Metal Reviews

I really want to know, because it makes zero sense to me why there is so much animosity toward the genre.

I don't dislike power metal but it is kind of lame and cheesy.

Not all power metal is like that.

It's polished, cheesy Slough Feg minus the awesome riffs. Where I want to drink a beer listening to Slough Feg and just bounce my head to the riff it lacks that. The riffs aren't cool riffs and the weight of the song shifts to the singer's performance. Very poppy in that respect. Awesome guttural riffs are replaced by annoying high pitched vocals which lack that piercing nature Halford has when he does it and they just come off as so unnecessary. 6 minute long songs with no real dynamic shifts. A wanky solo and an octave up in the vox is not what make for interesting shifts. It plods along and does nothing of interest. Drumming is so boring. I don't even hear the bass.

Listened to Imaginations from the Other Side to develop this diagnosis and could barely make it through the full 7 minutes.

I don't know, I've been more tolerant towards it lately, listening a bit to Angra, Hibria and Serenity actually..

Earlier, when I couldn't stand it, I think it was mainly the vocals that killed it for me along with the kind of bland songwriting. Things would blur, and I would lose interest pretty quickly. I think I need some major hooks in the riffing to get excited about power metal.

I see what you mean about the vocals being a focus. However, I feel that is part of the appeal. When I listen to power metal, I want catchy, I want poppy... and, by the way, I don't think any of us should use the poppy excuse. If you don't like catchy poppy music, than you can't listen to Devin Townsend... I want to run an extra mile because David Defies is singing a chorus that makes you want to embrace your inner nerd and hop into battle. When I wake up in a great mood, I want a catchy chorus and something to get my spirits up. The rest of what you said, I'm not so sure I agree with. There are vocalists out there that can compete with Halford and there are riffs that are, cool.

I think it is just like any other genre. Once you get passed an element you do not like, you realize what you're missing. Then can start to appreciate what you didn't like prior. I'd like to hear what Zad has to say, because he used to despise the genre. Now he seeks good power metal acts and has brought some very good bands to my attention as a result.

I go through stages. There are times when I don't listen to power metal for months. And, I agree with your last statement. I think power metal can be so stale, but when you find a gem you're hooked. I'm yet to hear the new Hibria btw.

I'm not writing it off for being poppy because one of my most favorite things that Devy has ever done is Addicted. I'm just saying a focus on vocals is poppy, regardless whether I like it or not. It was probably an underhanded jab but I don't like how the vocals are the focus of power metal. I don't think the choruses are epic in a cool way. As for the comparison to Halford, power metal vox may be able to compete with Halford, eg, the new dforce vocalist, but the vox lack the balls Halford had. You may want to hop into a battle but I want like a knockdown dragout bar fight to get pumped and hence listen to dirty, nasty Pig Destroyer/Black Breath/Enabler. Even the riffs of power metal are different than what I normally listen to. They're polished and they obv are going to lack the chunky tone some genres have but they also just lack what makes me like certain riffs. Maybe it's different personalities?

I think most power metal melodies don't sound too much like pop melodies. They sound more classically influenced to me.

I don't hate Power Metal (Blind Guardian is one of my favorite bands), but a lot of it kind drifts into boredom territory. I kinda already know what it sounds like before I listen to it, if you get my meaning. That's not to say there's not good Power Metal out there, but a lot of it is just kinda there, imo.

power metal is awesome and i dont see why people do that. To me is just epic music with great vocalists. The singers in these bands have a ton of talent and the rifts are generally good to me.

Being primarily an extremophile in terms of my love of metal, power metal typically offers very little in the degree of depth, intensity, or even power for that matter. Though as of lately since I got my power metal friend a job at where I work, he's opened my eyes to a lot of quality uspm acts that redefine what it is to be a power band. That is to say I think what separates a great band like Omen and Helstar from hacks like Rhapsody of fire and Angra is the strength of the riffs and lack of cheese. That being said I'm still exploring the genre, and I even managed to enjoy Hammerfalls legacy of Kings, so I think I'm making good headway.

Too much emphasis on singing, too much emphasis on leads and soloing, no power, kinda wussy in general.

A lot of great death metal/black metal bands have emphasis on good leadwork, though typically power metal bands do overuse them. Good points

I think of American Idol auditions everytime I hear power metal singing. Sorry.

Specifically I meant an emphasis on neoclassical leads and endless scale/arpeggio lines.

I always thought power metal bands all sounded the same, until I actually started listening to some of them. I've always hated power metal, mostly for reasons that already have been mentioned. But there really are some great bands out there who add elements to their sound which takes it to another level (Kamelot and Virgin Steele come to mind) or bands who are just too damn catchy (Edguy's Theater of Salvation is so catchy I can't turn it off despite of how gay it often sounds). Power metal isn't any different from any other music genre to the extent that power metal too has its innovators, just great bands who bring nothing new to the table, sucky bands, etc. And I don't see what's wrong with that.

This sums up a lot of my thoughts. Bands like Hammerfall etc seemed to epitomise all that was wrong with metal, back when I was a hardline black/death/grinder who listened to metal for its extremity. Now I've learnt to ease back a gear and songwriting is more important, the talent in certain bands shines through.



The bolded part is exactly true. The vocals and cheesyness used to put me off, but I've learned to love them, and there's a wonderful epic, cheerful catchiness to the best power metal that other metal genres just can't touch. Obviously, like you say, it depends on the band; there's a lot of samey rubbish, but a lot of gems, too, just as in death metal.

Ultimately, power metal got me through some depressing times and is a good reason I still listen to metal - I'd have burnt out on the extreme stuff long ago without the light relief it brought.

Most likely.

The odd thing is that I used to dig some power metal when I first started listening to it but now I feel like there are such better options if I need something not-extreme, e.g., Baroness, PtH, bands which I know people who dig power metal are into but I personally just can't find the desire to listen to pm when I have heavy metal and not-extreme metal bands to fill the need.