in Time is different than before it and definitely poppy in ways, but the technical prowess on this album is utterly insane and it's all my kind of metal, can't get enough of this one (it's always reminded me of Sacred Oath and vice versa too, something about the incredible guitar leads and their endless assault seems pretty similar). I'm a big fan of the first two with Paul Di'Anno and considering my classic mood right now maybe it's time to hit those up again.

@DoomMetalAlchemist: Yeah don't get me wrong, there's still a lot I love about Manowar. In ways I could probably settle on putting Eric Adams above Halford and Dickinson personally, but it kind of stops there. I think I really wish they were a lot more technical than they are. They're on this strange line between traditional heavy metal and USPM, so I really wish they could have fully slipped into the former. It's hard to fight off the cravings to listen to Omen or some of Virgin Steele too instead, haha. Both I like quite a bit more, but Virgin Steele is definitely a mood thing and their discography definitely isn't perfect either.

I was working on a best of playlist for myself but guess I didn't get very far:

Battle Hymns
Secret of Steel
Gloves of Metal
Gates of Valhalla
Hatred
Revelation (Death's Angel)
March of Revenge (By The Soldiers of Death)

Hail to England and Sign of the Hammer are both top notch to me. From there, I could probably pick out 2-3 tracks off Fighting the World, Kings of Metal, Triumph of Steel, and Louder than Hell for a nice compilation. Of those four I'd say Kings of Metal is my favorite. The Triumph of Steel has a cool production, but that 30 minute track is tedious as hell! "Call to Arms" is a solid track, but from that point on the fancy "epic" style took over and kills my interest.

Man, give me all the Manowar epic style! I eat that shit up with a spoon!

Defenders of the Faith is a great disc. I defy anyone who does doesn't bang their head when Jawbreaker comes on. It is one of the best tracks Priest have put out.

And I love Painkiller, all of the songs are great. Definiely my favourite Priest CD. The lyrics are utterly dumb, but quintessentially metal, the vocal lines/performance, guitarwork and drumming are spellbinding. And Xeogred, u mad, son. Who could hate that amazing Touch of Evil solo? It is the most evil guitar solo ever devised.

As an aside, I gave some dude I work with the disc two years ago and I've yet to get it back. The dick!

Sin After Sin is the one really speaking to me right now. I can even kind of hear a little Cyriis (when he's not shrieking) in some 70's Rob here which is awesome, especially on something like "Starbreaker" and others. Yeah this "S trilogy" is definitely incredible.

That S trilogy is something else, really. It's crazy innovative stuff. Priest really struck a nerve with those and it was sort of a lightning in a bottle moment. They were all albums that took what they had from Purple, Sabbath and older rock and just went way further with it. Listening to stuff like "Sinner" or "Exciter" now and you can hear where most modern power metal came from.

Playing some Encyrcle for the first time in a while. Really cool riffs and leads. Lots of energy. I dunno though, I think the reason I didn't keep playing this constantly was because the production is just kinda clean and boring.

I think it's Gutterscream that breaks it down in one of his reviews the progression from Deep Purple ----> 70s Priest ----> Mercyful Fate and it makes so much sense.

I think what makes them so special is the combination of perfect production with unbelievable, burning guitar tones, boundary-pushing speed and then the odd curveball like Epitaph where they remind you that despite their heavy metal mastery they're still flower children who came up in an era of softer, thoughtful music.

The softer moments are really what makes 70s Priest so great. Modern bands imitating them usually stick to the same types of heavy songs for a whole album and have none of the groove or the subtlety to it. If they do throw in a ballad it tends to sound like some sort of rejected Disney song.

Exactly. No one does it with the same honesty or passion. I think it's just a generational thing. It has to do with the music you grew up listening to, your parents music, and so on. Last Rose of Summer is a genuinely fantastic song, in a vacuum. Same for Epitaph. They don't just work as a breather from the madness, they work.

Yes. That's why I'm just not excited about some newer bands. It just sounds like they grew up listening to only 80s metal and nothing else, and so it just doesn't have the same "this feels like the classics" vibe to me that it does to others. The classics had a much wider palette of musical ideas.

Listening to Sin After Sin because of all this. This might be tied with Sad Wings for my favorite Priest actually.

There are some newer bands that still feel like the classics, but they often explicitly listen to a lot of 70s stuff. Borrowed Time and The Spell come to mind.

I swear I'm gonna check out Spell soon. Jonpo metal!

Have you heard Hellfriends yet? It shattered all my expectations. Fortunes Told, the title track and The Microdome are a masterclass in evil, wild, complex heavy metal.

You're damn right. Fucking awesome album. Manowars best in my opinion.

I even love the 28 minute opening track. Sure, the cymbal and bass solo is a bit stupid (as expected), but it still rules.

And the production... I usually dont like high-pitched snares, but those drums are monstrous. The "singelcoily" guitars are awesome and the bass is great too.

Yeah, the Achilles suite is the best part of the album for me. I don't know if I would consider TToS THE best Manowar album, but it's up there.

About 23:28 into Archilles is my favorite part. One of my friends and I rolled up into a busy Best Buy parking lot one night in his beat up truck during that part, it was hilarious. Had to be there...