Best of 2016 - Power Metal Edition

By Andy Osborn. Good power metal is rare on Bandcamp. Whether that says something about the genre’s overall lack of popularity, or that the best stuff is controlled by a handful of labels with no interest in modernization, I’m not sure.

By Andy Osborn.

Good power metal is rare on Bandcamp. Whether that says something about the genre’s overall lack of popularity, or that the best stuff is controlled by a handful of labels with no interest in modernization, I’m not sure. Probably a little of both. Not only is it scarce on the platform, 2016 wasn’t exactly a banner year for the stuff. Admittedly I don’t hunt for power metal like I do the darker arts, but even when I take the time to dig deep it was incredibly hard to find real solid material; despite the sound demanding a full group of near-virtuosic musicians and not just the ol’ dude in the basement churning out atmospheric horrors. That said, I was able to scrape the barrel deep enough (through to the floor) to find this quintet of guitar wizardry that stood out above the rest in 2016.

Artwork by Eliran Kantor.

Iotunn deserve an award for their guitar tone alone. It’s not something that regularly stands out in the genre, but the biting, thick sound they have is singular - it was ten seconds into “The Wizard Falls” before I was sold. Denmark, for whatever reason, tends to produce a proggy variety of the sound, and Iotunn are no exception. They have hints of heavy metal, and a slightly American sound that definitely will appeal to Nevermore fans. Benjamin Jensen isn’t your typical soaring vocalist, either. His standard delivery is more of a gruff bar, that occasionally turns to an equally badass growl; something not used nearly often enough in the style. It all makes for a pretty interesting package, and the meandering song structures are captivating and interesting. Even if their overall style isn’t your thing, just ignore that and dig the sweet tone.

Artwork by Kip Ayers.

Power metal, like any style of of heavy arts, can take itself much too seriously. In fact, that’s probably why it’s not as popular as it should be. The songs are meant to be ridiculous and over-the-top, rather than burying the listener in evil cacophonies and pretend satanism. Zephaniah are great because you can hear the band having fun every second of every track. They’re also constantly switching things up, rarely sticking to a formula. Solos, blastbeats, and tempo changes erupt seemingly out of nowhere. They’re masters at keeping their fans on their toes. Reforged is filled with ripping, ever-shredding leads, and a nice hint of thrashy aggression to show off their American roots. The highlight of the album is the tracks modeled after the original Mad Max trilogy that tell the young Mel Gibson tale in metallic, stupidly fun form. It’s a shame they didn’t feel the need to do a part four to match the newest film but don’t worry, our friends in Spellcaster have us covered.

Artwork by Felipe Machado Franco.

In a world where Sonata Arctica didn’t move on from their much-loved original sound to play some sort of watered-down proggy pop-rock, they could have made this album. Taken’s self-titled debut is like a lost work that fits between Winterheart’s Guild and Reckoning Night (while still blatantly stealing the latter's cover art). What that means is Taken play a style of highly European power metal that sticks to the middle of the road; that is, it’s not overly bombastic or cheesy but contains the perfect amount of melody centricity and mildly-soaring vocals to still be taken seriously by those who aren’t power metal diehards. The septet are able to write a relatively lean, solid tracks with plenty of playful hooks, catchy choruses and more keyboard than guitar solos. Okay, a 65-minute debut isn’t exactly trim, but the intention is there, and it’s admirable. Despite a few unnecessary tracks these Spaniards have crafted one hell of a first album that many fans of the style will welcome.

Artwork by Ariel ZB.

Necromancing the Stone are probably the least publicized supergroup in metal history. With a cast consisting of Arsis, The Absence, and The Black Dahlia Murder veterans, it would be a given that that they would be some souped-up, crazy take on melodic death metal. That’s partially true, but with a twist. They smooth out their more aggressive sound with the buttery vocals of Brimstone Coven’s John Williams and then further round it out by (slightly) toning down the brutality in their riffs. And hearing the way they construct their axe wizardry, it turns out there isn’t too much different between the melodic death metal and power metal guitar techniques. They’re both catchy as all hell and painfully badass. The former may call for a bit more palm-muting and less bombast and high fret obsession, but the result is a perfect mashup of the best of both worlds into something entirely different; not to mention one of Metal Blade’s best additions in recent years.

James Malone’s unmistakable technical flourishes are ever-present and like any good power metal, Necromancing the Stone take writing music seriously, but not so much their image - as you can tell by the band name and album title referencing the 80s Michael Douglas adventure-comedies. “Siren’s Call” is the highlight, with it’s unforgettable lead melody that slides effortlessly into a pumped-up chorus booming with double-bass. It’s a swaggering beast of an album, so if you’re in the mood for some aggressive power metal or even light thrashy melodeath, this ragtag group of scene veterans provide one of the most quintessentially American releases of the year.

Artwork by Caio Caldas.

Even more of a supergroup, I can’t believe Eternity’s End flew under my radar until just recently. Featuring former and current members of Obscura, Spawn of Possession and Necrophagist, German savant Christian Münzner just took his recording lineup from his last solo album and threw English vocal vet Ian Parry into the mix. You wouldn’t expect such majestic, epic music from tech death titans but just like James Malone proved above, precision chops are perfectly suited for power metal. The Fire Within is a near-flawless debut that’s able to showcase the axe wielders’ insane technicality without treading too far into Yngwie’s grandiose, pretentious territory. Because despite the technical wizardry at play in the group, there’s only a medium dose of theatrics, solos, and self-indulgence, but still enough to solidly put them in the neoclassical camp. Their experimentation definitely throws on a “prog” tag as well, but one meant as a compliment of the highest order.

Unlike on Taken, the long playtime here is more than bearable, and gives you the feeling that the band could have easily stretched things out or added another track or four without losing steam. I’m very basic in my power metal love, as even a well-written ballad bores me. Power metal is about speed, precision, and fist-pumping choruses so part of what makes Eternity’s End great is that they don’t slow it down, even for a second. Maybe that’s just physically impossible for them. As a showcase, “Eagle Divine” contains the perfect power metal chorus. Gang vocals, empowering lyrics, all while the rest of the band is still going full speed. The end result is nothing short of jaw-dropping and is both the power metal album of the year and one of the best debuts in the genre’s history.

Teitanblood - Accursed Skin

By Steven Leslie. You have to love a band that throws a big middle finger up to convention and unafraid of getting lost in the shuffle of December album of the year lists, drops one of the best EPs of the year. That is just what Teitanblood have done with Accursed Skin.

By Steven Leslie.


You have to love a band that throws a big middle finger up to convention and unafraid of getting lost in the shuffle of December album of the year lists, drops one of the best EPs of the year. That is just what Teitanblood have done with Accursed Skin. Teitanblood is a band that should need no introduction to the black/death metal maniacs out there having really burst on the scene and created a slew of imitators with their Seven Chalice's debut full length in 2009. The question was never if this EP was going to be good, but rather would it be as good as their previous material. The answer is a resounding yes.

Teitanblood have continued to develop and expand their songwriting capabilities and Accursed Skin is all the better for it. They have discovered something that most black/death bands miss, a little variety goes a long way. Instead of pounding away in one continuous blast of lawless pandemonium, Teitanblood masterfully intertwine harrowing maelstroms of sonic tumult with some of the downright catchiest riffs they have every created (see 3:30 of "Accursed Skin" for an example). They also do a superb job of utilizing tempo shifts to help keep you off balance, never knowing what is coming next. One minute you are grooving away to a killer mid-paced romp and the next the floor drops out from under you, sending you headfirst into a spiraling vortex of sonic madness and chaos. And it’s that chaos that is key here. While lesser bands use murk, dissonance and layering to cover a lack of riffs and technical deficiencies, Teitanblood harness that sonic chaos and tap into it at will in order to create a hellish atmosphere few other contemporary bands can match.

Special mention has to go out to the vocal performance on this EP. NSK’s vocals are some of the most harrowing and downright oppressive utterances put to record this year, maybe only surpassed by Desolate Defiler’s work in Void Meditation Cult. Again, variety plays a huge role in making his vocals so impactful as he veers between ominously layered howls and twisted, demonic growls. Combined with the aural onslaught of the music, NSK’s performance creates an irresistibly immersive atmosphere to these two hymns. So dim the lights, turn up the volume and enter the void because hell is calling and it is glorious.

Mesarthim - The Great Filter

By Calen Henry. Mesarthim's first record, Isolate, took Bandcamp by storm in 2015, with little to no fanfare. The innocuous band and album name, accompanied by a NASA photo of the Horsehead Nebula hid a gem— cosmic black metal with a commitment to "spacey" that no other band has equaled. It mixed blistering black metal, throat shredding vocals and epic lead guitars

By Calen Henry.


Mesarthim's first record, Isolate, took Bandcamp by storm in 2015, with little to no fanfare. The innocuous band and album name, accompanied by a NASA photo of the Horsehead Nebula hid a gem— cosmic black metal with a commitment to "spacey" that no other band has equaled. It mixed blistering black metal, throat shredding vocals and epic lead guitars with synths straight out of a high school science video. Though polarizing, the approach works fantastically and Mesarthim's subsequent output schedule has been as astonishing as the quality and growth through the releases. In one year they released two full length records, two EPs, and a single.

Absence, the band’s sophomore album, didn't completely change their approach but did show them using more varied synths with more emulation of real instruments instead strictly bleeping and blooping. It gave the record a full symphonic feel that really rounded out their sound. The Great Filter furthers that approach but also varies the guitar technique making it, so far, the absolute best release by the band and my personal favourite EP of 2016.

The shift in guitar playing is subtle mainly adds one radically different technique, palm muting. The entire EP, a single 21 minute track is composed around a central palm muted guitar riff that is repeated through various movements and instruments. This riff is unlike anything else by Mesarthim and would sound right at home on a Moonsorrow record. That riff anchors all the other trademark Mesarthim tricks into an utterly engrossing long-form track. (it's only twice as long as many of the tracks on Isolate, mind, so not that long by the band's standards.)

The sheer variety of sonic palettes coupled with the deft handling of transitions makes the extreme musical culture clash all the more apparent and all the more natural. The central riff is shuffled from guitar to emulated string orchestra, and through some of the spacier synth patches occasionally giving way to full on electronic passages, trademark Mesarthim since Isolate. The best, and most far out transitions are done by way of a totally punk rock pick slide that shouldn't work at all but does, like Mesarthim as a whole.

The whole idea shouldn’t work, but not only does it work, it’s phenomenal. Also, like all Mesarthim releases, its $1 USD. Buy it. Space metal doesn't get any better.