Hell yeah, right topic at the right time! Over the last years my love for USPM (for some weird reason I prefer the term "US Power Steel", maybe 'cause steel is harder than metal idk) has grown more and more. It's kind of a missing link between the classic Hard'n'Heavy to Speed, Thrash and Progressive Metal. Glad you mentioned the early stuff from Twisted Tower Dire, it's amazing! You can never go wrong with USPM bands having 'Steel' in the name: Steel Prophet, Steel Assassin, or the very obscure Matthias Steele. Another episode on this topic would be very appreciated! Maybe with Slauter Xstroyes (talking about weird)?
Twisted Tower Dire -Crest of the Martyrs is a pretty good slab of USPM. Their latest full length, Wars in the Unknown, is a return to Crest era TTD and well worth a spin. They don't have a really deep discography, but they might be worthy of the RFI treatment.
I can’t believe I’ve never listened to Griffin before! That shit blew my mind the second I put it on. I suppose I spend too much time listening to stuff like Gore Beyond Necropsy, and I occasionally neglect the absolute poser retardant that is classic U.S. heavy metal. Going back to what you were talking about towards the beginning of the episode, I think a Liege Lord episode would be pretty awesome. If you ask me, their discography is absolutely perfect. They started out great, and just got even better with each release! Anyway, great work on this one! I was starting to get nervous that I’d pass out before this dropped.
English Dogs had a great Discharge-meets-NWOBHM (or GBH crossed with Metallica) in the 80's with "To the ends of the Earth/Forward into Battle" & "Where Legends Began" albums. Def worth a listen.
Riot. Early pioneers of power metal. Just listen to the album Thundersteel which came out in 1988, and they were already laying the foundation long before then. Cited by Hammerfall among others as a major influence. They even inspired Judas Priest's Painkiller. Hugely underrated band.
My favorite and most explored scene. Also very good choices, the early Attacker is a love-or-hate oddity typical of this scene (in terms of accessibility, not music). Sacred Oath falls into my favorite category of bands from this subgenre, i.e. those very mystical, dreamlike and atmospheric bands like Warlord, Lords Of The Crimson Alliance or Matthias Steele. But individually, Griffin is my no. 1 of these three. I prefer their debut, but Protectors... is also a masterpiece. There is something in this band that I like to call "venom" (not a band, you can call it malice also), you can feel it in the instrumental layer, but it is the unique vocals that really emanate this venom. Even average bands in this scene are solidly good, and unique bands and gems are, in my opinion, the peak of metal music. I also understand the love for the Japanese scene very well, because the Japanese are masters of power metal melodies and emotional vocals. Recently I've been listening to Talon Of King by Hellen non-stop. Hail from Poland!
Damn. Last US Power Metal video I've seen was from RideIntoGlory a couple of years ago. Haven't delved into PM past Brocas Helm and Attacker. But Brocas Helm is peak so I don't mind tardloop listening. Call me a poser, but that EU PM is just too much cheese even for me
Yeah, I'm really not huge on a lot of the double bass drumming sing-a-long Euro power metal stuff. Most of the European power metal I do like is either the obvious classics like Helloween and Running Wild or the heavier and more old school stuff like Stormwitch, Silver Mountain, Lost Horizon, or Witch Cross. Also big on most of the classic NWOBHM stuff if that counts, but I always considered that a separate category unto itself. Brocas Helm is definitely sick as hell, especially that first album.
@@radiofreeinnsmouth1337 basically what I learned is all the good PM is Heavy Metal part 2. Fine by me. Speaking of Brocas Helm again, I remember not seeing the first album on spotify a fews years ago getting into metal in general. I think that's why I stopped using that for metal lol
Have you listened to Armagh? Kind of reminiscent of Griffin in that 'raw, overblown heavy metal'-kind of way, with strange song structures. Great stuff. And cheers for a great episode - Sacred Oath was news to me!
I'm going to have to check out Griffin, you made them sound incredible. I already love the first two Attackers. Surprised you didn't namecheck Jag Panzer considering how hyped up Ample Destruction is.
Fucking great. Love that First Attacker record Is so fucking underrated. Is full of other bands from the same scene chat didn't get the deserved respect like cauldron born, titan force or nasty savage
First Attacker is awesome, love their second album too! Sleepy Hollow full length with Bob Mitchell was pretty cool too. Twisted Tower Dire episode please! Have you ever heard Valhalla from Pittsburgh?
I've never heard Valhalla, but what I'm seeing from them now does sound pretty interesting. Twisted Tower Dire will probably get an episode eventually, but I need to listen to their later stuff more first. I usually just put on their second demo or their first album when I'm in the mood for them.
@@radiofreeinnsmouth1337Valhalla ruled! Highly recommend the double disc Ultimate Anthology from a few years ago. I love the demos and first two Twisted Tower Dire albums though I do have a soft spot for the third.
For real though, that second demo with the broad singing on it and that first album is some of my favorite power metal ever, listen to them all the time! I really do feel like I have to listen to their other albums more to do them justice. Isle of Hydra and Netherworlds are definitely both sick, but I don't really know their stuff with the newer singer at all, and I don't want to do the band dirty since I hold that 2CD reissue of the first album with the demos on it in such high regard.
@@radiofreeinnsmouth1337 that demo with the female singer rules! I have that same 2cd version of the first album. Isle of Hydra is amazing too. New singer is ok. I believe he's also in Widow who are cool, nothing groucd breaking but not bad.
Great episode as usual RFI. USPM had a lot of gems, for me personally Omen and Helstar is what gets me going. Never heard of Sacred Oath, so i will dig into those guys. What is your opinion on 80s European speed metal or crossover? Both sound a bit different compared to the US counterparts.
I don't really know much about European speed metal unless we're talking about the Teutonic stuff like Scanner or Paradox. Obviously, that stuff's pretty great. The only crossover band I can think of right now is Raw Power from Italy but they're definitely pretty good.
@@radiofreeinnsmouth1337 Fair enough. Teutonic speed metal is a classic for sure. I recommend the first Angel Dust album Into the Dark Past if you are not familiar (one of the best debut albums of all time in my opinion). I had kinda forgotten about Scanner, so thanks for reminding me. Crossover is often a hit or miss, but i recommend Swedish band Black Uniforms (it is kinda similar to some of the 80s Japanese hardcore bands, speed/heavy riffs + d-beat drumming). I look forward to the next episode. Speed metal über alles!
Angel Dust is definitely a classic. I always kinda lump that stuff in more with Germanic thrash, never really thought of it as just being straight-up speed metal but that label definitely fits. Iron Angel's Hellish Crossfire and Apocalypse's self-titled are also quality releases in that sort of style. Most of the European punk-ish stuff from that time period I listen to is more crusty stuff like Hellbastard, Terveet Kädet, Asocial, that kind of thing.
@@radiofreeinnsmouth1337 The speed metal definition might have changed over time. I've always known early Angel Dust as speed metal (having the fast melodic heavy metal riffs instead of the more thrashy ones, kinda the middle thing between heavy and thrash). Not sure i've listened to Apocalypse, will have to change that. The crusty stuff are all classics as well, Swedish and Finnish hardcore is something special. I might be a bit biased because i'm Swedish but oh well. Keep up the good work, always a bliss stumbling upon someone with an actual genuine interest in this kind of music, and not just sticking to one thing. I always come across bands i've missed.
I never could get into em. I got that one live album with the wolf on the cover off one of those Mexican blogspot download sites way back when I was first getting into metal and I was like MAN this does not match the cover, thought it was gonna rock a lot harder.
Not a huge power metal fan but you've sold me on these fuckin guys, especially Griffin.
Mystifier episode sir please
Yes!👍
I'd rather listen to him talk about them than listening to the band lol
@@zigotina Lol fair- episodes on bands im lukewarm on/didn't enjoy when i first heard are my favorite and some made me reconsider
Symphony X - The Odyssey is a masterpiece of our time
Hell yeah, right topic at the right time! Over the last years my love for USPM (for some weird reason I prefer the term "US Power Steel", maybe 'cause steel is harder than metal idk) has grown more and more. It's kind of a missing link between the classic Hard'n'Heavy to Speed, Thrash and Progressive Metal. Glad you mentioned the early stuff from Twisted Tower Dire, it's amazing! You can never go wrong with USPM bands having 'Steel' in the name: Steel Prophet, Steel Assassin, or the very obscure Matthias Steele. Another episode on this topic would be very appreciated! Maybe with Slauter Xstroyes (talking about weird)?
Sacred Oath reminded me of the fact that you never did a Stormwitch episode. Would be nice.
Twisted Tower Dire -Crest of the Martyrs is a pretty good slab of USPM. Their latest full length, Wars in the Unknown, is a return to Crest era TTD and well worth a spin. They don't have a really deep discography, but they might be worthy of the RFI treatment.
I can’t believe I’ve never listened to Griffin before! That shit blew my mind the second I put it on. I suppose I spend too much time listening to stuff like Gore Beyond Necropsy, and I occasionally neglect the absolute poser retardant that is classic U.S. heavy metal. Going back to what you were talking about towards the beginning of the episode, I think a Liege Lord episode would be pretty awesome. If you ask me, their discography is absolutely perfect. They started out great, and just got even better with each release! Anyway, great work on this one! I was starting to get nervous that I’d pass out before this dropped.
Stuff like Liege Lord and Brocas Helm is indeed pretty great, I could do an entire episode on either of them.
Need a Twisted Tower Dire episode brah brah if you’re talking USPM
English Dogs had a great Discharge-meets-NWOBHM (or GBH crossed with Metallica) in the 80's with "To the ends of the Earth/Forward into Battle" & "Where Legends Began" albums. Def worth a listen.
Riot. Early pioneers of power metal. Just listen to the album Thundersteel which came out in 1988, and they were already laying the foundation long before then. Cited by Hammerfall among others as a major influence. They even inspired Judas Priest's Painkiller. Hugely underrated band.
Skullview episode!!
Great episode Homez. Definitely made my nutz hairy…er.
🤘🐉🗡🏰
My favorite and most explored scene. Also very good choices, the early Attacker is a love-or-hate oddity typical of this scene (in terms of accessibility, not music). Sacred Oath falls into my favorite category of bands from this subgenre, i.e. those very mystical, dreamlike and atmospheric bands like Warlord, Lords Of The Crimson Alliance or Matthias Steele. But individually, Griffin is my no. 1 of these three. I prefer their debut, but Protectors... is also a masterpiece. There is something in this band that I like to call "venom" (not a band, you can call it malice also), you can feel it in the instrumental layer, but it is the unique vocals that really emanate this venom. Even average bands in this scene are solidly good, and unique bands and gems are, in my opinion, the peak of metal music.
I also understand the love for the Japanese scene very well, because the Japanese are masters of power metal melodies and emotional vocals. Recently I've been listening to Talon Of King by Hellen non-stop.
Hail from Poland!
Damn. Last US Power Metal video I've seen was from RideIntoGlory a couple of years ago. Haven't delved into PM past Brocas Helm and Attacker. But Brocas Helm is peak so I don't mind tardloop listening. Call me a poser, but that EU PM is just too much cheese even for me
Yeah, I'm really not huge on a lot of the double bass drumming sing-a-long Euro power metal stuff. Most of the European power metal I do like is either the obvious classics like Helloween and Running Wild or the heavier and more old school stuff like Stormwitch, Silver Mountain, Lost Horizon, or Witch Cross. Also big on most of the classic NWOBHM stuff if that counts, but I always considered that a separate category unto itself. Brocas Helm is definitely sick as hell, especially that first album.
@@radiofreeinnsmouth1337 basically what I learned is all the good PM is Heavy Metal part 2. Fine by me.
Speaking of Brocas Helm again, I remember not seeing the first album on spotify a fews years ago getting into metal in general. I think that's why I stopped using that for metal lol
Have you listened to Armagh? Kind of reminiscent of Griffin in that 'raw, overblown heavy metal'-kind of way, with strange song structures. Great stuff. And cheers for a great episode - Sacred Oath was news to me!
I'm going to have to check out Griffin, you made them sound incredible. I already love the first two Attackers. Surprised you didn't namecheck Jag Panzer considering how hyped up Ample Destruction is.
Ample Destruction and the demos around it are pretty great.
Fucking great. Love that First Attacker record Is so fucking underrated. Is full of other bands from the same scene chat didn't get the deserved respect like cauldron born, titan force or nasty savage
Honestly, that 2nd Griffin album reminds me a bit of the first Death Angel album, I think that one came out 1 year after.
Griffin's vocalist sounds a lot like Sheepdog MacLaren from Razor. I'm not a Power Metal guy but I really dig Griffin.
That's a really good comparison, wish I'd have thought of it. Those first six Razor albums are bangers.
Malicious Intent is one of my favourite thrash albums, Razor fucking slays.
Great vid man! Have you heard Kaevum? Just got their 2023 release on vinyl and its one of my favorite Norwegian bm projects of the past decade.
Natur is their best release.
First Attacker is awesome, love their second album too! Sleepy Hollow full length with Bob Mitchell was pretty cool too. Twisted Tower Dire episode please!
Have you ever heard Valhalla from Pittsburgh?
I've never heard Valhalla, but what I'm seeing from them now does sound pretty interesting. Twisted Tower Dire will probably get an episode eventually, but I need to listen to their later stuff more first. I usually just put on their second demo or their first album when I'm in the mood for them.
@@radiofreeinnsmouth1337Valhalla ruled! Highly recommend the double disc Ultimate Anthology from a few years ago. I love the demos and first two Twisted Tower Dire albums though I do have a soft spot for the third.
For real though, that second demo with the broad singing on it and that first album is some of my favorite power metal ever, listen to them all the time! I really do feel like I have to listen to their other albums more to do them justice. Isle of Hydra and Netherworlds are definitely both sick, but I don't really know their stuff with the newer singer at all, and I don't want to do the band dirty since I hold that 2CD reissue of the first album with the demos on it in such high regard.
@@radiofreeinnsmouth1337 that demo with the female singer rules! I have that same 2cd version of the first album. Isle of Hydra is amazing too. New singer is ok. I believe he's also in Widow who are cool, nothing groucd breaking but not bad.
Could you maybe do a video on Nargaroth?
Orchidectomy pls
Let’s get heavier
ep about ultra brutal death metal would be nice
Do you like the Catacombs/Hierophant/Origin of Darkness complex of band?
Yeah, Xathagorra Mlandroth does good work! Haven't heard too much new from him in a bit though.
@@radiofreeinnsmouth1337 he seemed to fall off the earth I wonder if he’s working on something
Great episode as usual RFI. USPM had a lot of gems, for me personally Omen and Helstar is what gets me going. Never heard of Sacred Oath, so i will dig into those guys.
What is your opinion on 80s European speed metal or crossover? Both sound a bit different compared to the US counterparts.
I don't really know much about European speed metal unless we're talking about the Teutonic stuff like Scanner or Paradox. Obviously, that stuff's pretty great. The only crossover band I can think of right now is Raw Power from Italy but they're definitely pretty good.
@@radiofreeinnsmouth1337 Fair enough. Teutonic speed metal is a classic for sure. I recommend the first Angel Dust album Into the Dark Past if you are not familiar (one of the best debut albums of all time in my opinion). I had kinda forgotten about Scanner, so thanks for reminding me.
Crossover is often a hit or miss, but i recommend Swedish band Black Uniforms (it is kinda similar to some of the 80s Japanese hardcore bands, speed/heavy riffs + d-beat drumming).
I look forward to the next episode. Speed metal über alles!
Angel Dust is definitely a classic. I always kinda lump that stuff in more with Germanic thrash, never really thought of it as just being straight-up speed metal but that label definitely fits. Iron Angel's Hellish Crossfire and Apocalypse's self-titled are also quality releases in that sort of style. Most of the European punk-ish stuff from that time period I listen to is more crusty stuff like Hellbastard, Terveet Kädet, Asocial, that kind of thing.
@@radiofreeinnsmouth1337 The speed metal definition might have changed over time. I've always known early Angel Dust as speed metal (having the fast melodic heavy metal riffs instead of the more thrashy ones, kinda the middle thing between heavy and thrash). Not sure i've listened to Apocalypse, will have to change that. The crusty stuff are all classics as well, Swedish and Finnish hardcore is something special. I might be a bit biased because i'm Swedish but oh well.
Keep up the good work, always a bliss stumbling upon someone with an actual genuine interest in this kind of music, and not just sticking to one thing. I always come across bands i've missed.
Used to like me the occasional Sonata Arctica, then they made an entire album whining about Trump. And not in a based way.
I never could get into em. I got that one live album with the wolf on the cover off one of those Mexican blogspot download sites way back when I was first getting into metal and I was like MAN this does not match the cover, thought it was gonna rock a lot harder.
Need some early stormwitch
Blackened shoegay > Powerwolf IMHO