Here's an English (!) band that played USPM (!!) in the early 90's (!!!)

From what I heard it definitely sounded like power/thrash to me. The closest things I can think of to this riffing style are Destiny's End and MaelstroM. Here's a song from each to try out.

Destiny's End: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jJ3qY4 ... Q9MXnqhfh4

MaelstroM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3XZ5zWD8K8

If you like those I can recommend some more similar stuff.



I see your English USPM from the early 90s, and raise you...more English USPM from the early 90s! ;o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmDQNCDvDug

Cool vocals, but the track doesn't do much to me otherwise.

You're familiar with Dream Child? They're quite USPM-esque, too, even if they're from freakin' France.

I gave both Destiny's End and MaelstroM a listen, and I liked them both. I especially loved the vocals on Destiny's End.

Would love to see more recommendations from the power/thrash genre.

Τhe two Destiny's End albums are amazing, try them both.

If you liked the vocals and the style then go for the original: Helstar's A Distant Thunder (1988) and Nosferatu (1989), same singer, similar style, even better songs. Nosferatu imo is one of the best metal albums ever recorded. The riffwork is just godly.

Don't forget to get the Joe Floyd mix of DE's Transition album, far superior mixing. It used to be available for download here but I think the page has been removed?

http://unvanquishablefalcon.blogspot.co ... s-mix.html

Here's one of the tracks on youtube at least:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwoBhvTPDFk

Some of my other top power/thrash recommendations:

Matthias Steele - Haunting Tales of A Warrior's Past
Manilla Road - The Deluge
Militia - Fiend of Misery
Slauter Xstroyes - Free the Beast
Shelton Chastain - The Edge of Sanity
Ballistic - Ballistic
Fatal Violence - Ashes Tell No Tales
Krystos - Walk Through the Inferno

And as Dungeon_Vic mentioned, those Helstar albums are in a similar vein and feature the same vocalist as Destiny's End, James Rivera.

Add Diamond Head's Coffin Train alongside Glacier for old bands fucking killing it in 2020. Another polished but totally kickass, old-school album.

Word! Diamond Head's Coffin Train was a fucking brilliant release, certainly one of the best of its year (which was 2019 actually!) and Belly of the Beast was one of my most played tracks of the year as well. Special mention to Rasmus on vocals, after Sean Harris left, the band always felt like "half" but dammit this guy delivers, what a voice and such excellent vocal lines! And at some songs I swear, he really channels Chris Cornell!

Listened to Dragon Fodder a bit, nice stuff. The closest I thought of was Crescent Shield actually, which is funny because it's Dan De Lucie's band, the guitarist from Destiny's End. Amazing band, totally worth your time, both albums. And if you like that, then you can also look into New Eden and Onward.

But I think some nice, heavy US Power or power/thrash in general will also do. So, if you haven't come across them yet, try Liege Lord - Master Control, Vicious Rumors - Digital Dictator, Hittman - Hittman (also their 2020 comeback is very good), Forte - Stranger than Fiction, Lizzy Borden, Agent Steel (all eras), and I think Flotsam and Jetsam also fits the bill (and the first two are two of my favorite albums of music ever). Paradox and Artch from Europe should also hit that sweet spot.

Yesterday I spent some time listening to Velvet Viper's Respice Finem.
That is the band Jutta Weinhold of Zed Yago formed after they disbanded, released two great albums and then went away till 2018 and the album in question. Produced by Kai Hansen, so I had an extra reason to check it out. Now, Jutta is my favorite female vocalist and I consider her a LEGEND (she is 73 years old) so, I was really curious what she could do. Surprisingly, the album is very good. Old school heavy metal that feels very authentic. Unique vocals (she has lost a bit of her otherwordly power but still is most fucking impressive). I would definitely recommend it.

The first song I heard was the title song and in the beginning I was like "damn, they found just a dead-ringer for Harris." Other times he's slightly raspier and more 'modern' but he really does a great job. And I love that the songs all just have the underpinning of that classic-style groovy riff.

If anyone's looking for some super badass prog/power - then behold!

Daniel Heiman from LOST HORIZON is back!! Warrior Path upcoming new album is out next month and first 2 songs revealed are simply awesome!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dWWm0XLKv0&t=5s

This is bloody marvellous! Absolutely spiffing! 10/10, if you consider it a demo, which I do.
The drummer is probably the least proficient drummer I have heard in metal, but he still manages to do a good job. Would have been great to hear these guys with a proper production, a bit more work on the arrangements and a more creative drummer. I love the singer though, how he just goes for it. That's metal!


I was just about to post about this. Really good stuff! The first albums sounds a bit like Circle II Circle.

The singer, when he goes into the raspy territory, sounds almost like Chris Boltendahl from the first three Grave Digger records. I hear a good portion of great David Wayne as well.

Not familiar with that band...always thought they were more symphonic based ala later Savatage. Feel free to link something to prove me wrong!

Here's proof:




Also, check out the new band Zak is in, Archon Angel.

Nice! For some reason his last return with Dimhav ended up being kinda forgettable to me. Maybe the material just wasn't that well written? I need to go back and listen again.

This definitely sounds more "traditional" anyway, in the LH sort of vein.

What? This sounds nothing like Eternal Flight.



That song sounded sappy as hell. No thanks!

I always try those later Zak Stevens things and he always sounds good, but the music never even touches the hem of Edge of Thorns' robes. Just sad really.

Man, I was totally blown away by this EP from a band called Upper Echelon, released in 1984. Never reviewed, never even heard of the band before. But this thing has a grade-A shrieker, aggressive riffs, fairly complex songwriting in a couple of the tracks (especially for '84) - the full nine yards really. Probably very high second-tier stuff - I'd recommend any fans of heavy/USPM check it out!



Also, since the thread seems kinda dead, what has everyone else been listening to lately? Anything heavy/power/speed that's caught your attention recently?

PS. Looked back through the thread and noticed I missed Colin posting that Dream Child track, that's pretty rad stuff! It does sound pretty USPM-esque, albeit with cheesy keyboards and a super-polished production. Ultimately I'd say it feels closer to Queensryche than Fates Warning (as was suggested in the Similar Artists tab), but that's just one track, and it was still fairly enjoyable. Vocalist definitely rules! Will investigate further.

PPS. Dream Child doesn't sound much like Arch-era Fates Warning, at least, but since I'm less familiar with their later material I suppose that could be more similar. Just an afterthought.

Nah, Dream Child don't sound like any era of Fates Warning. The second album is good, too, a bit more proggy and consistent from a stylistic point of view, but the highlights aren't quite as great as that of the debut. But yeah, overall the band had a beast of a vocalist.



And check out that Eternal Flight track I had linked earlier...it's basically what the second Dream Child album should have been. Riffy prog/power that's a bit more ''modernized'' but still really fucking good.

Oh and a fun fact: the Dream Child guitarist was the same guitarist of Rhapsody for many years.

EDIT: Otherwise I've been listening to a lot of Saber Tiger - especially the more recent albums. They're a cool band, but also a weird one: debut is still my favorite of them and the few albums that follow seem really inconsistent whereas the latter stuff sounds much more consistent and cohesive, even if they might sound a little too safe at times. Still, given the style of prog/power that's hardly a thing nowadays I probably shouldn't complain about the band playing it safe...I mean songs like these are pretty damn killer.

Check out speed metal project Merciless Law from Chile!
This guy is one of my top solo guitarists lately!
Here's his first demo song:


I am distance-producing his upcoming album.

Follow on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Merciless-Law-104435141479421

Hey I guess I didn't see this post. I don't have very strong representation from France or Finland (power metal). If you know of any gems from those places, I'd appreciate it.

This Warrior Path with Heiman is a pretty fun album. Heiman doesn't shriek like he used to anymore, understandably. But something about these vocal lines really made me want to come back to this today. He's got a feel for hooks and a great tone I think. And man they got a real beefy, muscular guitar tone and some cool riffs.