SPOOPY MOONDAY, FELLOW OCTOBRITES!
It’s the sexy first Monday of the sexiest month, meaning I get to dote upon you with a playlist to pound through all of the days of this month that don’t end in candy. Now, I’m sure many are expectant of a list containing either 99 copies of “Spooky Skeletons”, or 99 copies “The Monster Mash”, BOTH OF WHICH WOULD BE COMPLETELY VALID, but that is NOT what you are getting today.
We gonna talk about a genre often given the hiney, the unloved offspring of (mostly) European guys who really, really, really, wish they were in Blind Guardian; The ole Power Metal.
Not to be confused with “Power Metal” the album by Pantera, Power Metal as a genre is pretty much encapsulated with writing about J.R.R. Tolkien mythos, dragons, magic swords, and dudes having existential life crisis’.
I did my best to provide a view of Power Metal from all over the world with this one. Going from Brazil up into the states, all the way across the ocean to japan, and then walked my ears all the way across that beast until I could see my familiar ocean again. What I found was the building blocks in most worldly variations were negligible. Despite anyone having a lack of classical training, musicians fundamentally understand how to play apply classical techniques (be they instrumental or otherwise) ON TOP of whatever musical training they already have. This lead to guitar aficionados like Malmsteen birthing and entire style which we now call “Neo-Classical”, focusing on play the intricacies of Mozart-esque pieces, with the ferocious shredding capacity of todays face-melting guitarists. For my snow-brethren and those who know not of the “state of metal” across the ocean, it’s explosive. The amount of festivals prolifically hiring live musical acts is only growing.
Let’s pull some gems out of ‘er so I can drop mindless band-knowledge bombs on you for 4 minutes, shall we?
ANGRA – TEMPLE OF HATE
A defining pinnacle of power metal, from the Almost-Halford vocals all the way to the hyper-melodious guitar work. Plus, as I’ve mentioned in previous pieces, any band that drops in a bunch of strings or horns is just gonna be in my good books. The guitar work is so exemplary that none other than Dave Mustaine from Megadeth took notice and recruited Kiko to join ‘Deth, and he has been with them for as long as Broderick was at this point, I’m pretty sure.
ANGEL DUST – BLEED
YOU NAMED YOU BAND ANGEL DUST. WTH M8. WHY.
PRIMAL FEAR – SACRED ILLUSION
Ralf Scheepers really is as close to Rob Halford as you can get, and after hearing this song you might be spurned to agree with me. What you may not know is that Ralfy-boy was also in another band that was inches from being Priest and that band has ALSO been featured in my pieces before, so shout out to Tyran’ Pace for making essentially more JP albums for me to crush. Primal Fear may be more towards the “Heavy Metal” spectrum than it is “Power” but some things are too cool not to share.
Stay creepy, gang.
– Bear