The Magazine

The long reads. Genre histories told chapter by chapter, band biographies, the essential albums, the label stories and the portraits, written by the KaosMetal editors.

Narrowed to Power Metal. The whole magazine →

Michael Kiske singing centre stage with Helloween live, backed by a castle-themed video screen

Keeper of the Seven Keys and the Birth of a Genre

Julien Vasseur · Oct 10, 2026

Powerwolf singer Attila Dorn in face paint, holding a microphone stand shaped like a cross, Sweden Rock Festival 2019

Is Sabaton a Christian Band? Faith, Powerwolf's Mass and Religion in Power Metal

Julien Vasseur · Oct 8, 2026

Hail of Bullets guitarist headbanging mid-riff on stage, red stage light behind him

Bands Like Sabaton

Julien Vasseur · Oct 5, 2026

Dream Evil performing at Sweden Rock Festival 2024 in front of their backdrop banner

The Swedish Power Metal Bands

Julien Vasseur · Oct 3, 2026

HammerFall singer Joacim Cans performing live in front of the band's shield emblem backdrop

The Power Metal Band Logos, from Gothic Script to Chrome

Julien Vasseur · Oct 1, 2026

Herman Li and Sam Totman of DragonForce playing guitars live at the Forum, London, November 2019

Guitar Hero and Power Metal: The Song That Crossed the Atlantic

Julien Vasseur · Sep 28, 2026

Sabaton, the five members standing in a city alley, 2025

What Genre Is Sabaton?

Julien Vasseur · Sep 25, 2026

A guitarist of Luca Turilli's Rhapsody looking down at a pale electric guitar in blue stage light, one hand at the bridge and the other on the fretboard, fret markers running up the neck

Power Metal Guitarists, Sweep Picking and the Shred Tradition

Julien Vasseur · Jun 3, 2026

A festival crowd seen from behind, fists and horns raised, the lit stage and pyrotechnics beyond them

The Power Metal Underground and Its Fans

Julien Vasseur · May 28, 2026

Gamma Ray guitarists Kai Hansen and Henjo Richter playing side by side under red and amber stage light

The Visual Language of Power Metal: Covers, Logos and Symbols

Julien Vasseur · May 21, 2026

Grave Digger singer Chris Boltendahl with his fist raised and the microphone at his mouth, the guitarist beside him under red stage light

What Power Metal Sings About: Dragons, Battles, Faith and the Stars

Julien Vasseur · May 14, 2026

Rhapsody of Fire guitarist Roby De Micheli playing live, lunging forward with a green guitar, the band's backdrop banner behind him and the drummer and keyboard player in the background

How Power Metal Is Recorded: The Studios, the Producers and the Sound

Julien Vasseur with Curtis Vance · May 7, 2026

A band playing on the Faster stage at Wacken Open Air at dusk on 3 August 2018, with the festival field packed with people from the front barrier to the back, stage lights and a flaming horned hand blazing above the roof.

Is Power Metal Dead?

Julien Vasseur · May 3, 2026

The five members of Angra standing together in leather jackets for a studio group portrait, the singer crouched at the front with one hand held out

How Power Metal Is Built: Harmony, Speed, Instruments and the Voice

Julien Vasseur · Apr 30, 2026

Enforcer at KK's Steel Mill, 2023. Photo: Paul Hutchings

How Many Metal Subgenres Are There?

Declan Rourke · Apr 30, 2026

A Battle Beast singer with eyes shut and mouth wide open, caught mid-phrase with a microphone in one hand and the other hand stretched out, in blue stage light

The New Power Metal Bands

Julien Vasseur · Apr 26, 2026

The five members of Symphony X standing shoulder to shoulder in a black and white studio portrait, all in dark clothing

The Power Metal Subgenres and Its Family Tree

Julien Vasseur · Apr 23, 2026

Vadim Pruzhanov of DragonForce playing a keytar on the Nova Rock stage in 2013, both hands on the keys

Synths, Eurodance and the Modern Power Metal Keyboard

Julien Vasseur · Apr 20, 2026

Helloween performing live at the Eventim Apollo in London, 20 October 2025, with the band on stage in front of their pumpkin-mascot video backdrop.

Heavy Metal vs Power Metal

Declan Rourke · Apr 19, 2026

Three members of Vicious Rumors playing on an open air stage, the band lettering on the backdrop behind them

Why America Turned Its Back on Power Metal

Julien Vasseur with Declan Rourke · Apr 19, 2026

The five members of Unleash the Archers standing in a row on a gravel path under a wooden trestle bridge in a forest

The Essential Power Metal Albums

Julien Vasseur · Apr 16, 2026

Sabaton on the stage of Tauron Arena in Kraków in 2025, the band small in front of a castle set under rigs of lights, the crowd's heads and raised phones filling the foreground

The Arena Sound: Shorter Songs and Bigger Hooks

Julien Vasseur · Apr 14, 2026

The drummer of Fifth Angel with a stick raised behind a kit whose two bass drums carry the band name, a painted knight and fire on the backdrop

The Forgotten First Wave of US Power Metal

Julien Vasseur with Declan Rourke · Apr 13, 2026

Sabaton on the Wacken Open Air stage at night, flame jets firing along a sandbagged stage set under a painted backdrop of skulls, with the crowd's raised hands filling the foreground

Power Metal at Number One: The Chart Records of the 2010s

Julien Vasseur · Apr 10, 2026