List me some good stuff yo.
I have liked Blind Guardian, Hammerfall, Falconer, Nocturnal Rites, Edguy, 3 inches of blood, and yes Dragonforce.
Recently been looking for "newer" stuff.
I gave Guardians of Time, Beast is Black and Iron Mask a spin and liked them. Granted I realize there are shit ton of bands now so stuff I might like might be lost in the shuffle.
Seems as though we like a lot of the same stuff. Here's some suggestions. Some of them are only slightly power metal or not really at all power metal but are imo close enough. I don't wanna get into genre-wars but I feel like the ones that aren't "strictly power metal and nothing else" are power-metal-adjacent enough that they fit; they're things I'd throw into a power metal playlist and not feel like I did anything wrong. If you like heavier power metal, speed metal, prog, NWOBHM, and traditional heavy metal like from the 80's, then they should feel close-enough to you based on what you are already bringing up. Some of this stuff that errs more on the heavy metal side should be up your alley if you like 3 Inches of Blood though.
I would have said Guardian, Hammerfall, Falconer, and Guardians of Time, but those are already covered. Glad to see you list Falconer because they are stellar. Guardians of Time doesn't ever get much attention because they don't really do anything special, but they are good at what they do. I'm not super-knowledgeable of the works of Nocturnal Rights but I've liked everything I've heard of theirs.
Lost Horizons is probably my favorite power metal band; it's a shame we only got two albums out of them though. Check out any of the songs off of either of the albums.
Silent Force's first four albums, when they had D.C. Cooper singing for them, are pretty solid. Their debut
The Empire of Future is probably their most-solid but their third album
Worlds Apart holds a special place in my heart. D.C. Cooper's solo album is also fantastic, with a great (but pretty standard and not at all experimental) cover of Uriah Heep's "Easy Livin.'" That whole solo album is gold though (more prog than power metal though). And D.C. Cooper's work with Royal Hunt is pretty good, though it can be hit or miss.
Moving Target has some good songs off of it, like "Far Away." Royal Hunt are kind of borderline though, falling more under prog rock.
I can't forget to bring up Primal Fear. I figure you have to know of them but you didn't list them, so I want to be on the safe side. Great power metal with a great vocalist in Ralf Scheepers, the first vocalist for Gamma Ray. I like Tim "Ripper" Owens but I'm STILL salty that Tim got the job as Halford's replacement when he left Priest and not Ralf. I can only imagine was Priest with Ralf singing would have sounded like (well, it probably would have sounded a lot like regular Judas Priest, which would have been better than Tim's time with them). My favorite song that Ralf sings on isn't even a Gamma Ray OR Primal Fear song; it's actually the cover of Manowar's "Thor (The Powerhead)" that Ralf did with Therion when he contributed guest vocals to their album
The Crowning of Atlantis. DEFINITELY listen to it!
Riot City is a pretty killer newer band, though they aren't so much traditional power metal (they are more of a heavy metal/speed metal band in the line of faster 80's stuff like Judas Priest or something). Their first one
Burn the Night I believe is regarded as better than their recent sophomore album; I haven't gotten a chance to listen to their second one yet. I'd recommend checking out their song "In the Dark," and "The Hunter" maybe as well.
Visigoth straddles the line between trad heavy metal and power metal but they are killer Their first album,
The Revenant King, is awesome. Stand-out tracks from it would be "Blood Sacrifice" and "From the Arcane Mists of Prophecy."
Crimson Glory's first two releases are great (later ones are "ehhhhh"). I only learned about them in the last few years despite those first two coming out in '86 and '88 respectively. Their lead singer Midnight passed away too soon. They definitely sound like an 80's metal band but have a lot in common with lite-prog like Queensryche. I'd label them proto power metal though, or early American power metal? They don't sound anything like early Guardian or Helloween or any of the other PM originating in Germany at the same time. "Valhalla" and "Where Dragons Rule" (that one especially is power metal-y) are good tunes, along with "Heart of Steel," "Lady of Winter," and "Red Sharks."
And since I mentioned Queensryche above in regards to Crimson Glory: the singer on Balance of Power's
The Heathen Machine, John K, is a dead-ringer for sounding like Geoff Tate. That was the only album he sang on; I guess he was in a prog band called Biomechanical and only did the one album with Balance of Power.
The Heathen Machine is heavy prog/power metal. I'd give the songs "Chemical Imbalance" and "I Wish You Were Here" a listen.
If you like Blind Guardian then surely you like Savage Circus, no? The drummer from BG left after
A Night at the Opera and formed the group with Piet Seilk from Iron Savior and Jens Carlson of Persuador on vocals. Jens sounds A LOT like Hansi Kursch, to the point where when I first heard "Evil Eyes," I thought it WAS Hansi. The group overall sounds like early Guardian as well. Their first album
Dreamland Manor is the stronger of their two releases. I should really check out Persuader though.
Black Majesty might be to your liking. My fav of theirs is
Silent Company, and I'd suggest the song of the same name from it.
Crystal Eyes has some good releases. Their 2014 album
Killer was my jumping-on point. "Killer" and "Forgotten Realms" off of it would be my recs for you.
I'm going to throw an Italian power metal band into the ring that doesn't have a lot of fans. They aren't that well-liked but I like them: Shining Fury.
Last Sunrise has some decent songs on it, like my favorite "Broken Hopes," which is a faster song than some of what I've been suggesting.
Most of these are on the heavier, crunchier side. I do have some stuff I like that trends more uplifting at times though, like Dark Moor who are really Rhapsody-ish or more on the Dragonforce-side of things (though not as much speed to them) than the Blind Guardian side of the genre.
Thunderstone doesn't get talked about a lot but they have released some bangers. "Drawn to the Flame" is good, with keys that give it a symphonic metal vibe.
That's probably all I'll mention for now. For all I know you have heard of all of these guys; none of them are exactly deep cuts. I figured I'd approach it like you hadn't and were only familiar with the bands you specifically mentioned (though I didn't even talk about Helloween or Gamma Ray really, which feels like a crime almost). Hope you find something in there you like though!
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