I once saw a little-known power metal band called ARCTIC FLAME open up for the granddaddies of the genre, GAMMA RAY, back in, oh, about 2010. By metal standards, the entire band might as well have pensioner passes; every single one of the band members must have been in his late thirties to early forties. Yet there was no denying that they could play; the song that I remember the best, even after all of these years, is still their superb “Lord of the Wasteland”, with its epic, anthemic chorus:

That, my friends, is the sound of the 1980s, slightly tweaked and updated for the 21st Century, but with that old-school vibe still very much intact. Long may it endure, I say.

I’ve actually been on a bit of a classic metal kick of late. As it happens, there are quite a few bands these days that can do a pretty decent IRON MAIDEN-gone-bonkers impression. For instance, here is ETERNAL CHAMPION, which my buddy LastRedoubt highlighted a few days ago:

And then, of course, there is the one and only FALCONER, who for some reason almost never tour but are still one of the very best power metal bands out there: