Stormcrown - Echoes of the Impending Storm [2026]

Artist: Stormcrown

Album: Echoes of the Impending Storm
Year: 2026
Genre: Heavy Metal / Power Metal
Web: https://youtu.be/86T20Ol1-Go / https://stormcrownmetal.com
Country: United States
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Oghma Infinium  

2. Edge of the Unknown  

3. Hot Lead High Speed  

4. Hymn of the Road Warrior  

5. X3r0  

6. Black as Night  

7. Stormcrown

Witness: -[*]-
Here is an excellent example of modern power metal from the Blacksburg area of Virginia. I would say this is predominantly on the melodic power metal side, but there are times when these guys inject some grit and venom, and the leads can be both soaring and blistering. Another fun listen if you are into the style.  

Steel Arctus - Dreamruler [2025]

Artist: Steel Arctus

Album: Dreamruler
Year: 2025
Genre: Heavy Metal / Power Metal
Web: https://www.facebook.com/steelarctus / https://steelarctus.bandcamp.com
Country: Greece
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Cry for Revenge

2. Defender of Steel

3. Fate of the Beast

4. Dreamruler

5. Wicked Lies

6. Fires of Death

7. Riding Through the Night

8. Glory of the Hero

9. Will to Power

10. Legend of the Warrior

11. Onar (όναρ)

Witness: -[*]-
Wow, this album is so good! I know the death metal only crowd won't like it, or will ask where it was at 40 years ago, but the people who have more diverse tastes similar to mine will certainly be totally into this band. I want to thank our resident Goa Trance officinato Unbound for the heads up on these guys. Just looking at the album art, I expected something much less intriguing and would have probably never given this album a chance if he hadn't promoted it so strongly. Awesome \m/\m/

Steel Arctus - Fire and Blood [2020]

Artist: Steel Arctus

Album: Fire and Blood
Year: 2020
Genre: Heavy Metal / Power Metal
Web: https://youtu.be/DfHmYEtLFpg / https://steelarctus.bandcamp.com
Country: Greece
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Fire and Blood

2. teel Arctus

3. Hellhammer

4. Doombringer

5. Moira (Μοίρα)

6. Savage Heart

7. Arcadian Lady

8. Fire and Blood

Witness: -[*]-
The Greeks seem to be cultivating an awesome power metal scene with these guys, Sacred Outcry, & Battleroar being just the bands that I am aware of. To me, this style harkens back to my youth and is a nice change of pace from the brutal barrage of death metal. 

Sacred Outcry - Damned for All Time... [2020]

Artist: Sacred Outcry

Album: Damned for All Time...
Year: 2020
Genre: Heavy Metal / Power Metal
Web: https://youtu.be/8irOThfRhaY / https://sacredoutcry.bandcamp.com
Country: Greece
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Timeless

2. Legion of the Fallen

3. Sacred Outcry

4. Where Ancient Gods Are Still Hailed

5. Scared to Cry

6. Lonely Man

7. Crystal Tears

8. Damned for All Time

9. Farewell

Witness: -[*]-

Another band that Unbound turned me onto a few weeks back. Thanks, dude!

Sölicitör - Enemy In Mirrors [2025]

Artist: Sölicitör

Album: Enemy In Mirrors
Year: 2025
Genre: Heavy Metal / Speed Metal

Web: https://youtu.be/CZeSLTL9zS0 / https://www.facebook.com/solicitor.speedmetal
Country: United States
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. The Descent

2. Paralysis

3. Iron Wolves of War

4. Spellbound Mist

5. We Who Remain

6. Fallen Angel

7. Crimson Battle Beast

8. Enemy in Mirrors

9. Black Magick & the Devil's Hand Pt I

10. Black Magick & the Devil's Hand Pt II

Witness: -[*]-
I really liked the band's previous album, but it took me a bit to warm up to this one; now that I have, I am liking it as well. They are building on their songwriting chops and created a more mature-sounding album, and I think they got a better production as well.

Vhol - Deeper Than Sky [2015]

Artist: Vhol

Album: Deeper Than Sky
Year: 2015
Genre: Progressive Thrash Metal / Blackened Heavy Metal / Crust
Web: https://youtu.be/nFFXwoned6I / https://www.facebook.com/vholisvhol
Country: United States
Quality: 320 Kbps
 
Tracklist:
1. The Desolate Damned

2. 3AM

3. Deeper than Sky

4. Paino

5. Red Chaos

6. Lightless Sun

7. The Tomb

Witness: -[*]-
Even though this album is more than a decade old I only stumbled across it a couple of months back, and when I finally decided to give it a listen, my first thought was, damn this is interesting! There are parts of the album that work very well, thrashy and jamming, and then there are other parts that are a bit too progressive, but overall, I really dig it.

Menace - Wheel of Spikes [2026]

Artist: Menace 

Album: Wheel of Spikes
Year: 2026
Genre: Heavy Metal / Speed Metal
Web: https://youtu.be/JEKKxU-bJmg / https://metalonmetalrecords.bandcamp.com/menace
Country: Italy
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Wheel of Spikes  

2. Satanizer  

3. Backhander  

4. Argento Vivo  

5. Shades of Evil  

6. The Haunted Disguise  

7. Burnin' Ash  

8. Death Never Lies  

9. Per Aspera ad Inferi  

10. The Unmerciful

Witness: -[*]-
From the album cover to the band photo, it is plain to see that there is some serious Judas Priest worship going on with this band. From my perspective, that isn't a bad thing because I dig the retro vibe they have conjured up with these tracks. 

Riot City - Electric Elite [2022]

Artist: Riot City

Album: Electric Elite
Year: 2022
Genre: Heavy Metal / Speed Metal
Web: https://riotcityofficial.bandcamp.com / https://www.pulltheplugpatches.com/riot-city
Country: Canada
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Eye of the Jaguar

2. Beyond the Stars

3. Tyrant

4. Ghost of Reality

5. Return of the Force

6. Paris Nights

7. Lucky Diamond

8. Severed Ties

Witness: -[*]-
Anyone who comes to this blog regularly and reads my ramblings in these posts should know that, along with death metal, I still love old-school sounding heavy/speed metal, and I think these guys are one of the better modern bands worshipping the style, with 2 solid albums under their belts. Killer soaring vocals and guitars!

Aggressive Perfector - Come Creeping Fiends [2026]

Artist: Aggressive Perfector

Album: Come Creeping Fiends
Year: 2026
Genre: Speed Metal / Thrash Metal / Heavy Metal
Web: https://youtu.be/z2gGG0z7y0Y / https://aggressiveperfector.bandcamp.com
Country: United Kingdom
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Dead Undead

2. Strange Companion

3. Fiend in You

4. Like a Beast

5. Obscene Cult

6. Denied by the Reaper

7. Harlot's Spell

8. Return of the Axe

9. Gallows' Eve

Witness: -[*]-
I like this one quite a bit, but wish it were a bit grittier and heavier at times. It doesn't matter, as I get older and farther away from my favored times in the 1980s, I'm a sucker for albums like this. These guys are competently repurposing riffs from back in the day, everything from Iron Maiden to a twist on the Detroit Rock City riff from Kiss, and it works.

Nefarious - Addicted to Power [2025]

Artist: Nefarious

Album: Addicted to Power
Year: 2025
Genre: Thrash Metal / Heavy Metal
Web: https://www.nefariousband.com / https://nefariousband.bandcamp.com
Country: United States
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Intro / Mirror Death  

2. Addicted to Power  

3. Master Plan

4. One Nation Enslaved  

5. Day After  

6. Avatar of Chaos

Witness: Link removed

Thrash metal featuring current and former members of Exodus, Dark Angel, Heathen, and Hirax that has its moments, but isn't gritty or heavy enough overall. 

Freedomination - Until the Lights Go Out [2025]

Artist: Freedomination

Album: Until the Lights Go Out
Year: 2025
Genre: Heavy Metal / Thrash Metal
Web: https://www.freedomination.net / https://freedomination.bandcamp.com
Country: Finland
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Sin Road  

2. Heaven Sent  

3. The Raven  

4. Second Chance  

5. Tear Down the Wall  

6. Smoking Gun  

7. Unleash Hell  

8. Down with the Rain  

9. Until the Lights Go Out

Witness: -[*]-
This is an interesting album to me. The band has been active since 2008 with 3 EPs and a demo to their credit, and this is their first LP. These Finns have skillz and talent to spare, and they are labeled as thrash metal, but it doesn't have the grittiness that I want to hear in thrash. To me, this is basically heavy metal with some velocity, and I like it, but I wish that it were heavier at times.  

Helstar - The Devil's Masquerade [2025]

Artist: Helstar

Album: The Devil's Masquerade
Year: 2025
Genre: Heavy Metal / Power Metal / Speed Metal
Web: https://youtu.be/xuAo-iwCL2E / https://massacre-records.com/helstar / TDC Link
Country: United States
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Adventus (Intro)

2. The Devil's Masquerade

3. Stygian Miracles

4. Carcass for a King

5. The Staff of Truth

6. Seek Out Your Sins

7. The Haunting Mirror

8. The Black Wall

9.  Suerte de muleta

10. I Am the Way

Witness: -[*]-
After the 80s, I hadn't listened to much of Helstar's later material until a few months back, when our friend Bongripper dropped in here and promoted this disc in the chatbox. He actually said that he doesn't listen to this style of metal much anymore, but if he were going to, this would be one of the albums he would take the time for. That is all it took to get me to listen to this one, and I really enjoyed it, so much so that I went back and listened to their 2016 album, and I am liking it as well. It is also awesome to see that Larry Barragán and James Rivera are still together after all of these years. 

Helstar - Vampiro [2016]

Artist: Helstar

Album: Vampiro
Year: 2016
Genre: Heavy Metal / Power Metal / Speed Metal
Web: https://www.facebook.com/Helstar.Metal / https://www.value-merch.de/HELSTAR
Country: United States
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Awaken unto Darkness

2. Blood Lust

3. To Dust You Will Become

4. Off with His Head

5. From the Pulpit to the Pit

6. To Their Death Beds They Fell

7. Malediction

8. Repent in Fire

9. Abolish the Sun

10. Black Cathedral

11. Dreamless Sleep

Witness: -[*]-
I was a big fan of this band back in the 80s, but as my tastes changed at the end of that decade, I lost them after Nosferatu in '89. I haven't listened to much of their newer material until this year, and now I am here to say that this album is very good, along with their newest album too. 

Helms Deep - Chasing the Dragon [2025]

Artist: Helms Deep

Album: Chasing the Dragon
Year: 2025
Genre: Heavy Metal / Power Metal
Web: https://youtu.be/VBSTeExEPLI / https://helmsdeep666.bandcamp.com
Country: United States
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Wing Chun

2. Black Sefirot

3. Chasing the Dragon

4. Craze of the Vampire

5. Cursed

6. Flight of the Harpy

7. Frozen Solid

8. Necessary Evil

9. Red Planet

10. Seventh Circle

11. Shiva's Wrath

Witness: -[*]-
Stylish power metal dealing with all of the epic fantasy topics that you would expect, and featuring Englishman John Gallagher of the classic metal band Raven.

Helms Deep - Treacherous Ways [2023]

Artist: Helms Deep

Album: Treacherous Ways
Year: 2023
Genre: Heavy Metal / Power Metal
Web: https://youtu.be/3qYAhXFK2OU / https://www.facebook.com/HelmsDeep666
Country: United States
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Fire Rain

2. Treacherous Ways

3. Fight or Flight

4. Medusa's Requiem

5. Annihilation

6. Breaking the Seal

7. The Keep

8. Sorcery

9. Mountains of the Scorpion

10. Headless Horseman

11. Serpent's Eye

Witness: -[*]-

Resonance Of Harmony - Diaries of the Insane [2025]

Artist: Resonance Of Harmony

Album: Diaries of the Insane
Year: 2025
Genre: Heavy Metal / Thrash Metal
Web: https://youtu.be/fmR7adkjR0Y / https://www.facebook.com/ResonanceOfHarmony
Country: United States
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Jesus Goes to Hell  

2. Wake Up Blind  

3. Red Sun of Midnight  

4. Look What the Corpse Dragged in  

5. Suicide (Diaries of the Insane Scribe #1)  

6. The Hollow Brain  

7. My Truncheon (Diaries of the Insane Scribe #2)  

8. Lies & Truth  

9. Babylon  

10. Decimate the Decimated  

11. Violation (Diaries of the Insane Scribe #3)

Witness: -[*]-
Here is another album thats had my attention for a minute now. Not every song on this album works for me, but enough of them really do that this is certainly a guilty pleasure of mine and another killer classic-sounding album in 2025.

Lethal Shöck - Storm of Death and Fire [2025]

Artist: Lethal Shöck

Album: Storm of Death and Fire
Year: 2025
Genre: Heavy Metal / Speed Metal
Web: https://youtu.be/k7tafC74LMU / https://lethalshock.bandcamp.com
Country: United States
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Die in the Night  

2. Witchmaster's Torch  

3. Turn Up the Satan  

4. Bastards (Never Die)  

5. Unchain the Dark  

6. No Hope / Metal Priest  

7. Virgin Blood  

8. Inferior View  

9. Storm of Death and Fire

Witness: -[*]-
Damn, there has been quite a resurgence of old-school sounding thrash and speed metal this year. Much of it sounds really good, and I am digging it. Lethal Shöck from Chicago throws their hat into the ring with an authentic take on the retro style.

Savage Oath - Divine Battle [2025]

Artist: Savage Oath

Album: Divine Battle
Year: 2024
Genre: Heavy Metal / Power Metal
Web: https://youtu.be/5Pi8ZmZolvM / https://savageoath.bandcamp.com/
Country: United States
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Knight of the Night

2. Wings of Vengeance

3. Blood for the King

4. Smoke at Dawn

5. Madness of the Crowd

6. Savage Oath

7. Divine Battle

Witness: -[*]-
First off, I want to say thank you to our friend El Faffo for turning me onto this killer piece of US power metal perfection. Back in the '80s, I loved bands that played this style of heavy metal, and I know that there are a lot of modern bands trying to carry the banner for this style, but to me, many of the newer bands sound weak, trying to recapture the sound. Not Savage Oath, these guys are top-notch and spot-on in their conception and delivery of these songs. These guys are for real. 

Callamity - Decay [2025]

Artist: Callamity

Album: Decay
Year: 2025
Genre: Heavy Metal / Thrash Metal
Web: https://youtu.be/4LWkETC7_5Q / https://www.facebook.com/CallamityOfficial/
Country: Brazil 
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Leeches  

2. The Darkest Side  

3. Desespero  

4. Exposed  

5. Unfaith  

6. King of Garbage  

7. Redemption  

8. Survive Amongst the Jackals  

9. This War of Mine  

10. We Walk Alone  

11. Three Times Damned

Witness: -[*]-

Leather - We Are the Chosen [2022]

Artist: Leather

Album: We Are the Chosen
Year: 2022
Genre: Heavy Metal
Web: https://www.leatherleone.com/ / https://www.instagram.com/leatherleoneofficial/
Country: United States
Quality: 320 Kbps

Tracklist:
1. We Take Back Control

2. Always Been Evil

3. Shadows

4. Off with Your Head

5. We Are the Chosen

6. Tyrants

7. Hallowed Ground

8. Dark Days

9. Who Rules the World

10. The Glory in the End

Witness: -[*]-
I first became aware of Leather Leone back in 1985 in the band Chastain on their Mystery of Illusion album, and I always liked that record. At first, I actually thought the singer was a guy, but found out later that wasn't the case. This album won't be for everyone, but the old metalhead in me likes it.