2024 in Power Metal
I told myself I wasn't gonna overdo it this year. I lied. |
| 1 |  | Orden Ogan
The Order of Fear
Orden Ogan bringing the fuckin' HEAT. Some of the most bombastic shit I've heard all year; arena power metal at its finest. |
| 2 |  | Coventhrall
Legacy of Morfuidra
Its shit like this that makes listening to every power metal album each year worth it. This totally knocked my socks off. |
| 3 |  | Axxis
Coming Home
What a pleasant surprise. This is probably a top 5 album from these guys, which is saying something. |
| 4 |  | Sonata Arctica
Clear Cold Beyond
We've got a winner here boys. Their best album since the first 4 records. Excited to see them continue with this momentum. |
| 5 |  | Flotsam and Jetsam
I Am the Weapon
The Flots sweep?!???! |
| 6 |  | Wintersun
Time II
Pretty divisive, but I thought it was excellent. |
| 7 |  | Triumpher
Spirit Invictus
A noted step up from the debut. Jmal00 is on crack, and Smok is on meth. |
| 8 |  | Outworld (UY)
Sky Keeper
Apparently this album was made by one dude. I am genuinely impressed with how cohesive and fleshed out the material is here. |
| 9 |  | Frozen Crown
War Hearts
I've been pretty lukewarm to this band for a long time, but they finally managed to impress me. Their best record to date |
| 10 |  | Riot V
Mean Streets
Riot V does it again! A rock solid dose of classic heavy metal with enough variation, soaring vocal performances, and riffage to keep you fully engaged. |
| 11 |  | Tyr
Battle Ballads
Probably their most power-centric release to date; and I'm here for it. |
| 12 |  | Impellitteri
War Machine
Pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. I listened to this while passing a kidney stone and I still enjoyed it. |
| 13 |  | Anubis (USA-CA)
Dark Paradise
I feel like this band should be way bigger than they actually are. |
| 14 |  | New Horizon
Conquerors
Insultingly low user average; I love this shit. I'm a sucker for simplistic rhythms and anthemic choruses, and this album delivers exactly that. |
| 15 |  | Vhaldemar
Sanctuary of Death
Catchy, concise, and A LOT of fun. |
| 16 |  | Throne of Thorns
Converging Parallel Worlds
Very solid debut effort. Lot's of interesting and engaging compositions on this one. |
| 17 |  | PowerDream
Beast Unleashed
This store brand Beast in Black album kinda fucks, not gonna lie. |
| 18 |  | Visions Of Atlantis
Pirates II - Armada
I was pretty "meh" on their previous album, but they really stepped up their game for this new one. Consistently enjoyable from front to back. |
| 19 |  | Nightwish
Yesterwynde
Definitely a big step up from their previous few albums. With that being said, I wish they would have spread out the harder hitting tracks a little more, instead of placing them all in the first half. |
| 20 |  | Galneryus
The Stars Will Light the Way
Galneryus strikes again with another expectedly solid album. These guys may not be releasing all-time classics, but their consistency and competency is something to be admired. |
| 21 |  | Striker
Ultrapower
Absolutely retarded, but in the most fun way possible. You will have a great time with this |
| 22 |  | Lutharo
Chasing Euphoria
why the fuck did i enjoy this so much? |
| 23 |  | Traveler (CAN)
Prequel to Madness
The riffs have arrived |
| 24 |  | Witherfall
Sounds of the Forgotten
Sophisticated lil album right here. Pipe, book and fireplace metal. |
| 25 |  | Dragony
Hic Svnt Dracones
Delivers the cheese, and delivers the goods. |
| 26 |  | DragonForce
Warp Speed Warriors
Utterly retarded. I love it. Ya'll need to lighten up and have some fun every once and a while; this was such a good time. |
| 27 |  | Cloven Hoof
Heathen Cross |
| 28 |  | RYUJIN
RYUJIN
RYUJIN |
| 29 |  | Freedom Call
Silver Romance
These guys have a certain corny vibe that always hits a sweet spot for me. They aren't worried about being cool, they just want to give you goofy and catchy power metal that makes you smile; and God bless them for it. |
| 30 |  | StormHunter
Best Before: Death |
| 31 |  | Perseus
Into The Silence |
| 32 |  | Powerwolf
Wake Up The Wicked
The album of leftovers they released last year was honestly stronger than this group of new tracks. That being said, there is plenty of fun to be had here; and the short runtime makes it a breeze to listen to. |
| 33 |  | Stryper
When We Were Kings
Michael Sweet is a total workhorse. It's comforting knowing we're gonna get another solid Stryper album every few years. |
| 34 |  | Brothers Of Metal
Fimbulvinter
Power metal comfort food. Doesn't do anything new, but it doesn't really need to. "Other Son of Odin" is the obvious highlight, and might be the catchiest song I've heard all year. |
| 35 |  | Fellowship
The Skies Above Eternity |
| 36 |  | Melodius Deite
Demonology |
| 37 |  | Mago de Oz
Alicia en el Metalverso
I thought this album would be utter fucking dogshit thanks to that DYSMAL artwork. I'm glad I was wrong, this is a lot of fun. |
| 38 |  | Mad Hatter
Oneironautics |
| 39 |  | Alterium
Of War and Flames |
| 40 |  | Symakya
Project 11: The Landing |
| 41 |  | Metalite
Expedition One |
| 42 |  | Rage
Αfterlifelines
The material here is definitely a big step up from their past few releases, but that 86 minute run-time is PUSHING it. Thankfully, most of the songs are short, punchy, and to the point; there just needed to be fewer of them. |
| 43 |  | Greyhawk
Thunderheart
Not sure why I enjoyed this as much as I did. |
| 44 |  | Nemedian Chronicles
The Savage Sword
Seeing a lot of buzz around this album right here. While I'm not quite as thrilled with it as others seem to be, I definitely understand the appeal. I do feel that at least 20 minutes could have been shaved off to make the album a bit more focused, as it definitely starts to drag towards the end. |
| 45 |  | Unleash The Archers
Phantoma |
| 46 |  | Glyph (CAN)
Honor. Power. Glory.
I feel like I should have enjoyed this more than I did. |
| 47 |  | Dawn of Destiny
IX |
| 48 |  | Emerald Eye
Night Without Day |
| 49 |  | Metal De Facto
Land of the Rising Sun - Part 1 |
| 50 |  | Thornbridge
Daydream Illusion |
| 51 |  | Triton Project
Messenger's Quest
I commend the effort, but the second half of the album got way too self-indulgent for my liking. Having two 20+ minute songs on one album is crazy; and putting them back-to-back is even crazier. |
| 52 |  | Evergrey
Theories Of Emptiness
Another decent offering from Evergrey, but I do feel the formula is wearing a bit thin. I really do hope they bring back some of the aggression from the first 3 albums, because their bite is almost completely gone at this point. |
| 53 |  | Amalgama (RU)
Mastermind |
| 54 |  | Elettra Storm
Powerlords |
| 55 |  | Dream Evil
Metal Gods
A serviceable album with a BANGER title track |
| 56 |  | Hammer King
König und Kaiser
Wanted to give this a 3.5, but this album features one of the most blatantly obvious instances of plagiarism I've ever heard. The song 'War Hammer' is a note for note copy of 'Midnight Sun' by Helloween. |
| 57 |  | Ironflame
Kingdom Torn Asunder |
| 58 |  | Arcane Tales
Until Where The Northern Lights Reign |
| 59 |  | Rhapsody of Fire
Challenge The Wind
Another okay offering from Rhapsody of Fire. While the material is solid, it's sorely lacking Rhapsody's trademark sound. Any power metal band could have released this and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. |
| 60 |  | HammerFall
Avenge The Fallen
Hammerfall seem to have fallen back into their usual creative rut again after the surprisingly strong "Hammer of Dawn". Definitely not as strong as I was hoping it would be; but if you like Hammerfall's recent output you'll probably still enjoy it. |
| 61 |  | Seven Spires
A Fortress Called Home |
| 62 |  | Project Arcadia
Of Sins and Other Tales |
| 63 |  | Feuerschwanz
Warriors
I usually have a soft spot for this brand of over-the-top, anthemic power metal, but this one just didn't hit for me. |
| 64 |  | Durbin
Screaming Steel
Okay, so apparently that dude who got 4th on American Idol a while back decided to make a trad/power metal album. It's generic as fuck, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't fun. |
| 65 |  | Crystal Viper
The Silver Key |
| 66 |  | In Vain (ESP)
Back to Nowhere |
| 67 |  | Anette Olzon
Rapture |
| 68 |  | Pirate Hymn
Explorer
Running Wild this is not. |
| 69 |  | Haunter (BR)
Tales of the Seven Seas |
| 70 |  | Nightmare (FRA)
Encrypted |
| 71 |  | Wind Rose
Trollslayer |
| 72 |  | Sirius (GR)
A Quest For Life |
| 73 |  | Saltatio Mortis
Finsterwacht
Do not listen to this if you hate bagpipes |
| 74 |  | Outworld (UY)
Way of the Samurai |
| 75 |  | Scanner
The Cosmic Race
There are some really good songs on here, but I'm actually shocked by how slopping the drumming is. This is like post-2010 Niko McBrain levels of sloppy. If that issue had been fixed, this could have be something special. |
| 76 |  | Scarefield
A Quiete Country
Cool artwork, mid album. |
| 77 |  | Amaranthe
The Catalyst
I'm honestly surprised I didn't hate this. |
| 78 |  | Firewind
Stand United
I'm gonna be honest. I just don't get what people see in Firewind. |
| 79 |  | Millennial Reign
World on Fire
We ain't looking at Stryper levels of Christian metal here, boys. It's not terrible by any means, it just isn't interesting at all. |
| 80 |  | Fatal Fire
Arson |
| 81 |  | Tribus
El Portal de la Eternidad
I don't speak Spanish |
| 82 |  | The Grandmaster
Black Sun |
| 83 |  | Axel Rudi Pell
Risen Symbol
I appreciate this commitment to releasing an album every two years, but this is some of the least inspired and generic material ARP has released to date. |
| 84 |  | Eynomia
Sea of Tears |
| 85 |  | Paragon
Metalation |
| 86 |  | Whiteabbey
Words That Form the Key
just a gay little album |
| 87 |  | El Reno Renardo
Regreso Al Metalverso |
| 88 |  | Eldkling
Scenes of the Deranged |
| 89 |  | Manticora
Mycelium
There isn't anything objectively wrong with this album, I just don't like it. |
| 90 |  | Magic Kingdom
Blaze of Rage
sleep city |
| 91 |  | Imperia
Dark Paradise |
| 92 |  | Empires of Eden
Guardians of Time
Not sure what went wrong here, but thing is a total snoozefest. |
| 93 |  | Xeneris
Eternal Rising
I can hear the vocalist taking breaths between notes and it's super distracting. Once you notice it, you can't unhear it. |
| 94 |  | Leaves' Eyes
Myths Of Fate |
| 95 |  | Attacker
The God Particle
The artwork is better than the music. |
| 96 |  | Wade Black's Astronomica
The Awakening |
| 97 |  | Absolon
The Blood Seed |
| 98 |  | Holy Dragons
Fortress
Nah man... this aint it. |
| 99 |  | Tungsten (SWE)
The Grand Inferno
A complete and total flop. Stylistically, the music on this record is all over the place, and is comes across as a total mess from start to finish. Whether it be "Vantablack", which sounds like a dollar store version of a Rammstein B-side, or "Falling Apart" with it's cringeworthy metalcore riffs and screams, absolutely nothing about this albums works. |
| 100 |  | Thor
Ride of the Iron Horse
Objectively, this album is absolutely terrible. But it honestly is one of the greatest so-bad-its-good records to come along in quite some time. Whether it be the flabby production, pedestrian drum-work, the corny vocals, or the absolutely hysterical lyrics, this thing checks literally every box on the bad album bingo card. But it does it with such conviction and fervor that it inadvertently becomes an endearing masterpiece of bad. I HIGHLY recommend anyone who wants a good laugh to give this thing a shot, because it's a lot of fun. |
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