Not trying to troll or anything. But I feel like the genre has just done too much copycatting. It's really put me off listening to the genre extensively. After Blind Guardian, Helloween, and Kamelot, I really couldn't find another band that didn't seem redundant. I immediately moved on to Folk and Viking Metal after giving up on the more contemporary PM.

I feel guilty about this. I've given every other genre of Metal a ridiculous amount to play time and research. You all know this process of sifting through the "Essentials">the Popular>the Endless Mediocrity> the Underground Gems>the Endless Mediocrity>the Innovators. I wouldn't mind doing the process all over again, but I don't have the time to do that sort of music listening anymore, which has resulted in me hardly ever finding being on the forums anymore and in turn not finding any good metal anymore.

Can anybody recommend me something legitimately new and innovative? Something I missed along the way to what Power Metal is now? This may be too subjective a request, but is there a Power Metal band that will do what Deathspell Omega and Ulcerate did for Black and Death Metal?

tl;dr
Somebody please undo my notion of Power Metal being the most stagnant genre of Metal.

Damn I really want to see the reply's to this, even though it may get locked or sent to the power metal help thread, I to have a really hard time getting into Power Metal save for one band... and yes you all know them and hate them.
It's just weirdly unexciting for me, even when the NWOBHM bands lean towards power it seem drab and uninspired.

I'll give the thread some time for now. His OP was developed enough to deserve it.

Power metal is all about paying tribute to the old guard and dishing out some solid, traditional sounding material. But there are bands that do it differently...

Orden Ogan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJWI8ninwOY

TOC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvNvPe-GP-c

Her Whisper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZDwd_zei64

Angel Dust
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e4xLo56xE4

Force Majeure
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrmBXIq-b0A

Machinae Supremacy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiInUMGcPuU

Pharaoh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXIjm1yjfXo

If you're looking for some kind of Ulcerate/DSO sort of thing you probably won't find it, but here are some bands that play around with the formula and deliver unique and interesting sounds.

One of my favorite power metal (well power/speed according to the archives) is Vhaldemar...try anything off their "Metal of the World" album. Nothing hugely innovative but they have a pretty distinct style you'll either love or hate.

I consider Wuthering Heights to have enough power metal elements to be mentioned here and they are way better and more original that the common europower stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHpR1m7b9b0

I'm not sure if counts, but Control Denied is maybe what are you looking for.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzlyFk2T6zg

FALCONER

Not only do they inject some lovely, yet not overpowering folk elements, but Mathias Blad's voice is quite unique. He actually quit the band at one point to concentrate on theater as a career (skip the third and fourth albums, the rest are awesome). Blad brings that large, powerful theatrical baritone voice to metal in a way that nobody has ever done before.

Mindtraveller
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uvO9EYrbVY

Northwind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW2gsLyhk9g

Rosornas Grav
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g5NkG8apjI




I also strongly second the WUTHERING HEIGHTS recommendation. Progressive power folk metal? Who knows, but they are catchy as fuck and always interesting. Singer sounds like Dio's evil twin.

The Mad Sailor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eblFOXlHDs

I Shall Not Yield
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY42zd9vvXY

I'd like to add that I do kind of agree with the original poster...power metal has really hit a wall. I'm a huge fan of the genre, but it's definitely not what it was 5 or 10 years ago. Lorenguard's Eve of Corruption is really the only Power Metal album that I would place in my Top 10 from 2011 (not counting Falconer's latest, which was more of a folk metal album). Maybe Stormwarrior's, too. I really liked that one...but the point remains that power metal needs a kick-start to get back into high gear.

However...even a few years back when the genre was awesome, there wasn't a lot of innovation going on. It was just awesome music, similar to the retro-thrash movement today. So perhaps the biggest problem is not the lack of new ideas, but all the bands that used to be awesome are no longer as awesome. Hibria, Heavenly, Iron Savior, Gamma Ray, Hammerfall, Edguy, Dragonforce, At Vance, Cage, Brainstorm, Nightwish, Sonata Arctica, Kamelot, Power Quest, Dark Moor, Savage Circus, Persuader, Mystic Prophecy...all these bands are just treading water now. Not one of them is at the top of their game, and nobody has really stepped up to the plate in their place.

I think that's the real problem.

I second this recommendation a lot. Wuthering Heights is my favorite euro power band. Their sound is very original.

While certainly not strictly Power Metal by any stretch of the imagination (or at all, according to the archives) I feel that Dark Quarterer's self titled album is one of the greatest things ever. A very hidden gem that I recently discovered. The first track is so-so, but the next two will have your jaw on the floor.. Or yer a fag!!1.. or something.

Need to find more ways to pimp this album out.. Hmmmm...

That's because death/black metal is all the rage with the kids today, so those groups aren't making a lot of money (some would argue the bigger names are making TOO much), and the bright-eyed newcomers aren't getting record deals.

Personally Power Metal is my favorite sub-genre. I can relate to how you feel though, I feel the same way about Death Metal. There is a few bands in that sub-genre that I really like, but overall most Death Metal bands seem boring and uninspired to me. That being said I think it all comes down to taste, so I think its unlikely you will find a band that changes your opinion about Power Metal.

Anyway here are a few that I think are fairly unique:

Grave Digger:
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Grave_Digger/391

Headhunter:
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Headhunter/1442

Crosswind:
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Crosswind/91341

Pandaemonium (This is a personal favorite):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYW_kkFjEPU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHTWlJ5JJ6g

http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Pandaemonium/2888

Wow, thanks for pointing me towards that! I'm always on the lookout for great folk metal, and it's so damn rare. I liked Falconer's debut, very good as far as power metal goes, but them doing folk metal proper sounds like the best idea ever. I'll definitely check it out.

Haaa, perhaps that's why I couldn't get into Falconer because those are the albums I have? I decided to listen to samples of Armod on YouTube and best. thing. ever.

Thanks, will be buying that CD soon enough!

I've been really into this album lately:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJUje2PNxiE

White Skull! Why haven't I heard this before?

Yeah, third and fourth albums are only decent, and Blad doesn't do lead vocals on either one. The first two and everything from Northwind on are amazing.

Wow thanks for the rec's. I've only checked out a couple of the bands mentions, I'm really digging Wuthering Heights so far. Didn't expect results this quick, haha.

You've simply underestimated the mightiest subgenre of them all!

I love power metal, so I might be the wrong person to answer this thread, since I can't really empathize with the original poster's point of view. But:

Do you like Iron Maiden? If yes, maybe there is hope for you yet. Do you want more like that?

In addition to what others have suggested, I recommend you try the following:

Helstar's Nosferatu - virtuosic guitars, slightly progressive
Brimstone's Carving a Crimson Career - dark, gritty, thrash-tinged power metal
Intense's As Our Army Grows - thrash-tinged power metal with atmosphere
Machinae Supremacy - 8-bit-tinged, with slight melodeath stylings
Pharoah - extremely well executed Iron Maiden clone
Running Wild - brilliant guitarwork, one of my top 5 favorite bands

If you like any of those, let us know and we can provide more like them. If not... oh dear. Maybe power metal just isn't your cup of tea?

I'd hesitate to call most of those bands power metal at all.

What? Of those bands listed, I'm familiar with all but two, and you are definitely wrong there... I can't talk about Machinae Supremacy, Intense As Our Army Grows, but Brimstone is a bunch of USPM riffs with some growling vocals and the rest are power metal of some description.

I know! That album (Public Glory Secret Agony) rules. Like I wrote the other day, maybe the best power metal album you've never heard.

Too bad White Skull's other stuff isn't nearly as good. Oh well, they still have one masterpiece which rocks. Life is good.

OK, you're welcome to call 'em whatever you like, as far as I'm concerned. Personally, I don't really care about labels: I treat them as just another tool for identifying bands I might like. If you like 'em, great; if you don't like 'em, that's fine, too. If you don't like to consider them power metal, hey, that's cool. Awesome music is awesome, let's argue less and listen more!

I really find the blend of prog and power metal that Angra and Shaman play; you might find that interesting. I definitely second Falconer, amazing band!

Not exactly innovative, but Isen Torr downtuned their instruments (which is pretty rare for power metal, beyond E flat maybe). The singer also doesn't constantly try to hit notes out of his range, which is a great accomplishment imo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlNmID78QUw

Angra - Angels Cry

Check that album out. They play add a symphonic vibe to their music as no other power metal band does

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn7y5ShTWWU

Seconding everyone who mentioned Angra, though it seems a bit obvious.

This might be a bit of a stretch, but do you know Seer's Tear?
Certainly more on the doom side than on the power, but you could give it a try.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... r%27s+tear

It all depends on your taste for standard europower stuff. If you like it, then you'll like +90% of the entire genre, but if you don't, just grab the bands who doesn't sound like Stratovarius, Rhapsody, Sonata Arctica and forget the rest (including the aforementioned ones).

I'll say Sabaton. Clichéd? Admittedly. But they're genuinely awesome (if hit and miss), especially if you enjoy metal about war.