Abattoir-American speed/thrash metal, higher vocals. Similar to Agent Steele.
Accept-One of the first bands to utilize a lot of the stuff that would later be used by power bands. Big choruses and fast music. Sounds kinda like AC/DC in the vocal department.
Agent Steele-Classic US speedy metallers, sci-fi oriented lyrics.
Amorphis-More doomy and not quite as good as other melodic death bands, but still worth listening to. Later stuff sucks.
Ancient-In Flames-ish metal from Norway. More generic than In Flames though, and have some lousy female vocals as well. Not nearly as good as other melodic death/black bands, but still listenable. Also of note, they have the stupidest band member pseudonyms ever, including "Deadly Kristin" and "Jesus Christ!"(yes, the "!" is part of the pseudonym)
Angel Dust-Yet another excellent German traditional/power band. Good vocals, good guitar(and heavy to boot), and nice use of keyboards(not an overuse, like many prog and power bands.). Later releases aren't quest as good, and their first 2 were thrash albums and way different from the later stuff.
Annihilator-Canadian traditional/thrash/speed metal band masterminded by Jeff Waters. Excellent riffs, good vocals(except when they have Randy Rampage on vox), silly lyrics. Vaguely similar to Motorhead at times.
Armored Saint-Classic American metal, similar in style to Priest, Maiden, and Dio. Good vocals too.
Artillery-Melodic Danish thrash, with awesome guitar work, and some cool middle eastern influences from time to time. Vocalist is not so good, sounds like a less impressive Blitz Ellsworth(Overkill), guitar work makes up for it though.
Attacker-US old school power metal. Cool music, kinda complex for it's time, and higher vocals. The singer on the second album is an improvement.
Avantasia-Side project from Edguy's Tobias Sammet. Sounds just like Edguy, with lots of guest stars.
Bal-Sagoth-Massively overwrought and majestic epic black metal. Lots of orchestrations and keyboards, some spoken vocals, concept stories, and growly vox. Good, but only in certain moods.
Black Sabbath-One of the bands that started it all, still good even today.
Blaze-Blaze Bailey's solo band, after his work with Wolfsbane and Iron Maiden. Heavier than his other bands, and more suited to his lower vocals.
Blind Guardian-More German power metal. Quite fast and technical, also does a lot of symphonic/orchestral stuff. Brilliant band, one of the masters of the power metal genre.
Borknagar-Semi-black metal band from Norway. They feature melodic music and lots of keyboards and symphonics, along with both clean and traditional black metal vocals.
Brainstorm-Heavier than normal German power metal, with good vocals. Can get quite thrashy at times, which is good.
Brimstone-Excellent Swedish power metal band, which sounds like Running Wild, with a little Gamma Ray and Accept thrown in. Vocals sound more like Shagrath of Dimmu Borgir than normal power metal singing. Good stuff.
Candlemass-Epic Swedish doom metal. Big, epic, slow and doomy music, powerful booming vocals, the best doom band I've heard.
Children of Bodom-More melodic death metal from Finland, sorta like Stratovarius with death metal vocals. Excellent guitar, but irritating vocals. Still exceptional though, esp. compared to other death bands.
Chinchilla-Decent German power metal band. They've done some really good songs(Fight, Freedom) and have a good vocalist, but they have a tendency to lean towards bland ballads. Could be better than they are(and could use a better name.)
Alice Cooper-Good, weird, straight out metal.
Coroner-Swiss thrash band, similar to Kreator, but more technical and less agressive. Rough yet understandable vocals are also a plus.
Criminal Sanity-Local band, really deserve to make it big. Good, traditional metal with good vocals. Don't know how their other albums(if any) sound though I'd like to hear some.
Crystal Eyes-Decent Swedish speed/power metal in the Gamma Ray vein. Fast music, lead vocals on the higher side, and lots of epic vocal arrangements. Very underproduced in the lead vocals though, they're mixed way too far back. This is somewhat fixed on their new disc, although now I can see why they were mixed back on the first one.
Dark Tranquility-One of the founders of the "Gothenburg sound", along with In Flames(even featuring In Flame's singer on their debut, until the bands traded vocalists). Fast paced metal with a lot of Maidenesque harmonies and deathy vox.
Deceased-Cool American thrash/speed band, often with horror themed lyrics(including Fearless Undead Machines, a concept album based on the various living dead movies.) The aforementioned disc is their most melodic album(and their best), but their others are good as well
Demons and Wizards-Collaboration between Iced Earth's Jon Schaffer and Blind Guardian's Hansi Kursh. With these two masters, you can't go wrong. Think Iced Earth, with Blind Guardian vocals and big choruses.
Destiny's End-American power thrash band. Good musicm and excellent and unique vocals help them stand out.
Bruce Dickinson-Don't care for his earlier albums, but his last two have been excellent. Sound a lot like a cross between vintage Maiden and Sabbath, very heavy, but fast. Excellent lyrics as well, particulary on The Chemical Wedding
Dimmu Borgir-Melodic, keyboard intensive "black metal" from Norway. Some people call them black metal, some don't. More melodic and slower than most black metal. Not as impressive as similar bands, but still not bad.
Dio-Good, straight hard rock/metal from the former Rainbow and Black Sabbath vocalist.
Dissection-Swedish melodic black metal. Like a more brutal Children of Bodom. Best black metal band I've heard.
Domine-Italian sword and sorcery themed power band. Fast music, big choruses, fair amount a keyboards and orchestrations(like a less OTT Rhapsody), and high and somewhat annoying vocals. Not original, but still fairly enjoyable.
Edguy-German power band. Complex and melodic fast music, good mid-range to high vocals. Very Gamma Ray/Helloween influenced. A favorite of this style of power metal.
Einherjer-"Viking metal" from Norway. Sounds like power metal. Powerful mid-range vocals, music style similar to Excelsis and White Skull. Lyrics deal with Vikings and Norse gods. Older stuff was deathier from what I've read.
Eldritch-"Prog" metal band that has as many thrash/speed elements(ala early Metal Church/Testament) as prog elements. Vocalist is a bit high for my tastes, but still decent overall.
Elvenking-Italian power metal band in the Rhapsody style, but drawing more from folk influences than classical ones(similar in style to Mago de Oz). Vocals are better than the usual high pitched style, but not great.
Emperor-One of the biggest of the Norwegian black metal bands. Often too chaotic for me, but excellent keyboards and orchestrations make them better than a lot of others.
Epoch of Unlight-American metal in the Gothenburg style. Aggressive yet melodic music, and deathy vox.
Evergrey-Power/prog band from Sweden. Sometimes thrashy, sometimes doomy, sometimes gothic(with a smattering of keys), they're hard to categorize. Vocalist is good, and somewhat similar to Warrel Dane, but better. Kinda like Nevermore, but different as well.
Excelsis-Swiss power metal with a harder edge and rougher vox. Similar in style to a less speed oriented Grave Digger. New one supposedly adds folk elements, but I've not heard it.
Falconer-Excellent, heavier than usual power band, getting into almost thrash areas at times. Awesome, classically trained vocalist too, who sings clearly, non-high pitched, and sounds a bit like Marty Robbins.
Forbidden-Late 80's American thrash band that released the minor-league thrash classic, Forbidden Evil. Killer guitars and decent vocals set them apart from a lot of other thrash bands.
Fozzy-Traditional styled metal band featuring members of Stuck Mojo and the WWF's Chris Jericho doing surprisingly good vocals. Mostly stick to covering old school metal songs by bands like Maiden and Priest. The covers are surprisingly well done, and Y2J(aka "Moongoose McQueen") is actually a good singer, so they're certainly worth a listen.
Gamma Ray-Another speed/technical band, formed by ex-Helloween member Kai Hansen. Very similar to early Helloween, frequently surpassing them. One of the best.
Gladiators-German power metal, sounds like a cross between UDO and Grave Digger. Good, but suffers from a bad vocal mix.
Grave Digger-Another German power/speed band. Dark and heavy, more in the vein of Rage(with some Blind Guardian thrown in) than Gamma Ray. Excellent music, good vocals(kinda rough, but not deathy cookie monster rough), one of the best power bands around IMO
Halford-Solo group from the Judas Priest front man. Features the writing talents and production of Roy Z, making one kick ass metal album. Bruce Dickinson appears as well. The first album from Halford is definately an apology for the sub-par stuff he did with Fight and Two, the followups continue in the tradition of the first.
HammerFall-Very German sounding Swedish metal bands. More melodic, fast, and technical music. Cheesy and unoriginal though.
Heathen-Another cool mid 80's American speed/thrash band, in the same style as Abattoir, Agent Steele, and Liege Lord. Guitars are absolutely killer. Vox are kinda high, but not bad anyways.
Heaven's Gate-Early power metal in the Gamma Ray vein, featuring Sascha Paeth and Miro, who would go on to work with Rhapsody/Luca Turilli. Haven't heard their later albums, but from what I've gathered, they've taken their music in a less metallic direction.
Heimdall-Italian power metal, not the typical Italian keyboard driven operatic style either. Keyboards are not dominant, and are only used for orchestral effects, the vocalist is more mid-range(sounding at times like a cleaner voiced version of Grave Digger's Chris Boltendahl), and the music is pure Gamma Ray style speed/power metal.
Helloween-Love the first 4 albums, Time of the Oath, and Dark Ride, all fast, technical, and melodic. The rest of the catalog isn't as speedy, but isn't too bad either(except Pink Bubbles Go Ape and Chameleon, which kinda suck.)
Helstar-Very good American speed metal band. Features a pre-Destiny's End James Rivera on vocals.
Hyperion-Well done power metal from Italy. Features a heavier tone than most(ala Angel Dust), with a leaning towards fast songs with a lot of keyboards. Also utilises some Egyptian sounding music, which is kinda neat. Vocalist sucks though.
Iced Earth-Wicked metal band from Florida. Very diverse, doing fast and heavy songs, slower but still good ballads(one of the few metal bands that can do ballads I like), thrashier songs, all kinds of stuff. Matt Barlow is a great vocalist, with an excellent range, and the band is quite talented as well.
In Extremo-German metal band utilising a lot of folk elements, such as flute, harp, and bagpipes. Similar to Skyclad, but a bit different as well. Lyrics are in German, many of the songs being German traditional songs. Good vocals(even if I can't understand a word of German) and unique and good music make them recommended.
In Flames-The most well known "Gothenburg style" melodic death band, similar to Amok era Sentenced in sound. Not a fan of the vocals, but the music is excellent and more than makes up for them. The best of the melodic death bands IMO. Their last couple aren't nearly as impressive as the previous discs though(if they keep in this direction, other bands in this style, such as Kalmah, could easily replace them at the top of the list)
Iron Maiden-Similar to Priest, good music, with such great songs as Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 2 Minutes Till Midnight, Number of the Beast, etc. Most albums after Seventh Son haven't been that great though.
Iron Savior-Kai Hansen's side project. More highly competent speed/power from the master, but not as good as his stuff with Helloween or Gamma Ray.
Jag Panzer-American metal in top form. Power style sound, Dio-ish vocalist.
Jethro Tull-One of the most underrated hard rock/early metal bands around. Great lyrics, great music, they deserve more recognition.
Judas Priest-Classic metal. Not one of my favorites, but they have a lot of good stuff, and their Painkiller album is excellent.
Kalmah-Very good Gothenburg style band from Sweden. Similar to Children of Bodom, but a bit heavier and less "happy" sounding, with fewer keys.
King Diamond-His vocals are just as amazing on his solo stuff as they are with Fate, and he retains the horror movie atmosphere of his songs. Still great, even better solo than with Mercyful Fate.
Kreator-Classic German thrash band. Early stuff was good, the recent stuff isn't thrash and has a lot of electronic elements in it, which brings the band down though. Violent Revolution is a step back in the right direction though, and is worth checking out. The early albums are all good, albeit overrated thrash discs.
Liege Lord-Fast paced 80's power metal from the US. Lots of fast songs and good vocals. Features Joe Comeau, of Overkill and Annihilator fame.
Lord Weird Slough Feg-American band utilising many Celtic elements, such as bagpipes and flutes. Weird name, but good band
Mago de Oz-Spanish power metal band with a lot of folk elements. Vocalist sings entirely in Spanish, and is a bit higher than I prefer, but the music is excellent, and I love metal bands that add folk stuff to their sound, so it definately makes up for the so-so singing.
Manilla Road-Cult US band that plays a cross between power, thrash, and doom metal. Music that's heavy and powerful, and Mark Shelton's powerful, distinctive vocals combined to create some of the most epic and grand US power metal around. Despite being from the 80's, I think these guys easily give most of the current US power bands a run for their money.
Manticora-Danish band fusing power and thrash metal in an excellent manner. Heavy and speedy riffs, big choruses, and good vocals set them apart from typical power bands. Underrated band. Seems to be heading in a less heavy, more keyboard oriented direction though, which isn't good.
Marauder-Well done power metal band from Greece, with a sound resembling a cross between newer Grave Digger(in the vocals as well as the music) with a touch of Iron Maiden thrown in.
Melechesh-Self proclaimed "Mesopotamian metal"(translation-black metal with Middle Eastern influences) from Israel. The Middle Eastern themes set them apart from other black metal bands, and they're more melodic than the other heavily Middle Eastern influenced metal band I know of(Nile), making for a nice change of pace.
Meliah Rage-Cool 80's US thrash/power metal band ala Vicious Rumors. Features rougher thrash style vocals(ala Hetfield) and heavy, faster paced music.
Mercyful Fate-Excellent band, with one of the most amazing vocalists around. Cool horror movie feel as well. One of my faves.
Metal Church-Traditional metal band, with some elements of thrash/speed, especially in the early albums. My opinion varies greatly from album to album, but the earlier stuff is better IMO. The Dark is very good, as is the self titled. Blessing in Disguise and Masterpeace are decent, Hanging in the Balance and The Human Factor I don't like at all.
Metalium-Good German power metal. Excellent mix of speed, heaviness, and good vocals. Not ground breaking, but still enjoyable.
Metallica-The originators of thrash, though not the best in my opinion. Still good, just overrated. Recent stuff has been more straight forward metal and hard rock than thrash though(with a higher percentage of bad to good songs.)
Mob Rules-Straight forward German power metal. The music is fast, but not speed metal fast, the vocals are operatic, and vaguely similar to Joacim Cans of HammerFall, but not quite as annoying. The vox are also a bit more distinctive than most.
Morgana Lefay/Lefay-Excellent power/traditional metal from Sweden. Some doom and thrash influences as well. Also has a good vocalist(who frequently sounds like Savatage's Jon Oliva).
Motorhead-Excellent British speedy traditional metal, the earliest originators of what would later become thrash. Speed riffs, fast drumming, and the rough, recognizable growls of Lemmy Kilminster make them one of the most known and recognized bands in metal.
Nevermore-American metal band with a sound all their own. Unqiue vocals, which I don't really care for, and a heavy sound. Politics of Ecstacy is terrible, but the others are all good.
Nightwish-Finnish power metal with good guitar and lots of keyboards. Distinguished by their truely operatic female vocalist. Definately recommended for power fans.
Nocturnal Rites-Another Swedish power band. Like HammerFall, but without as many big choruses. One of the lesser power bands(Afterlife was impressive though, they seem to have gone back to the old style with Shadowland, unfortunately).
October 31-King Fowley's(Deceased) other band. Less thrashy and more power metal oriented than Deceased, with powerful and impressive vocals from Fowley.
Old Man's Child-Black metal played from an almost power metal base. Their melodic music, fast drums but few blastbeats, and keyboards and orchestration make them more power metal than black metal, which is a good thing. Similar to Children of Bodom, but even more power metal sounding than CoB.
Omen-Classic US power metal, with good vocals. Mid to fast paced stuff, lyrics along the Manowar lines.
Onward-US based power metal band, featuring excellent guitar work, and good, high pitched vocals(from Michael Grant, ex-Legend Maker vocalist who sounds kinda like James Rivera.)
Ozzy Osbourne-The godfather of metal
Overkill-Thrash band turned basic heavy band. Ozzy-ish vocals, heavy, fast paced music. Weird lyrics.
Overlorde-Unsigned US "true metal" band, with ex-Seven Witches singer on vocals. Not bad, but could use a little more heaviness and/or a little more speed.
Pandaemonium-Italian power metal with a lot of pianno and orchestration. Okay, but nothing special.
Paradox-Power/thrash band featuring former members of Siege's Even. Good, heavy, and fast, with excellent rougher vocals.
Paragon-Power metal similar in style to Grave Digger. Vocalist is lower than a lot of power singers, but just doesn't sound that great to me.
Axel Rudi Pell-Great German metal with excellent guitar playing from ARP, and great vocals from Jeff Scott Soto(Magic, Black Moon Pyramid) and Johnny Gioeli(Oceans of Time, Masquerade Ball).
Persuader-Swedish power thrash that sounds kinda like old Blind Guardian, complete with a singer who sounds like he could be Hansi Kursch's half-brother.
Powermad-Early power thrash. Not quite as good as Metal Church , who they remind me of. Vocals sounds similar to early Kai Hansen.
Primal Fear-German power metal in the Gamma Ray vein. Vocals are by Ralf Scheepers, Gamma Ray's first(and best) vocalist. Recommended for fans of Gamma Ray, Judas Priest, and good power metal in general.
Queensryche-Good American prog-metal. Started off as a Maiden style straight out band, but gradually added more prog elements to their music. Started going downhill after Operation:mindcrime though.
Radakka-Good American based power/prog band. Lots of keyboards, but plenty of guitar. Pretty good vocals as well, more powerful than most of the operatic power metal vocals.
Rage-German speed/power metal(sometimes getting into thrash realms), cool band. Fast and heavy, with unique but good vocals. Gotta give credit to a band that's been consistently good for 20 years.
Rhapsody-Italian speed/technical metal band, with all sorts of orchestral and classical stuff. Flutes, violins, horns, etc. Unfortunately, they've gone further and further downhill with each consecutive release, and the vocals are the standard high pitched and weak power metal stuff. And they need to fire that goddamn narrator.
Riot-One of the few American metal bands I really enjoy. Early stuff is more anthemic rock, but they've since moved towards speed/power metal and more recently, guitar driven straight out metal(ala Axel Rudi Pell)
Rob Rock-Ex Impelliteri singer gone solo. Good playing(including Roy. Z on guitar) and Rock's good vocals make his disc a disc to check out.
Rough Silk-German power metal, pretty typical style(fast songs, double bass drums, killer solos, et al), except for the unique vocals and the use of steel guitar in addition to regular guitar. Some of their stuff can be quite theatrical. Good, unique stuff.
Royal Hunt-Exceptional Danish prog metal band that previously featured DC Cooper on vocals. Excellent and complex instrumentation, good vocals(although I've not heard their current singer).
Running Wild-German power metal. Mid-range vocals, and lots of fast music. Has a frequent pirate/naval theme. Great stuff.
Sacramentum-More melodic black metal from Sweden. Good, but not as good as the stylistically similar Dissection.
Samael-Midpaced black metal from Switzerland. Melodic and symphonic, with clearer vocals than average. Early stuff had a more doomy feel, newer stuff adds industrial elements.
Sabbat-Late 80's thrash band featuring a pre-Skyclad Martin Walkyier. Extremely good speedy riffs from Andy Sneap, and Martin's excellent lyrics make them one of the best thrash bands around. Fairly similar to WSoME style Skyclad stuff, but even a little better. Not nearly as thrashy(or good) after Martin left.
Sanctuary-Late 80's band featuring a pre-Nevermore Warrel Dane. Has elements that remind me at times of Judas Priest, Mercyful Fate, Nevermore, Lefay, and older Savatage. Sounds like a combination of old Savatage, old Merycful Fate, and Nevermore overall, good stuff.
Satan-Early band featuring Steve Ramsey and Graeme English(both of who would later go on to help form Skyclad.) Good and fast, but poor vocals(singer has little range and less power.)
Savatage-Traditional metal band with some great early albums. Later stuff got into a more prog based sound(which isn't a bad thing, cause Wake of Magellan is their best album yet.)
Scanner-Early German power metal. Sounds very similar to Gamma Ray, with less overall speed
Secret Sphere-Italian power metal, located somewhere between Rhapsody and Stratovarius in terms of style. Okay, but not great.
Sentenced-Finnish death metal/heavy metal band. Melodic and fast, a definite Maiden influence. One of the few death bands I like. Their later non-death stuff is not nearly as good as Amok.
Sepultura-Brazilian thrash band who unfortunately started getting more experimental and not as good after Arise.
Seven Witches-American power thrash, similar in style to Overkill and early Metal Church
Shadow Gallery-Brilliant American prog-metal band. Vocals are somewhat high pitched, but are still well done and forceful, plus excellent music on all fronts. One of the best prog-metal outfits around. Latest release is a bit too Dream Theater-esque for me though.
Sinner-German power metal band formed by Mat Sinner(who also helped form Primal Fear). Sounds a lot like Primal Fear, but with vocals more like Dio(Ralf Scheepers does backing vocals though). Little better than Primal Fear IMO.
Skyclad-British heavy/thrashy band. Lots of folk music arrangements as well, with both clear and rough(sometimes almost deathy) vocals. Excellent and frequently amusing lyrics. A favorite.
Squealer-Finnish speed/power metal with some thrash elements, including rougher vocals and heavier music than the norm.
Steel Attack-Finnish sword and sorcery themed speed metal. Vocals are operatic, but not inhumanly high like many power singers, music is similar to Gamma Ray's speedier tracks.
Steel Prophet-Power metal band that's only recently come into form. Earlier stuff didn't have enough speedy tracks and wasn't quite melodic enough to really suit me. These have changed recently, and their singer has improved as well. I wish they'd drop the "Iron Maiden 2" act they've adopted recently though.
Stratovarius-Decent Finnish speed/power band. Lousy vocals though, and too much keyboards.
Symphony X-American prog/power metal. Heavier than bands like Stratovarius, but still use a lot of keyboards. Vocalist sounds like Dio.
Tarantula-Power metal from Portugal, of all places. Heavier than the basic Stratovarius style bands, which is nice. Vocals are kinda high pitched and not that great, but not as annoying as the usual high pitched guys.
Testament-Good thrash/traditional US band. Post-Souls of Black albums haven't been good, though the early stuff just shreds.
Therion-Okay Swedish melodic death metal band turned into an amazing pure symphonic metal group. Symphony orchestras, 2 choirs, and excellent music in general make for a vast improvement over their early stuff. Their past few albums are about as classical as a metal band can get.
Thy Majestie-Italian power metal, similar in style to Rhapsody. A LOT of classical stuff and instrumental bits, along with some folk elements as well. Like Rhapsody, they suffer from a less than stellar singer(worse then Lione). Not as epic or bombastic either.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra-Band that is essentially Savatage with an orchestra. Formed as a Christmas band, but a brilliant non-Christmas album has since been released
Trouble-Good Chicago doom band. Very Sabbathy, with a lot of religous themes. Wagner's vocals suit the music perfectly
Luca Turilli-Rhapsody guitarist/composer gone solo. Sounds *very* much like Rhapsody.
U.D.O.-Vocalist of Accept gone solo. Sounds very much like Accept whether he's with them or not.
Vicious Rumors-American power metal from the mid-80's. One of the better American bands using the power metal style.
Virgin Steele-Barbarian themed metal(like Manowar), but with more meaningful lyrics(no "hail and kill" or anything like that) and better and more complex playing and arrangements. Better vocalist as well. Life Among the Ruins sucks though, as they tried to do some glam album or something there.
Warrior-US power metal band with more crunch and heaviness than most. The new stuff also has Rob Rock on lead vocals, which is a plus, the singer on their debut(which had an older Savatage vibe to it) is good as well.
W.A.S.P.-Band that started out as a good shock metal bands(with song titles like "Fuck Like a Beast") that eventually became a surprisingly good straight out metal band. Blackie's vocals are enjoyable, the band is solid all around, worth getting, especially the awesome "Crimson Idol"
Wayne-Original Metal Church vocalist gone solo. Sounds like a crunchier version of Accept or older Metal Church, not as good as those bands though.
White Skull-Italian power metal band. Fairly unique due to the female vocalist(who has now left the band, unfortunately), even though she sounds kinda like Dave Mustaine... Cool band anyways, and the new male singer honestly sounds a lot like Federica.
Witchery-Modern Swedish thrash band with tinges of death elements. Combines Kreator, Accept, and adds a touch of death to create a well done thrash style.
Wrathchild America-Decent US thrash. Typical US thrash music and rougher vocals.
X-Wild-German power metal band made up of former Running Wild members. Sounds a lot like RW with rougher, UDO-ish style vocals.
Zanister-US power metal featuring David Chastain on guitar. Very similar to the European power metal style(fast songs, good playing, solos), but with a tad more crunch and a more powerful than usual higher pitched singer.
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