Origins
The origins of power metal could be traced back to the late '70s, when the groundwork for power metal lyrical style was laid down by Ronnie James Dio. The fantasy oriented lyrics he wrote for Rainbow, concentrated around medieval, renaissance, folk and science fiction themes, directly influenced modern power metal bands. Rob Halford of Judas Priest created a blueprint for power metal vocal delivery. His almost constant high-pitched singing became one of the main characteristics of power metal. The twin-guitar sound promoted by duo of Downing-Tipton highly influenced this sub-genre. Another British band, Iron Maiden, brought epic and melodic sensibility to metal, creating anthem-like, easy to singalong music, an approach widely embraced by modern power metal musicians. The emergence of early German power metal scene in particular was made possible by Scorpions and Accept. Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen made big impact on many future power metal guitarists, with his accurate and fast neo-classical style. His bandmate Jens Johansson modernized the keyboard sound of Deep Purple's Jon Lord, which was further incorporated into the genre. Finally, Manowar's mythological "Sword and sorcery" lyrics influenced a number of power metal bands.
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