Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Why Hate On The Power?
Ok, this has been bothering me for a while. I get crap from the prisoners, from strangers, hell even from our own Caid. WHY THE HATE ON POWER METAL?!?!?!? Seriously, I don't understand it. Is it because they sing about dragons? Is it cause they sing about fighting in medieval Europe alongside King Arthur? What, what is it? People say power metal is not "brutal" enough, or is "pansy" metal. Why? Is it because they can actually sing and play their instruments with good skill? I enjoy listening to death and black metal as much as the next guy, but sometimes I actually want to be able to understand what my vocalist is singing about, not Cookie Monster vocals with maximum distortion on them. I want to be able to hear a guitar solo that actually uses all six strings on the guitar, not just the one. Is that too much to ask? And I can guarantee you that power metal has been around longer than these other genres and will continue to exist even after those have gone.
Let me give you a brief history of the great genre of dragons. Power metal is a style of heavy metal music combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed or thrash metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a later more widespread and popular style based in Europe and Japan with a lighter, more melodic sound and frequent use of keyboards.
Power metal is today associated with an epic sound tempered by characteristics of speed metal, power metal's musical forerunner. Power metal's lyrical themes, though as varied as metal itself, typically focus on fantasy, mythology, camaraderie, hope, personal struggles, emotions, war, and death.
Power metal is highly focused on the vocalist, with "clean" vocals being much more prevalent than the growling vocals. The majority of the genre's vocalists sing in the tenor range, capable of hitting very high notes. There are however many exceptions such as Pyramaze / Iced Earth frontman Matt Barlow, Falconer frontman Mathais Blad, and Sabaton frontman Joakim Broden; they sing in either baritone or bass range, though in certain songs like Creator Failure, Barlow hits very high notes reminiscent of Rob Halford. Power metal vocalists Kai Hansen of Gamma Ray, andHansi Kurch of Blind Guardian record multi-layered vocals reminiscent of Queen, creating a choral effect.
Power metal guitarists and bassists generally play rapid streams of notes, but change chords comparatively slowly, with a harmonic tempo of once per measure or slower. Fast and demanding guitar solos, however, are almost guaranteed.
A number of power metal drummers generally play with two bass drums for added speed, utilizing them to play a constant stream of sixteenth notes with snare drum accents on the beat. This style is fairly common in power metal as in other heavy metal subgenres, though it is by no means universal. Power metal though has become the most prevalent in the use of this technique.
Power metal bands often incorporate keyboards into their musical arrangements, something popularized by Jens Johansson of Stratovarius, though their usage varies from subtle accents to a full-blown melody line. Some symphonic power metal bands such as Rhapsody of Fire, Fairyland and Nightwish have also been known to record with more symphonic elements, and as such, they utilize a full orchestra to fill the role a keyboard plays in other power metal bands.
Notable Power Metal Bands:
3 Inches of Blood
Avantasia
Battlelore
Black Majesty
Blind Guardian
Chinchilla
Circle II Circle
Demons & Wizards
Dragonforce
Dream Evil
Edguy
Elvenking
Excalion
Fairyland
Falconer
Firewind
Freedom Call
Galneryus
Gamma Ray
Grave Digger
HammerFall
Helloween
Iced Earth
Iron Fire
Into Eternity
Jacob's Dream
Jag Panzer
Kamelot
Labyrinth
Lost Horizon
Manowar
Metalium
Mystic Prophecy
Narnia
Nightwish
Nocturnal Rites
Pagan's Mind
Pyramaze
Raintime
Rhapsody of Fire
Sabaton
Saxon
Sonata Arctica
Steel Attack
Stratovarius
Symphony X
Twilightning
Vision Divine
Wizard
For More See Here
Aid for History Came From Wikipedia
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Sorry bud, but Power Metal is way whack. Your the only person on earth that digs it. :-P
ReplyDeleteLies Caid, All Lies. Despite if you like the genre or not, you have to admire the technical skill of the people who play power metal.
ReplyDeleteI admire the technical skill of power metal musicians. I even find (or at least used to find) power metal moderately enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteThe main issue I have with power metal (and one that I brought up with you the other day) is that the genre as a whole has not evolved. While there is a wide spectrum, it hasn't changed! Iced Earth now sounds like Iced Earth 15 years ago. It's a one-note genre, with no room for improvement (at least at a level that changes the music fundamentally - I'm not interested in a 4 bpm change in pick speed).
Power metal is the essence of talent without independent thought. Ego is connected to pick speed, double-bass, and time signature. That's not what music is about.
Music is about pushing boundaries through constant innovation, and power metal as a genre (in general - there are exceptions) has lost that.
Some power metal bands have lost that, but not all of them. Rhapsody have come out with a full symphony on all of their albums and written some of the greatest stories with their albums. Symphony X has put so much neo-classical and jazz influences into their music that is sounds different on every album. Elvenking has added a fiddle and clarinet to their band. True not all bands have evolved but alot of the big ones have, and are trying to push the whole genre forward as a whole, but there are mediocre bands holding it back, and we need to cut them.
ReplyDeleteDon't listen to the haters! For the most part, power metal is uplifting, positive music. Yeah, it can be a bit cheesy. So what. If you can't enjoy a good song about dragons, you're taking life (and music) too seriously. Music isn't about looking cool. It's about having fun. And I think power metal is a fucking blast!
ReplyDeleteWhen you add a symphony, doesn't that slide you into a different category altogether? Symphonic metal and power metal don't seem to overlap that much.
ReplyDelete[...] I know that headline is quite assuming, but Mogwai is definitely the loudest band I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing live. Apparently Manowar holds this distinction; and if that’s the case, Mogwai is the loudest live band that doesn’t sing about dragons and sorcerers. [...]
ReplyDeleteThere is much more progression and blending on other metal genres (black,death,trash,gothic, doom, etc) that in power metal, which is basically self absorved worshipping of bands like Helloween Manowar and Iron Maiden (not that I.M. is a power metal band). There is no real progression with such fetishied ambitions
ReplyDeleteSaying that power metal is older than other metal genres is arguable. Pretty much judas priest did everything that power metal bands try to replicate today, and ceirtainly judas priest is not a power metal band.
To me, bands like Slayer, King Diamond, early Metallica, Bathory , Death, etc, were the one that suceed in bringing metal to a more legitime attitude by being nasty, dark, unfriendly and ominous. Metal is not about feeling bright, full of hope and silly as power metal bands put it, that`s just too safe for kids under the age of 13, a watered down reminiscent of loudness and nerdish attittudes packed for massive comsumption.
Saying that producing such radio friendly crap that is easy to listen even for a 4 year old equals knowing how to play your instruments better than musicians from other metal genres is just bullshit. Ear friendliness does not mean better musicianship that is just a lazy statement.
In a way, Power Metal has contributed in labeling metal as childish music that you stop listen as soon as you grow up and mature.
I freely admit a preference for this 'power metal' over what's currently perhaps more in vogue with the serious heavy metal crowd. I'll indulge myself a bit here and say that to me, it seems harder and more interesting to put together a power metal song than to replicate the sound of some guy yelling down a drain pipe, accompanied by a couple of circular saws thrown into a running cement mixer.
ReplyDeleteFrom the foregoing (admittedly low blow-ish) comment, it's obvious that, to me at least, power metal retains something valuable in keeping some sort of traditional musical sensibility. I suppose that can be viewed as a retrograde sort of sentiment, but so be it. The extreme indulgences of free jazz and 12-tone music had their day in the sun too, but in the end it's sometimes the supposedly revolutionary approach that turns out to be limited and something of a dead end.
"up the irons, etc."
Whole lot of closed minded people with questionable sexuality here. (Gallo666)
ReplyDeleteCan't think of the last time I heard a power metal band on the radio but ok.
Let's see power metal was clearly not one of the earliest forms of metal but I don't care to argue that.if you truly wanted great singing clean guitar great creativity amazing lyrical ability and insane talent you would have looked further than power metal examples: TOOL or Rammstein just look for it and be OPEN MINDED the reason you don't like other genres is because you create first impressions on other genres and you label them according. People think it's pussy because nobody can put a positive outlook on life right before a guitar solo and call it Metal afterwards that's as simple as I could have put it. I hope you look up those bands afterwards.
ReplyDeletePeople talk down on power metal especially death metallers because they are obviously jealous that power metal guitarists have top notch melody and technique in one package. I used to play in a lot of death metal bands and I got kicked out of every one of them for playing too melodic in my solos even though I was still playing very fast. I actually asked my GIT instructors what they thought about most death metal and they told me that other than bands like Death (RIP Chuck) and Obscura, death metal is just pointless unmusical noise for simple minded fools.
ReplyDeleteOf course there are a lot of exeptions to this rule. Unfortunately, most metal that is popular in America with 'true' metalheads is absolute unmusical garbage. No melody at all and no singing either and stupid lyrics about pointless gore that just gives metal a bad name in the states.
I love playing power metal because it actually has a good message behind the music such as standing up against tyranny, standing by the one you love in a time of crisis, and never giving up on your dreams. I wish there was a power metal scene here in the states like in Europe because I am tired of all the unmelodic noise that Americans mistake for metal.