Genre: Us Power Metal
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About Us Power Metal
US power metal (also known as "United States power metal" in full, often abbreviated to "USPM") is a subgenre of Heavy Metal. The name of the genre refers to its stylistic origins in the US; there are US power metal acts outside of the US (Adramelch for example is from Italy), but most of them are American. Despite existing for about the same amount of time, US power metal is largely overshadowed by its European cousin, a related but distinct genre that takes more influence from Speed Metal. Read more on Last.fm.
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US power metal (also known as "United States power metal" in full, often abbreviated to "USPM") is a subgenre of Heavy Metal. The name of the genre refers to its stylistic origins in the US; there are US power metal acts outside of the US (Adramelch for example is from Italy), but most of them are American. Despite existing for about the same amount of time, US power metal is largely overshadowed by its European cousin, a related but distinct genre that takes more influence from Speed Metal. As a result, US power metal has kept the US prefix to differentiate it from its European Power Metal counterpart.
US power metal originated in the early 1980s as a response to the NWOBHM scene that was happening overseas, and took influences from epic heavy metal bands such as Manilla Road and Cirith Ungol. They stripped the genre of its Blues Rock roots and in return made the riffs more aggressive, the vocals more theatrical, increased the speed, and overall just made it more intense. In short, the idea was to add some "power" to the heavy metal template, without encroaching on the intensity and speed of Thrash Metal or Speed Metal. This scene was also largely differentiated from the similarly developing European power metal scene, as US power metal was rooted primarily in heavy metal, while European power metal had its roots largely in German speed metal (with many of its pioneers such as Helloween and Blind Guardian even starting as such). While the genres have always been distinct, they both continue to use the power metal name because they are both often highly theatrical and lighthearted, and both feature lyrics inspired by fantasy literature. US power metal also features themes of masculinity in its lyric and aesthetic, as exemplified by bands like Manowar.
There are roughly two styles within the US power metal movement. One is more aggressive, faster and riff-focused with bands such as Jag Panzer, Helstar, Metal Church, and Riot (V) being notable pioneers. The other is more melodic and progressive, making frequent use of ballads. Notable bands in this style are Crimson Glory, early Savatage, early Queensrÿche, and early Fates Warning. These styles were sometimes referred to as "blue collar" and "white collar" US power metal, but these terms are rarer nowadays, with the former style labeled aggressive USPM and the latter style called progressive USPM.
After the 1980s, US power metal retreated to the underground. Some artists such as Iced Earth, Virgin Steele and (The Lord Weird) Slough Feg have kept the genre alive in the 1990s and early 2000s. From the late 2010s, the genre has seen a revival with new bands like Eternal Champion, Demon Bitch and Satan’s Hallow, though it is a fringe genre in the wider metal umbrella. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
US power metal originated in the early 1980s as a response to the NWOBHM scene that was happening overseas, and took influences from epic heavy metal bands such as Manilla Road and Cirith Ungol. They stripped the genre of its Blues Rock roots and in return made the riffs more aggressive, the vocals more theatrical, increased the speed, and overall just made it more intense. In short, the idea was to add some "power" to the heavy metal template, without encroaching on the intensity and speed of Thrash Metal or Speed Metal. This scene was also largely differentiated from the similarly developing European power metal scene, as US power metal was rooted primarily in heavy metal, while European power metal had its roots largely in German speed metal (with many of its pioneers such as Helloween and Blind Guardian even starting as such). While the genres have always been distinct, they both continue to use the power metal name because they are both often highly theatrical and lighthearted, and both feature lyrics inspired by fantasy literature. US power metal also features themes of masculinity in its lyric and aesthetic, as exemplified by bands like Manowar.
There are roughly two styles within the US power metal movement. One is more aggressive, faster and riff-focused with bands such as Jag Panzer, Helstar, Metal Church, and Riot (V) being notable pioneers. The other is more melodic and progressive, making frequent use of ballads. Notable bands in this style are Crimson Glory, early Savatage, early Queensrÿche, and early Fates Warning. These styles were sometimes referred to as "blue collar" and "white collar" US power metal, but these terms are rarer nowadays, with the former style labeled aggressive USPM and the latter style called progressive USPM.
After the 1980s, US power metal retreated to the underground. Some artists such as Iced Earth, Virgin Steele and (The Lord Weird) Slough Feg have kept the genre alive in the 1990s and early 2000s. From the late 2010s, the genre has seen a revival with new bands like Eternal Champion, Demon Bitch and Satan’s Hallow, though it is a fringe genre in the wider metal umbrella. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.