Power metal

Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contrast with the heaviness and dissonance prevalent in, for example, extreme metal. Power metal bands usually have anthemic songs with fantasy-based subject matter and strong choruses, thus creating a theatrical, dramatic and emotionally "powerful" sound.

The term was first used in the mid-1980s and refers to two different but related styles: the first largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal; and a later, more widespread and popular style based in Europe with a lighter, more melodic sound and frequent use of keyboards.

Anthropologist Sam Dunn traced the origins of power metal back to the late 1970s, when the groundwork for power metal lyrical style was laid down by Ronnie James Dio. The fantasy-oriented lyrics he wrote for Rainbow, concentrated around medieval, renaissance, folk, and science fiction themes, directly influenced modern power metal bands. According to Dunn, the songs "Stargazer" and "A Light in the Black" from the 1976 album Rising, as well as "Kill the King" and "Lady of the Lake" from the 1978 album Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, might be among the earliest examples of power metal. In his 2011 documentary series Metal Evolution, Dunn further explained how Rob Halford of Judas Priest created a blueprint for power metal vocal delivery. His almost constant high-pitched singing became one of the main characteristics of power metal. The twin-guitar sound promoted by Judas Priest's duo of K. K. Downing and Glenn Tipton also highly influenced this subgenre.

Another British band, Iron Maiden, brought epic and melodic sensibility to metal, creating anthemic, singalong music, an approach widely embraced by modern power metal musicians. Referred to as the "main prototype" of the power metal genre, Iron Maiden was heavily influenced by Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules (the first two albums of Black Sabbath's Dio-era), which would also go on to influence modern power metal.

The emergence of the early German power metal scene in particular was made possible by Scorpions and Accept. Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen made a significant impact on many future power metal guitarists, with his accurate and fast neo-classical style. His bandmate Jens Johansson modernized the keyboard sound of Deep Purple's Jon Lord, which was further incorporated into the genre. Manowar's mythological sword and sorcery lyrics influenced a number of power metal bands.

Throughout the early 1980s (especially during 1982 and 1983), the US power metal style first emerged from traditional heavy metal, the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), and thrash/speed metal backgrounds. Although the genre's precise stylistic origins are often contested, acts such as Cirith Ungol, Jag Panzer, Manilla Road, Omen, Riot, Savatage, Metal Church and Warlord are generally believed to have influenced the earliest development of the style.

More concretely, in 1987 German band Helloween released their second album, Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I, cited by AllMusic as "a landmark recording that remains arguably the single most influential power metal album to date. Its volatile combination of power and melody would inspire an entire generation of metal bands". This release influenced a European power metal style to evolve, which proliferated throughout the globe and since the start of the 1990s is still the most commonly heard style of power metal.^{[citation needed]}

Power metal is today associated with fast guitar riffs and drumming, twin melodies, operatic singing, and thus "bears all the hallmarks of traditional metal." The sound is tempered by characteristics of speed metal, power metal's musical forerunner.