Lancashire Loud's Top 10 Power Metal Tracks

Want to know what we've been listening to in the office? Take a look below to see the team’s top tracks, in no particular order, or click here to go to the official Lancashire Loud Power Spotify playlist.

Blind Guardian — “Mirror Mirror”

Blind Guardian’s “Mirror Mirror” is from the Nightfall in Middle-Earth album, which was released in 1998. The album is a concept record based on The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. The songs follow events directly taken from the book, and “Mirror Mirror” is arguably one of the best-known tracks on the album, next to “Nightfall”, of course. Our choice wasn’t an easy one. 

Blind Guardian are one of the most important names in power metal, particularly when looking at their use of fantasy literature and detailed narratives. Nightfall in Middle-Earth remains a major starting point for anyone who wants to explore power metal and who loves story-driven lyrics.

Sabaton — “Night Witches”

Released on Sabaton’s 2014 album, Heroes, “Night Witches” tells the story of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment. The Soviet unit was made up of navigators and female pilots who fought in the Second World War. The regiment soon became known as the Night Witches by German forces, referring to the nighttime bombing that took place at the time. Sabaton have built their catalogue of music around military history, and Heroes focuses on the individual stories and courage from different conflicts.

At just over three minutes, “Night Witches” is one of the shortest tracks on the album, but it shows how power metal can work with real historical events just as much as fantasy.

Powerwolf — “Beast of Gévaudan”

“Beast of Gévaudan” was the first single from Powerwolf’s 2021 album Call of the Wild. The song is based on the Beast of Gévaudan, a mystery surrounding a series of fatal animal attacks that happened in 18th-century France. Powerwolf uses religious imagery, werewolves, and gothic horror. Call of the Wild follows that approach, with “Beast of Gévaudan” being a standout single on the record.

Powerwolf are a prime example of how power metal bands take inspiration from history and folklore, but then build a theatrical world around it.

Avantasia — “The Raven Child”

We were hard-pressed not to choose something from either The Metal Opera Part I or Part II, but Moonglow’s “The Raven Child” was impossible to ignore. 

“The Raven Child” comes in at over 11 minutes long. It’s the longest song in this playlist, but the musical journey it takes listeners on is undeniable.

Avantasia is a rock-opera project led by Edguy frontman Tobias Sammet. “The Raven Child” features guest vocals from both Jorn Lande and Hansi Kürsch, resulting in one of the biggest collaborations on the record. Moonglow is Avantasia’s eighth studio album and features a rotating cast of singers. “The Raven Child” shows how power metal can overlap with symphonic metal and theatrical rock opera.

Sonata Arctica — “FullMoon”

“FullMoon” is from Sonata Arctica’s album Ecliptica. Released in 1999, it was one of the songs that helped the Finnish act to break through during the 1990s boom in European power metal. The song follows the story of a man whose life is connected to the full moon, bringing a darker lyrical theme to an album that is packed full of keyboard-led melodies and high-speed guitar playing.

Sonata Arctica have since revisited the tracks from Ecliptica, but the original version of “FullMoon” remains central to the band’s identity and is a favourite for us at Lancashire Loud.

Stratovarius — “Hunting High and Low”

Stratovarius released “Hunting High and Low” on the album Infinite in 2000. It’s the opening track to the band’s eighth studio album, which was produced by Timo Tolkki, who was the band’s guitarist at the time.

By the time Infinite arrived, Stratovarius had made a name for themselves as being one of the leading bands in power metal. It was a difficult call to choose “Hunting High and Low” over Visions’ “Black Diamond” and Elements Pt. 1’s “Eagleheart”, but in the end, “Hunting High and Low” claimed the spot. Infinite is lined up for a new vinyl release in October 2026, showing how its impact is being felt long after the album’s initial release.

Helloween — “Eagle Fly Free”

Originally released in 1988, “Eagle Fly Free” is from Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part II. The album is regarded as being one of the defining records in the power metal genre. Helloween laid down the groundwork with their earlier records, while Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part II pushed this even further and influenced generations of bands that followed.

Edguy — “Vain Glory Opera”

“Vain Glory Opera” is the title track from Edguy’s 1998 album. It was the band’s third studio record and arrived right before Tobias Sammet began his work on Avantasia. Vain Glory Opera is one of the albums that helped establish them.

DragonForce — “Valley of the Damned”

Released in 2003, “Valley of the Damned” runs for over seven minutes and is positioned near the start of the record to introduce the band’s high-speed approach to power metal. The album came out before DragonForce reached international acclaim with “Through the Fire and Flames”; however, it does contain a lot of the elements that would go on to be defining for the band, including dual-guitar playing and long, technical arrangements.

DragonForce remixed and remastered the album, with Herman Li explaining that the band wanted their older material to reflect how they wanted it to sound at the time.

Demons & Wizards — “Fiddler on the Green”

Demons & Wizards’ self-titled debut album came out in 2000. It was a collaboration between Iced Earth’s Jon Schaffer and Hansi Kürsch from Blind Guardian. 

The song is one of the most recognised tracks on the album, and tells the story of a young boy, and death, who takes the form of a fiddler. It differs from their more up-tempo songs, showing how the genre is able to hold attention via solid storytelling rather than just speed.

The song was inspired by two tragic, real-life car accidents that Kürsch himself witnessed. While walking his dog, he saw a young boy riding his bike get struck and killed by a car. One week later, another fatal car accident occurred, this time killing a young girl.

Struggling with the mathematical improbability of two young children dying in the same location just days apart, he constructed a fantasy concept around the tragedy. In European folklore, the Fiddler is a manifestation of Death. In the song, the Fiddler accidentally takes the young boy’s life too early. Feeling remorseful, he chooses to take the girl so he will not be alone and have companionship in the afterlife.

Putting this song at the end of the playlist made perfect sense. After historic battles, fantasy worlds, and dramatic anthems, “Fiddler on the Green” slows things down. It’s hard-hitting and brings the focus back to one of the strongest qualities in power metal, which is the ability to tell a story through both music and lyrics.

Concluding Lancashire Loud’s Top 10 Power Metal Tracks

These tracks cover the late-1990s European rise in power metal to the newer bands who have taken the same core ideas but pushed them in whole new directions. Helloween defined the blueprint, Blind Guardian turned fantasy literature into full concept albums, Stratovarius and Sonata Arctica blazed the path for Finnish power metal, and Sabaton took a unique route by focusing on military history. Powerwolf, Avantasia and DragonForce show how ambitious the genre can be and how far it’s come.

Power metal may be known for battles, dragons, and soaring choruses, but ultimately, “Fiddler on the Green” shows that it can also be deeply moving and tragic. 

Image Credit: Lancashire Loud