Underrated Power Metal Albums Pt. 2 of 2

This is the last post from this series, for now anyway. As Kelly suggested, there are other genres to look at, but I won't be able to do as much with them.

HIBRIA: DEFYING THE RULES
Hibria is a power/speed metal band from the underrated metal hotbed of Brazil. Possessing a flair for mind-numbingly fast riffing and powerfully infectious songs, this is an incredible album that I have heard almost nothing about in the metal community. Such a shame as this is truly what power metal should sound like. Yes it's extremely melodic, but it also gets your head banging like a good metal album should. Strongly recommended.

LOST HORIZON: A FLAME TO THE GROUND BENEATH
The Swedes sure know their metal. Sweden has tons of great death and black metal bands, and even thrash metal bands. Here is yet another of the country's surprisingly great power metal bands. Like Tad Morose, Lost Horizon sees very little press in the States, and I'm not sure it's much different elsewhere. Lost Horizon is like Tad Morose in that they are extremely melodic, yet they are not as classically oriented and are much more traditionally metal than their contemporaries.

MANTICORA: 8 DEADLY SINS
Denmark is another underrated country for metal as nearly all of their metal bands are terrific. Manticora is the only power metal band I am aware of from the country. They play a more progressive style of power metal and this album is carefully crafted into an epic concept album. Featuring sharp guitar riffs and uniquely layered vocal melodies, this is a terrific album that calls to mind early progressive/power metal expermenting bands like Blind Guardian, without the fantasy-inspired lyrics.

LIEGE LORD: BURN TO MY TOUCH
Yet another early band in the American power metal scene, Liege Lord had a very short career and only released three albums, all of which are extremely hard to find. Which is unfortunate as this band had some great music. Originally a Judas Priest cover band, Liege Lord took their influences and molded them into their own original sound. They were considered one of the pioneers of American power metal. This is a short, sharp piece of metallic fury, a testament to a criminally overlooked band.

LETHAL: PROGRAMMED
I had never even heard of this band before blindly picking up a cassette in a used music store. It had the Metal Blade logo on it, so I suspected I would be getting something decent. What Lethal does is play power/progressive metal similar to the early sounds of Queensryche and Fates Warning, but with more of a traditional metal edge and more melody. The vocalist sounds a lot like Geoff Tate, with an incredible, bonechilling tenor. There is very little information out there about this release, but it is clearly a diamond in the rough.

Dusting Off a Cassette Pt. 32: Lethal: Programmed

Lethal is a little-known band from Kentucky that perhaps arrived a little too late to the genre. The band formed around the late 1980's and played into the early 1990's. This album in particular was released in by Metal Blade in 1990. Unfortunately, as implied, the band was a little too late. If they had formed a few years earlier, it would have been possible for them to achieve some sort of notoriety, instead they will go down virtually unrecognized. It's a shame because this band was truly talented.

Lethal played a style of progressive power/thrash metal that brings to mind luminaries such as Queensryche and Nevermore. Musically, they are probably most similar to early Queensryche classics like The Warning and their self-titled album. The band is extremely melodic with occasional thrash metal influences showing through. The guitar riffs are fairly standard and again harken back to Queensryche. The lead guitarist though is capable of some blazing solos.

Vocally, again the band calls to mind Queensryche's Geoff Tate. The vocalist has a very strong, powerful tenor voice and is able to portray a lot of emotion.

Even though this review refers to Queensryche a lot, the band is not just some imitator of that better known group. They have their own voice and style that may be reminiscent of the band, but not so much that they are a direct copycat. I love early Queensryche and believe there should have been more bands like that, so I have no problems with the similarities.