Hit me with your lists/commentary.

I don't really have anything to contribute here. I absolutely adore some tracks from the recent releases by Thaurorod and Victorius, but I'm not sure that I'd consider those to be great albums. I've basically spent the last decade rinsing the classic albums from the legends of the genre, and as a result I've probably missed a litany of great releases.

Great, modern power metal albums are definitely hard to come by. Like you said there is no shortage of excellent tracks, but I probably only find one album a year that's a worthy addition to the Power Metal Hall of Fame. In addition, I've been massively underwhelemed by everything the big names (Blind Guardian, Avantasia, Helloween, Stratovarius, etc.) have put out this past decade. In order of most recent to oldest, these are my picks:

Ancient Bards - Origine
Stunning, catchy-as-all-fuck, symphonic Europower. As good as (and similar to) the best Rhapsody albums.
https://ancientbards.bandcamp.com/album ... aga-part-2

Judicator - The Last Emperor
The best power metal album of 2018 is worth the hype. It's total Blind Guardian worship, but the story and fast pace ensure it never feels rote.
https://judicatormetal.bandcamp.com/alb ... st-emperor

Keldian - Any Album
In my mind Keldian are the most consistent and most unique modern power metal band. Instead of going for symphonic cheese they have an 80s pop sheen that sets them apart. And killer songwriting chops, to boot.
https://keldian.bandcamp.com/

Eternity's End - The Fire Within
What happens when tech death virtuosos try their hand at neoclassical power metal. It's over the top in every way, and it's incredible.
https://eternitysend.bandcamp.com/album/the-fire-within

Necromancing the Stone - Jewel of the Vile
It's as much a melodeath/thrash album as it is power metal, but the buttery vocals always makes me push it into the latter categorization. James Malone brings his killer Arsis-style riffing to a more upbeat style of music, and years later I still listen to this album at least once a month.
https://necromancingthestone.bandcamp.c ... f-the-vile

Taken - Taken
Basically a bunch of Spaniards' take on Reckoning Night. Not particularly special, but it scratches that particular itch just hard enough to make this list.
https://takenmetal.bandcamp.com/album/taken

Helion Prime - Helion Prime
Even though the band can't hold on to a lead singer, and their followup is a complete joke, this sci-fi themed debut is something special.


Noble Beast - Noble Beast
This is the album that got me back into power metal after a long hiatus. All the songs, and the album itself, are a bit overlong, but holy *fuck* this is one of the best one-and-dones in metal history. Just don't google what happened with the lead singer if you want to actually enjoy this.
https://noblebeastofman.bandcamp.com/

Freedom Call - Beyond
I don't think any other album makes me smile this hard. It's uplifting, silly, and just plain fun.
https://freedomcall.bandcamp.com/album/beyond

Twilight Force - Tales of Ancient Prophecies
Goofy symphonic power metal with amazing melodies and choruses. Essential for Rhapsody fans.
https://blacklodgerecords.bandcamp.com/ ... prophecies

Good list there.



By and large, anything John Yelland's laid his pipes over is going to be choice as hell. His collab with Helion Prime's guitarist, Dire Peril, has hooks for days (and is the album that Helion Prime's sophomore should have been), and Judicator's previous album, At The Expense Of Humanity, is one of the most deeply personal, unflinchingly emotionally raw albums I've ever heard in the field of melodic metal (the album deals with the true-life story of his brother's last weeks before dying of cancer).

As far as the topic question, that's a huge question for me, since it's my favourite subgenre by-and-by, and I honestly don't think there's been a dearth of great releases at all, so I'd need to really whittle down a list of just ten. Though I'll say off the cuff that I share the Noble Beast appreciation, and the second Legends Of Valley Doom album really scratches the same itch for me, both in terms of style and quality, as the very first Avantasia album (I'm a fan of later Avantasia as well, but there's no denying there was a stylistic shift of priorities, so it bears mentioning). If I do come up with a list of just ten, I'll get back here.

You've just reminded me - I did really enjoy Stratovarius's Nemesis.

I think the last few years have been awesome for PM, lots of amazing stuff being put out.

Excalion - Dream Alive - just some of the best, most involved and yet catchy writing in the genre. They are masters and deserved to be way bigger and not have disappeared for a decade before this.

Vulvagun - The Painful Road to Eden - more traditional, but excellent riff-work and great arcane, ominous atmospheres and melodies.

Fireleaf - Behind the Mask - in the Tad Morose/Angel Dust style, this is the best new band in ages. Killer songs all around.

Thaurorod - Coast of Gold - high-flying, adventurous action, huge promise.

Arrayan Path - any of their previous several albums - one of the most creative, ambitious bands out there and they haven't quit amazing me yet.

Stratovarius - Nemesis - hyper-polished, daring, killer songs.

Sonata Arctica - Pariah's Child/9th Hour - the band finally finds their true voice and sounds so damned comfortable and confident, and I don't even dislike any songs on either of these albums.

Tad Morose - Chapter X - they finally come back with a force to the style that made them good, with even Ronny Hemlin delivering a good performance.

Eternal of Sweden - Heaven's Gate - great pounding songs and killer sense of melody - they'll go far I hope.

Dynazty - Titanic Mass - just high speed, hard-edged fun.

Avantasia - Ghostlights - a tremendous, bombastic thing with a shitload of catchy as fuck songs.

And while its very new, Avantasia - Moonglow is also absolutely great and just sees Tobi doing his thing with aplomb and style to spare.

Haven't heard enough power metal albums of the last decade to namedrop a top 10, but I can do 3 (possibly 4).

Delain's April Rain - Thankfully it just qualifies, being released in '09. I call this one love at first sight since I knew after seeing it in passing that it was going to be poppy and that I'd love it. I judged the album by its cover perfectly and was hooked before I even finished the title song at the beginning. The riffs, the choruses, Charlotte's enchanting voice, it does everything for me.

I might say that The Human Contradiction is right up there with it (tighter tracklist, super catchy, etc), thus making this the second entry in this Top-whatever.

Stratovarius' Nemesis - This thing is amazing. The revamped songwriting and melodies on that make it the best thing they ever did. I heard it before delving deeply into their 90s stuff. Even after I did, it still killed it. Everything came together on that one.

Keldian's Outbound - The first Keldian was great but not so polished I suppose. The second I don't remember enjoying much but I skimmed it. Outbound though, man, it blew me away. Just about every song is a winner, and the best of those are some of my favorites in the entire power metal genre. Expansive, spacey, hyper-melodic, and far catchier than it required, Outbound rules.

All in all, I need more power metal since I've got so, so few that I'd put in a top-list.

I'm not sure I can think of 10. Power Metal is one genre I have always loved, but since the mid-2000's I've rarely found entire power metal records I love. There are countless songs and bands I dig, but full albums are rare for me these days. Some that came to mind fairly quickly:

Vanishing Point - Distant Is The Sun (2014)
Somewhat under the radar power/prog band from Australia. I've always been a big fan, and their vocalist is an absolute beast.

Avantasia - Ghostlights (2016)
In my opinion, the best thing Tobi has done since Hellfire Club, and one of his greatest achievements overall.

Primal Fear - Rulebreaker (2016)
Although I love this record, I feel like if PF had taken the best tracks from this, the bonus stuff from the Greatest Hits album the next year, and some songs from Apocalypse, they'd have a classic.

Sonata Arctica - The Ninth Hour (2016)
Closest thing to a classic SA album I've heard in a while.

Nocturnal Rites - Phoenix (2017)
A lot of bangers on this record. Still some filler, but it was so much better than most of the stuff they had pumped out before it.

Labyrinth - Architecture Of A God (2017)
Maybe more prog than power?

10 albums that spring to mind, alphabetized because ranking them would be impossible.

Bloodbound - Unholy Cross (2011) I'd definitely include Bloodbound's first album, Nosferatu, if I could. Sadly, it's too old (2005), however Bloodbound is fortunately not a band with only one standout album. I used to listen to "The Ones We Left Behind" over and over again walking home from high school, but this album is full of killer songs like "Moria" and "Drop the Bomb". I wish Urban Breed had stayed on as the vocalist, but Patrik does a great job and I'm glad the band has him.

Falconer - Black Moon Rising (2014) When the hell will Falconer give us another album? This one is chock full of fantastic songs, and I think is the best album they've done since Chapters from a Vale Forlorn. Jimmy Hedlund deserves waaaaay more credit for his guitar work, his solos on this album are legitimately some of my favorite guitar work ever. Mathias Blad is also just killer here, and credit to the band for knowing exactly how to make his vocal talents shine, something I think they were still figuring out on those earlier albums. "Halls and Chambers," "There's a Crow on the Barrow" and "The Priory" are just the best in an album full of great songs.

Iron Savior - Rise of the Hero (2014) "Dragon King". 'Nuff said. Oh, but also "Last Hero" and "Thunder From the Mountains". Iron Savior always delivers quality albums, but this one is has some of their best songs from the last 10 years. Basically, I pick this album right behind the S/T album and Condition Red whenever I want to listen to Iron Savior. In close second place from them is the preceding album, "The Landing".

Keldian - Outbound (2013) From open to close, this album packs one hell of a punch. it's hard to find a song that doesn't kick some form of ass, and songs like "Burn the Sky," "The Silfen Paths" and "F.T.L" are some of the best power metal songs out there, considering the last 10 years or not. This is an album that I am sad to admit I had forgotten about until I saw it on other people's lists, and I think that's because I don't actually own a copy somehow. That is soon to be rectified.

Persuader - The Fiction Maze (2014) After a full 8 years since their last album, Persuader released The Fiction Maze a mere 5 years ago, and then proceeded to not follow it up, and it's a damn shame too. This band is probably the most extreme band out there I'd label as solidly power metal, and this album is an extremely solid one. "One Lifetime" kicks it off in spectacular fashion, and the bad doesn't falter through the rest of the album, delivering great songs throughout.

Pyramaze - Disciples of the Sun (2015) Another one from a band returning from hiatus, and while this album departs from their earlier sound, there's a lot to love, especially at the beginning of the album. Things kick off with "We Are the Ocean," an instrumental opener that flows straight into "The Battle of Paridas." This album has some of the best keyboard work out there courtesy of Jonah Weingarten. His parts manage to not be too obtrusive, while still being a focal point of songs.

Stilverlight - S/T (2014) This is probably the least well known album here, and a lot of people I recommend it to are turned off by the vocals (which stray pretty far away from your typical power metal tenor), but damn does this album kick some ass. "A New Day Will Come" is pure riffage that feels half as long as its 8 minute runtime suggests, and while all the songs here are pretty fast and heavy, the band doesn't stray from huge choruses and catchy hooks. Also, damn do I have a lot of albums from 2014 on this list.

Stratovarius - Elysium (2011) The obvious elephant in this room of an album is the spectacular final 18 minute title track, but Stratovarius delivers throughout this album, with great songs such as "Darkest Hours" and "Lifetime in a Moment." This band has been killing it with their new releases, and while it's super old news now, I can't help but continuously be impressed with how well they've done without Timo Tolkki writing the songs.

Stratovarius - Nemesis (2013) Whaaaat? Another Stratovarius album? Sure, why not? It's my list. Also, it was impossible to choose between this album and Elysium. I think the overall quality of songs is slightly higher here, but damn, the title track (while great) can't compete with Elysium's. Fortunately, there are some absolutely amazing songs here. "Unbreakable" might be their best song ever (Under 18 minutes) and it's pretty much impossible to fault any of the other tracks here.

Triosphere - The Road Less Traveled (2014) This one ventures a bit into prog territory, but it is most definitely power metal at its core. This is probably my favorite female-fronted album ever, and that's in large part due to said frontwoman, Ida Haukland, delivering a powerful and raw performance that fits perfectly with the sublime songwriting skills the band exhibits. "Steal Away the Light," "Relentless" and "The Sentinel" are just the best examples of this in an album full of great songs. Add this band to the "new album wen?" list.

I love this band. I don't know if they sift around in my brain before writing each song, but it's like every song was written with me in mind.

Yeah power metal lately has had lots of scattered tracks that are amazing but not too many full albums I could confidently add to the Future Hall of Fame. Persuader's The Fiction Maze has a few incredible tracks but the whole album is kinda spotty. If everything was as good as the title track it'd even surpass Evolution Purgatory and When Eden Burns, but alas. This is why I say power metal is one of the more frustrating genres, because with most extreme metal like black and death metal, you can usually tell within a track or two if it's gonna be good or bad, but with power metal you might have to sit through an hour of The Toy Master just to get one Devil in the Belfry.

The last few years have had some smashes though. I thought Thaurorod's album last year was a total stunner and a wild throwback to when Sonata Arctica wasn't completely banal, Avantasia hit a fluke home run with Ghostlights, I loved Mary's Blood last year but that's all from them I know, and everybody tells me their previous work is even better and that they go sorta hand in hand with Lovebites who is allegedly even better than that, so that's one to check out for sure. While my brain is on the Japanese brand of power metal, I have to shout out Light Bringer's Scenes of Inifinity. That one is fucking nuts.

For some reason Judicator never hooked me but they always get namedropped when conversations of great modern power metal show up, so I'll have to give em another go. Same with Ancient Bards. Name kinda immediately turned me off but if they're getting comparisons to Rhapsody in their prime then I feel obligated to give em a whirl.

I'm gonna really have to stretch my memory if we're going back 10 years. I'll have to wait until I get home to check out my collection, because I'm bound to forget something. Off the top of my head though, Orden Ogan's To the End may be my favorite PM album of the last 10 years. Also seconding others who have mentioned Stratovarius, Pyramaze, Falconer, Vanishing Point, Noble Beast, and Judicator. There is a lot of good stuff out there when it comes to power metal, but you've got to put in a lot of effort to find the gems, because there is a lot of shit too.

It was hard to dig up ten albums. For me anyway, power metal has been in somewhat of a rut since about 2007. Bands keep stripping away and stripping away elements from their influences and the sound as a whole has become much too distilled. These are exceptions, though.

Helstar - Vampiro - Relentlessly aggressive album that manages to sound contemporary by taking noticeable influence from the developments made in the genre by European bands in the 90s and early 2000s.

Ancestral - Master of Fate - One of the "truest" modern power metal bands. They seem pretty dedicated to delivering music derived from Helloween and the early Italian power metal releases.

Witherfall - Nocturnes and Requiems - neoclassical power metal with an old late night b-movie horror narrative and engaging, longer songs. NOBODY SLEEPS HERE ANYMORE

Attacker - Sins of the World - crazy good USPM. Consistent throughout with riffs on top of riffs.

Helloween - 7 Sinners - They've always operated a bit beyond their brief to try to be more than a German power metal band. Always presenting themselves as the kind of band that should be a household name around the world. It's kinda endearing. Even though they never managed to be Queen or Rush, they are still masters of their craft. The next two albums after this one are good too, but this one has the least amount of filler. Cut out 5 songs from each of those and you get some pretty damned good power metal.

Avantasia - Ghostlights - I've enjoyed all of Avantasia's albums, but this one really does stand above the rest of them in terms of overall quality. I've only given Moonglow one spin since I got it so I'm still not sure how it stacks up to this one.

Noble Beast - Noble Beast - A little cheesy but makes up for it with great riffs and epic song constructions

Iron Mask - Black As Death - more dark neoclassical power metal. This is one I've been going back to for years. Great writing and musicianship, highly recommended

Blind Guardian - Beyond the Red Mirror - Not their best, but still miles above most modern power metal being churned out these days in terms of its compositions.

Charred Walls of the Damned - Cold Winds on Timeless Days - The debut brought novel amounts of extreme metal to the power metal formula but lacked depth and consistency. Cold Winds was a more mature effort.

How do the power metal aficionados feel about Victorius?

'Lazer Tooth Tiger' is the classic example of a brilliant track on a solid release.

10. Serenity - Lionheart (2017)
The best thing Serenity have ever made, bar none. Absolutely masterful Euro-power metal with plenty of variety and maybe only, like, one subpar song. The title track alone made this one of the best albums of its year.

9. Helion Prime - Helion Prime (2016)
For a brief, shining moment, it existed--the perfect sci-fi-tinged power metal band, before they lost their goddamn minds. Immaculate vocals, infectious melodies, a unique and defining sound...it was truly a treasure.

8. Black Majesty - Stargazer (2012)
There's no one out there like Black Majesty, and while Silent Company may be their outright best album, Stargazer fights fiercely to dethrone it with each passing listen. That wistful, longing atmosphere these guys give off is something no one else can emulate.

7. Battle Beast - Steel (2011)
The old-school meets the new school in this album full of 80s heavy metal swagger combined with modern power metal trappings, and every single track is a classic piece of catchy metal mastery. Their other albums have similarly essential stuff, but the debut has the most of it.

6. Triosphere - The Road Less Travelled (2010)/The Heart of the Matter (2014)
Balancing heaviness with melodiousness, this power/prog outfit carries zero pretense--just outright excellent music and nothing else. Ida Haukland being one of my favorite vocalists of all time certainly helps.

5. Avantasia - Ghostlights (2016)
Tobi's magnum opus, as far as I'm concerned. Ghostlights feels like the culmination of everything he's ever wanted the Avantasia project to be, and executed magnificently to boot...well, aside from that awkward Dee Snider song and that tepid Geoff Tate track. But the rest is so goddamn good that those two barely even matter in the long run.

4. Dawn of Destiny - Rebellion in Heaven (2008)
This unassuming, rather unspectacular band caught lightning in a bottle with this release--everything is on fire, from the energetic performances to the stunningly-catchy melodies to the fact that there isn't a single weak track out of a staggering list of 14 songs. The fact that a B-tier band could put out something this phenomenal is truly a power metal miracle.

3. Lovebites - Awakening From Abyss (2017)/Clockwork Immortality (2018)
Speedy Japanese power metal done right. Bands like this are a dime a dozen, with peers like Fate Gear and Light Bringer delivering good performances but nothing memorable. And then Lovebites came along, following the high quality bar set by the phenomenal Mary's Blood and using that bar to reach international success. Absolute power metal mastery.

2. Beast in Black - Berserker (2017)/From Hell with Love (2019)
Take the catchiness of that aforementioned Dawn of Destiny album and multiply it by 25. And then have two albums like that instead of just one. And make it absurdly 80s, in the best way possible. Boom! You got two albums I can't stop listening to.

1. Mary's Blood - Countdown to Evolution (2014)/Bloody Palace (2015)/Revenant (2018)
You didn't think this list would go without me fellating my favorite band of all time, did you? Varied, top-shelf, inspired, and energetic power metal that, like Lovebites, puts the rest of Japan's power metal output to absolute self-flagellating shame.

Helstar's "Vampiro" is the only one that has received repeated listens from me.

No real order

Blind Guardian - At the Edge of Time, Beyond the Red Mirror
Helloween - 7 Sinners
Kamelot - Silverthorn
Sabaton - Carolus Rex, Heroes
Visigoth - The Revenant King, Conquerors Oath
Stratovarious - Nemesis

I think that is all the power metal I've bought in the last 10 years.

Hard to find albums that are good from start to finish, these are mine which doesn't require any skipping :

Armory - Empyrean realms
Thy Majestie - Shihuangdi
Dragonland - Under the grey banner
Sinbreed - When worlds collide
Paragon - Force of destruction
Symphony X - Paradise Lost
Mike Lepond's Silent Assasins
Panzer - Send them all to hell
Magician - Tales of the magician
Vicious rumors - Concussion protocol

Not in any order.

We're counting Symphony X? Squeeze Iconoclast somewhere into my list, then. Incredibly powerful and atmospheric while still being accessible and immediate. A top-tier album, for sure.

This is brilliant. It's basically DragonForce with better songwriting and a more expansive scrotum.

Here is my top 10. I wasn't counting Symphony X as power metal, but Iconoclast would absolutely have made this list if I did. Also, agreed with BastardHead that it is difficult to find a PM album that is phenomenal from start to finish and I even acknowledge The Fiction Maze has some weak tracks, but overall it still makes my top 10 (barely).

1. Orden Ogan - To the End (2012): My favorite part of this album is how they improved upon Easton Hope in every category, particularly the production, vocals, and songwriting. This album is incredibly coherent despite the variety among the tracks. Some of the best fast-paced songs I've heard and some of the best ballads as well.

2. Pyramaze - Disciples of the Sun (2015): This is another one that had a significant impact because of relatively low expectations. 7 year break and a new vocalist? I feel like that combination doesn't typically fair well for power metal bands, but here it resulted in a near flawless effort.

3. Sunburst - Fragments of Creation (2016): I'm still impatiently waiting for the follow up to this album. Gus Drax is a phenomenal riff-writer and Vasilis Georgiou's voice instantly improves every track it touches. Super clean sound, yet heavy as well.

4. Firewind - Immortals (2017): I guess this is somewhat of a similar case to Pyramaze, although Firewind had been going downhill for quite some time, so this may have been a bigger surprise. This is their most consistent album yet and Henning Basse suits the band much more than I would have guessed.

5. Noble Beast - Noble Beast (2014): Who knows if we will ever hear more from them, but I continue returning to this one pretty regularly. Probably one of the most fun albums there is and the perfect level of cheese.

6. Blind Guardian - At the Edge of Time (2010): This is my favorite Blind Guardian album of the 2000s. I recognize they may not have the same level of aggression as earlier records, but I feel like this album is a perfect example of why the genre is called it "power" metal. Hansi sounds excellent and its full of huge, fun songs.

7. InnerWish - Innerwish (2016): This one is a little more obscure, but this is just catchy riff after catchy riff and catchy chorus after catchy chorus. You can hear the Gus G influence (I think it's hard to find a Greek PM band without it) in the riffing and the vocalist is up there with some of the best in the sub-genre.

8. Tanagra - None of this is Real (2015): Another more obscure band that I wish was more well known and I always have difficulty explaining why they are so good. It's like they fused the old school USPM sound with a hint of Europower and it resulted in 57 minutes of incredibly fun and upbeat tracks.

9. Savage Circus - Of Doom and Death (2009): I'm a sucker for pretty much everything Jens Carlsson touches and although I don't think the musicianship in this band was ever on par with Persuader, the choruses here are so big and I find myself singing along to the entire album every time I listen to it.

10. Persuader - The Fiction Maze (2014): Speaking of Persuader, this is on here mainly because half of the album is fucking awesome and I was torn between a lot of different options for the tenth spot. I wish When Eden Burns was within the last 10 years, because that would have been an easy pick, but I still listen to this one pretty often too. It just lacks the consistency.

I still stand by my opinion that this is my favorite of theirs to date. Does anyone know if they've been working on a new album?

I find it amazing if I find any albums at all that are phenomenal from start to finish, let alone just in power metal. Rare examples include most of the entries in my list, Ecliptica, Falconer's debut + Northwind, Blind Guardian's early 90s run, Operation: Mindcrime, Metallica's first few, Black Sabbath's first few, and Judas Priest's S trilogy.

I don't have a problem finding PM albums with all quality songs. But then again I also don't care if a track or two is weaker than the others if I enjoy playing the album as a whole. I like to try and play stuff the whole way through as much as possible and a song or two that isn't quite as good as the fucking awesome songs on the album isn't a huge deterrent for the most part.

I addition to all the good stuff everyone has mentioned, I'd like to add:

Divine Ascension - Liberator
Excellent prog/power album, all songs are good.

Also Judicator - At the Expense of Humanity is really good, thanks for the rec.

I haven't listened to a ton of power metal in the last decade but my number one album would definitely be Pharaoh - Bury The Light (2012).

Everyone knows I was the biggest cheerleader for Noble Beast but I'm happy that someone has mentioned the amazing debut from Tanagra. Quality US power metal. I also want to mention Ironflame...one of the best new bands going.

First thing that comes to mind is Cain's Offering - Both albums are masterpieces





Some other unknown or under appreciated albums (I've included power/progressive instead of solely power metal) are:

Psycrence - A Frail Deception



Infinita Symphonia - Infinita Symphonia



Helker - Somewhere in the Circle



Mindfeeder - Endless Storm



Stilverlight - Stilverlight



Civil War - The Last Full Measure (absolutely amazing vocal performance by NPJ)



Black Majesty - Cross of Thorns



DGM - The Passage



Keldian - Journey of Souls, but the first three albums are all great



Innerwish - Innerwish



Instanzia - Ghosts



Serenity - Fallen Sanctuary (came out in 2008 so missed the cut off by a year, but I am still including it because it's phenomenal)



More coming...

Edit - Too lazy for links, but other albums that have to be mentioned (or already have been by others)

Savage Circus - Of Doom and Death
Seven Kingdoms - Decennium

I would also add :

Dragonland - Under The Grey Banner (2011), "The Black Mare", great stuff.

Both Almanac albums (2016 & 2017)

Theocracy - Ghost Ship (2016), progressive but for me often power metal enough.

I will likely be in the minority but Nightwish, "Imaginaerum," (2011) was a hell of an album. Tuomas tuned everything to Anette's voice (he wrote DPP before she was hired) and there were some really great tracks. EFMB was a step down even though they had a better singer.

Add to it Aldious, "Deep Exceed" (2010) and "Determination." (2011) Absolute fucking magic. It all went to hell with the singer change.

And Sanctuary, "The Year the Sun Died. (2014) Warrel still had good music in him.

Oh come on, that album is 10% power metal if we're being generous.

Definitely throwing my hat in the ring with people who mentioned Symphony X's Iconoclast. Such a hard-hitting, metal as fuck album.

Also since Battle Beast were talked about, their two albums are pretty alright but suffer from severe frontloading. The last two Wardum albums that their vocalist was on before quitting are a million times better. They've been in heavy rotation for me for a long ass time. Supremely underrated.

You mean Beast in Black, not Battle Beast? Agreed that Wardrum is much better, but unfortunately not nearly as popular.

The Wardrum singer quitting/being fired from (I forget which) that band to be in Beast in Black is as much a travesty as urban breed finally finding a main band to stick with and it being Serious Black. But I guess shitty, shallow pop metal is what pays the bills, so can't fault 'em.

I think technically he was fired, but according to the other band members, Wardrum had a few shows scheduled and he skipped out on them to tour with Beast in Black. Seemed like he was trying to balance the two, but was doing it in a pretty shitty way that put the guys in Wardrum in a situation where they had to get rid of him.

No Unleash The Archers? Really? Their last album Apex is the best power metal album in years.

Alogia - Elegia Balcanica (2014)
Extremely short (cca 35 minutes with bonus track) but no dull moments, power-progressive symphony from start to finish by Serbian masters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFOmv3Ze1Vw

Somehow I completely missed this one when putting my list together. Definitely would have made it though as there are no weak tracks and it is by far their best album in my opinion.

Y'all posting that 2016 Eternity's End album on here but not the brand new one that just came out? For shame.

Meh, the new one didn't grab me at all. The new vocalist is boring as hell.

Fuck no that's Iuri Sansson from Hibria, one of the greatest power metal singers of all time. The new Eternity's End is absolutely monstrous, one of my favorite albums from last year.