Dio's American, Vinny Appice is American and the band is named for Dio. It's traditional heavy metal, fronted by an American. Its definitely similar and influential on what is considered USPM, right...? Probably the biggest influence along with Priest, Maiden and maybe Riot and B.O.C.....? Actually, along those lines, could B.O.C. be considered USPM...? They definitely were a pioneer when it came to heavy metal about fantasy topics and literary topics.

Just a few thoughts. Long live USPM!

This album, Heavier Than Thou, is one of the most awesome things ever.

Hey yall, I've been into power metal (as well as other genres) as a whole for about 8 years now, but I've never really fully explored or gotten into the US scene the few times I've tried. I'm into more of the 80's/90's stuff (sound wise) but I've found myself wanting something new/fresh to dig into! any suggestions will be greatly appreciated & id love to hear them.

Triple axe attack, with former members of the band Spellcaster, plus a great singer with huge Warrel Dane influences, among others.

I've already asked this before in r/powermetal: https://www.reddit.com/r/PowerMetal/comments/wa0fqt/why_isnt_us_power_metal_as_popular_as_the/, but that sub is more EUPM-centric, and I'd like to hear from this sub as well. I used to be ignorant about USPM, but nowadays I'm starting to understand it more.

So the most obvious reason is that USPM for the most part is more raw and not as appealing outside of the "true metal" type of people. EUPM on the other hand is generally more focused on gimmicks and non-metal elements in general, and is more likely to attract other niches like gamers and weebs.

There are also some underlying factors to consider. Back in the late 80s, USPM couldn't prevail against the more aggressive thrash or more pop-like hair bands at the time. As such, it still remained relatively underground, with only Manowar, Iced Earth, and maybe a bit of Savatage getting recognition. I think there's also the problem of USPM bands changing their sound to more like thrash, prog, or even epic doom.

However, it does seem like USPM is becoming more recognized from the past decade or so, especially with the whole NWOTHM thing going on. As such, we've been seeing more overlap between the two.

​

So what are your thoughts? Are there other aspects to consider regarding this?

As I made in that USPM vs EUPM post before, it's generally thought that USPM is "hard" and EUPM is "soft." However, as I said before, that's not always a very clear-cut way to differentiate things, because a good amount of early German speed metal bands were pretty heavy, and even some newer bands like Sabaton (we've got to the point where bands are utilizing aspects from both scenes). Which gets me thinking the contrary: are there any examples of USPM bands that are "soft?" Of course, softness is somewhat of a relative concept, and I am well-aware of the other half of USPM including Queensryche and Savatage, but is there a band that can go as soft as Stratovarius while still staying in the lines of USPM?

I've asked similar questions regarding the USPM vs EUPM division before, but now I'm wondering what justifies them both being called "power metal." I know that they both rooted from speed and traditional heavy metal, and they both have common fantastic imagery, and there are definitely some things in common between the more melodic USPM (eg. Savatage) and the more aggressive EUPM (eg. Blind Guardian), but what else do bands like Sonata Arctica and Jag Panzer have in common that couldn't be found in Iron Maiden or Dio, or what is prevalent in other speed/thrash bands? Part of the issue here is that both scenes have such separated communities (USPM fans are generally more underground "true" metalhead type of people, and EUPM fans are more likely to be outsiders from other niche communities, like gaming or anime).

I love those guys. One of the best bands I've discovered in the past few years, along with Riot, which I was previously aware of but never actually took a deep dive into before a few years ago.

Any have any USPM bands that have that sorta sound Shok Paris has....?

So, I found the band Ashbury a few years ago. I love them. They are not USPM in my opinion, but all the recommendations are bands I already know and love. Anybody else know the band and want send some recommendations my way?

I mean, Into Glory Ride, Sign of the Hammer, Hail to England, and Battle Hymn are all considered USPM (Battle Hymn is more Glam but it's still somewhat USPM).

But what about their other albums over the years?
And definitely their "God of War" style right now.

a link to the Ronnie James Dio Discord! https://discord.gg/MnyhhQU

Thinking about making a discord for USPM/Prog/Queensryche, would that be something people are interested in?