I'd also like to state that I'm getting severely pissed at this stupid fucking stereotype of power metal being "cheesy", "flowery", or "gay". You obviously know nothing about the genre if that's is your only perception of it.

"Non cheesy power metal." Gim'me a fucking break.

I was never big with power metal, with the exception of Manowar. I am looking for some balls-to-the-wall power metal if that makes sense. I want some Power Metal that is epic in a non-corny way.

No disagreements here. People listen to one song by Sonata Arctica or Helloween and assume there's nothing else to it. Ignorance at its finest.

That's completely ignoring the fact that Power Metal has been cheesy ever since its inception, and that cheesiness has been one of its strong points. The same can be said for Heavy Metal as a whole. Sure, there are more introspective, intelligent bands, but nothing beats a band like Venom or Possessed or Iron Maiden singing about pentagrams and devil worship and Rimes of the Ancient Mariner. Heavy Metal should not be done in moderation, in any respect. But that's another thread, so everyone should hurry and listen to Stratovarius's Episode and learn that their stereotypes are false.

edit: it's also ignoring the fact that both SA and Helloween are good bands.

Not sure if it's better to post in this thread instead of the similar one about Thrash, but... recommend me some bands/albums in the vein of Iron Angel's second album "Winds Of War". I know about Hellish Crossfire, but as their name suggests, they're more inspired by Iron Angel's debut, which I don't like as much as WoW.

Also, I absolutely love Slauter Xstroyes. Just one of those bands that always makes me speechless everytime I go back to them (fairly often). Not only is the band just outrageously technical, but singer John Stewart is fucking insane. Really wish there were more out there like him.

/random

Hell, Catachthonian you should check them out too. I'd say their second album "Free The Beast" has a little more thrash elements.

edit: Shit! Where did this come from? Apparently Stewart's band after Slauter Xstroyes.

http://www.myspace.com/energyvampires
http://www.energyvampire.com/html/music.html

Incredible, I'm buying that CD.

Failsafeman's passionate review of Omen's "Battle Cry" has got me listening to teh album more often, too. There's something about it that I once thought was a weakness and which now turns out to be a strength. Though I've liked the album ever since first hearing it, probably around the same time Failsafeman did, the first half always seemed to move me more than the second until recently. I think the somewhat unified nature of the songs and their progressions, almost all possessing thatt steady marching groove that's so common in epic metal, kind of made some of the tracks fly by without notice for me. The more I listen to it, though, the more the second half starts to sound better than the first. Funny how after all this time, I never really paid much attention to "Prince of Darkness" untill some months ago. It's such a short song, but it's the most effective up-tempo piece on the record and the bass intro and vocal melodies are so bloody good. I also love the line "you run til you're heaving / it's hard when you're breathing / only the smoke from Hell's flame"...haha. Now, suddenly, "Into the Arena" is my favourite song on here ... I don't know many bands other than these guys and Brocas Helm who can make four minutes seem so goddamn huge and epic, and this song is like the piece Manowar just wouldn't dare to write.

This might have been touched on in this thread already, but I don't have time to trawl through all 10 pages...

What I'd like is some recs for vicious, dark power metal in that vein, perhaps in the vein of Iced Earth's Burnt Offerings.

As am I! it's going to be damn good.

I'd say that Slauter Xstroyes is pretty damn technical, at least in their employment of unusual rhythms and unpredictable structure. All the musicians are equally strong (love that bass tone!) andd it's exactly the kind of progressive stuff I was looking for when I posted a thread about rhythmically intricate heavy metal some time ago (didn't find much, by the way). Slauter Xstroyes, Fates Warning's ATG and some Mercyful Fate perfectly epitomise this kind of sound for me.

EDIT #2: I just wonder why Mysto Dysto decided to change name into Mandator and play thrash.

Yeah, so I take it you liked them (Mysto Dysto)? No idea why they changed their name and just went totally generic, I can't get into Mandator at all. I'm a huge thrash fan as well but they were just really generic, especially when compared to what they did as Mysto Dysto.

Yes, I listened to the album and liked it a lot. Totally awesome speed metal! Warrant is fairly good, but hey, it's german speed metal, after all. Going to give Grinder a few spins next week. Thanks for the recs!

I guess I need to explore the realm of USPM more than just sticking to several main bands. That requires some digging... or thoroughly looking through this thread.

I need some recs guys!

Looking for power metal....with BALLS, none of the cheesy fantasy bullshit, looking for bands similar to Hibria and Jag Panzer, also none of the Mid-Tempo bands, I want full of speed and energy....thanks.

Okay, fuck it, I'm going to try Ballistic.

Okay, fuck it, I'm going to try Ballistic.

I'm looking for power metal that is keyboard heavy, but still makes good use out of guitars.
It should have plenty of good riffs, and powerful vocals.
Can anyone recomend bands/albums to me?
Thanks in advance...

Dark at Dawn's Of Decay and Desire. And Kamelot, if you have never tried them yet - The Black Halo is essential, as is Epica and Karma.

I'm on a Toxik/Realm/Coroner kick lately. I need some more input on technical speed/thrash bands. I'm familiar with Antagonist (Green Bay, WI), Imagika, and Heathen (of course). Annihilator puts me to sleep. Help.

Anything close to Toxik and Realm would be great, stuff that crosses the line between blistering speed and non brutal thrash.

Annihilator puts me to sleep.

I'm on a Toxik/Realm/Coroner kick lately. I need some more input on technical speed/thrash bands. I'm familiar with Antagonist (Green Bay, WI), Imagika, and Heathen (of course). Annihilator puts me to sleep. Help.

Anything close to Toxik and Realm would be great, stuff that crosses the line between blistering speed and non brutal thrash.

Hello. I've just recently been trying to get into Iced Earth. They have a quite large discography, so I was wondering what albums to check out first. Could someone please enlighten me on said matter?....

.....Please?