WARNING: Much praising of Power Metal is contained within! If you detest bands such as Helloween or Edguy you will probably not enjoy this weeks editorial! You have been warned.

I remember back in the day when I was younger, me and my friends would sit around listening to old thrash albums like The Ultra Violence, The Legacy, The Years of Decay and heavy metal like Powerslave, Keeper of the Seven Keys pt I and II and Defenders of the Faith and go “Man I wish I was 17 back in 1985.” Back then when I was younger I thought that metal had reached its peak in the eighties because all the bands that I knew about and liked came from that timeframe. The nineties at that time for me was nothing but grunge or fallen idols like Metallica and Megadeth. The whole scene was alive back in the 80’s, metal was something that spoke to the savage soul and healed it in the pits at the biggest arenas around. When Nirvana came along, a lot of metalheads at the time just let the music go and gave up on it. I’ve met people who are a lot older than me while I’m wearing a Judas Priest shirt and they ask me, “Judas Priest? Are they still around?”. Yea man, they never went anywhere. To many, the scene was killed and left for dead and metal was something that was a glorious artifact of the 80’s, never to come back again, if you weren’t around then, well you missed out on something truly grand.

Or did you? I believe that right now metal is more alive than ever and stronger that it ever has been. Take a look around you, so many genres right now are all over the place with bands putting out quality releases every year. Power / True Metal has especially had a huge resurgence recently. In fact, I will name one year that spawned the New Wave of Power Metal. 1997. In this one year we had debuts from so many bands that are now major players on the scene and albums by bands that were their best efforts to date or albums that put the band and scene, into the spotlight. Despite what your feelings towards Hammerfall are you cannot deny the fact that they are responsible for starting the Power Metal revival. Glory to the Brave came out in 1997 and with this album Hammerfall made it cool to like True Metal again. And it’s a stroke of luck for the band, because the only reason they were signed is because the president of Nuclear Blast was the only one who liked their demo, everyone else hated it. 1997 also saw the debut of a German band with the odd moniker of Edguy. Despite the very rough production, this was another Power Metal jewel that made you smile when you listened to it and without this band there would be no Avantasia another Power Metal masterpiece. An Italian symphonic band called Rhapsody gave us their debut album, Legendary Tales in 1997 as well. A fresh take on Heavy Metal, this band combined baroque and classical instruments into a cinematic over the top fantasy fest that was something truly unique at the time. Also with this album a new guitar hero, Luca Turilli was introduced to the guitar scene. Three bands from Finland are the next in this overview, one a small folk based band with a female vocalist that sang in an operatic manner that made the band instantly recognizable was Nightwish. A simple and humble album, Angels Fall First was a glimpse of what was to come from these Finnish superstars. New band number two, Children of Bodom released their first album Something Wild that year as well and with its mix of melodic licks, screaming guitars and fast paced keys laced with neoclassical elements, it was another standout in the field of Power Metal. Note how all these bands I have mentioned so far each have their own sound that makes them unique in their field. The last band from Finland that I’ll mention didn’t put out a debut but released an album that would influence many bands and is considered their landmark achievement. That band is Stratovarius and that album is Visions. Not only is this album important for the ensuing fame that Stratovarius received, it is also important because without this album another star player in today’s scene, Sonata Arctica, would not exist. Tony Kakko has stated that Sonata Arctica used to be pop band but after hearing Visions he had an epiphany and began writing in the style he does now. Good choice. Finally in 1997 the Gothenburg scene broke into the metal mainstream with the release of In Flames' Whoracle. Their previous album The Jester Race was a breakthrough for the band and Whoracle solidified that statement. Yes, I know that At the Gates and Dark Tranquility came first but The Jester Race and Whoracle are what brought the Gothenburg scene into the metal mainstream.

I truly believe that right now is a wonderful time to be a metalhead. Even though I have mainly concentrated on Power Metal bands (hey that is my favorite genre) each scene has its major players, each scene has fresh new faces ready to kick your ass and make you love your music. So enjoy! Relish the fact that our scene is alive and well and that there are so many different styles to choose from, whatever your pleasure is there are bands, new bands, that can suit it. Be happy to be young in today’s scene, just think, the next generation of metalheads will probably sit around listening to Lost Horizon or Sonata Arctica and go “Man, I wish I was 17 back in 1997.”