Absolutely. Would be my pleasure.
I'll give you a band, plus my personal favorite songs from them.
IRON MAIDEN:
I'll start with my favorite musical act of all time, Iron Maiden. Pioneers of metal, popularizing twin guitar harmonies, galloping, driving rhythms, and of course soaring dramatic tenor vocals courtesy of their singer, Bruce Dickinson.
They've been writing and playing music since 1975, so they have
a lot of great material, but my personal favorite song by them is "Powerslave":
Song was written by Bruce, by the way.
A runner up at least right now for me is their live rendition of their song "Hallowed Be Thy Name" at the Hammersmith I think some time in 1982 or 1983. This is a young Bruce Dickinson, and that dropped and locked note he delivers near the end is just gorgeous.
But with Maiden, there's no shortage of great material to burn through. They're awesome, and they still are doing this to this day, and they treat their fans amazingly well. Just a wholesome group of British dudes making great metal music.
KING DIAMOND:
King Diamond is my second favorite act of all time, and I admit he's a little odd to get used to at first, because he's mostly what I call a character singer.
Don't take that the wrong way, this dude has an insane vocal range, and trust me, he uses
all of it.
My personal favorite song by him, just in terms of composition is "Abigail":
Second runner up is definitely "Magic":
Written in one of my favorite keys for metal, F# minor, this song is all attitude, and has an infectious chorus delivered with King Diamond's insane range.
DIO:
No list of great metal singers is complete without good ol' Ronnie James Dio.
Like King Diamond and Iron Maiden, there's
a lot of great material from the groups he's worked with, and in his solo project.
Unfortunately, he's no longer with us, but I feel this song encapsulates what Dio's all about.
There's no shortage of greatness from the late, great, Ronnie James Dio.
KAMELOT:
Kamelot's awesome, great power metal that's quite symphonic and melodic. Their first singer, Roy Khan, actually is a trained opera tenor. Unfortunately, he left to take care of his daughter, so he's no longer with Kamelot, but his replacement is just as good.
My favorite song from them is "Descent of the Archangel", for just everything:
Second runner up is probably "Fallen Star", namely for that gorgeous vocal line in the chorus:
SABATON:
Sabaton's awesome for many reasons, but for me, I just love Joakim's rich, warm baritone.
They have
a lot of killer songs, so picking a favorite song by them is hard, and they sing about history, so all of their songs always have a deep historical meaning.
Right now, I'm digging "Attack of the Dead Men":
A runner up is definitely "Night Witches":
Sabaton rocks.
DRAGONLAND:
Okay, cheesy name aside, Dragonland is some of the best symphonic power metal you will ever hear.
Their singer is a sonic powerhouse, a great lyricist, and always has great vocal lines. And of course the band musically is just top notch.
Favorite song by them is without question "The Black Mare":
And a second runner up for them is "The Trials of Mount Farnor":
Yeah the songs are from their concept album
Under the Grey Banner, but that album is just back to back awesome.
RHAPSODY/RHAPSODY OF FIRE:
Much like Dragonland, this is some of the best symphonic power metal you will hear, and in fact, they were the pioneers of the genre.
However, consider this an asterisk next to their name. They're only great with the singer Fabio Lione and the guitarist Luca Turilli with them. They have since left, and now, Rhapsody/Rhapsody of Fire (don't ask about the name), isn't as awesome as they used to be.
My personal favorite song from them is the first one I've ever heard, "Triumph or Agony":
Yes, that's a full orchestra you're hearing with them.
Second runner up from them is one of their most self-indulgent pieces, "The Mystic Prophecy of the Demon Knight":
22 minutes of pure symphonic power metal joy.
And because they deserve another runner up, here's "The Ancient Fires of Har-Kuun":
They were such a great group.
EPICA:
Epica are another amazing symphonic metal group, and they have a trained soprano in Simone Simons, one of the best female singers in metal right now. They do some extreme vocals here and there, but it's really sparse. Mostly they just allow Simone to flex her vocal talent.
My favorite song from them is "Unleashed" mostly because of her vocal performance:
That's their best song, compositionally, in my opinion, but funnily enough I don't think it's Simone's best vocal performance.
Her best performance is "Tides of Time". It's just perfect in every way:
Epica's awesome.
POWERWOLF:
Another band with a trained opera baritone, Powerwolf is what happens when the Roman Catholic Church gets infected by lycanthropy, and thus, a touch of evil in their music comes out. Expect lots of references to werewolves, twisted Catholicism, and LOTS of gratuitous Latin.
They're an entertaining group, so no shortage of great songs, but my favorite by them is "Blessed & Possessed":
A runner up is "Kreuzfeur":
Powerwolf's fun. Good music, and everyone needs a touch of lycanthropy in their lives.
DREAM THEATER:
What if you like heavy metal, but wanna get
cerebral? Well, that's Dream Theater.
Compositionally, their best song is "Pull Me Under" and possibly their most well known:
But like many of the bands listed before, there's no shortage of great material from Dream Theater.
If you want to go on a musical journey, "Octavarium" is another great piece from them:
They're rad. They're what you great when a bunch of music college grads decide to form a metal band.
BLIND GUARDIAN:
Blind Guardian's one of the pioneers of power metal, so it makes sense that I list them here. Hansi Kursch has a great voice.
Their catchiest song in my opinion is "Mirror, Mirror". And it's about Tolkien's Legendarium, so what's not to love?
But their best song in my opinion is "Theatre of Pain":
Blind Guardian's one of the first power metal bands, and one of the best.
HAMMERFALL:
A classic of the power metal scene, and one of the earliest ones.
Their best song in my opinion is "At the End of the Rainbow" continuing Dio's idea of making rainbows metal as f*ck:
And of course, they aren't afraid to bring in the high octane even still, with their song "The Sacred Vow":
Hammerfall's one of the stalwarts of power metal, and again, one of the first, and they're awesome.
HOLY GRAIL:
One of the best modern metal bands that take the torch from Iron Maiden and ran with it.
Their best song in my opinion is "Descent Into the Maelstorm" for just how great this song is, plus the excellent vocal performance.
A great runner up is "Bestia Triumphans", which I think, as a group, is their best song:
And another great song by them is "Silence the Scream":
Just a great song.
ENFORCER:
Just a great, straightforward, modern speed metal band. The vocalist plays guitar and sings, and he's just a great guitarist and a vocalist.
Their best song is "Undying Evil" it's basically exactly what you expect:
A great runner up is "Death Rides This Night":
Just a simple fun, metal band.
GAMMA RAY:
One of the original power metal bands. Kai Hansen, much like the guitarist and vocalist from Enforcer sings and plays guitar at the same time.
One of my favorites from them is "Hell is Thy Home":
Another great warm up is "From the Ashes". Not a whole lot of power metal songs open up with a bass feature, and it's always welcome. Really showing their heavy influence from Iron Maiden.
And because I love Gamma Ray a lot, I'm going to suggest "Anywhere in the Galaxy". Such a great song.
KHEMMIS:
I had to include my personal favorite doom metal band. Doom metal's exactly what you expect. Dark, depressing, groovy music. However, where Khemmis sets themselves apart is one, guitar harmonies, which make them excel in my opinion, and for two, most doom metal bands have extreme vocals, yet Khemmis sets themselves apart by one of the guitarists having a
killer baritone voice.
Their best song, if you ask me, is "Above the Water". It's sad, gloomy, and one hell of a groovy song with a great vocal performance.
Their next best song, in my opinion, is "Flesh to Nothing":
They're rad.
NEVERMORE:
Nevermore was a great band. Unfortunately, their singer, who is a trained baritone and tenor, is no longer with us, and their main guitarist, Jeff Loomis (one of my favorite players) is with At the Gates now.
Nevermore's music is... interesting. They're an insanely aggressive band, yet groovy, and the subject matter of their lyrics is quite dark, but the musicianship and songwriting doesn't get much better, especially Warrell Dane's vocal performances.
Their best song in my opinion is "Born". That vocal delivery is powerful, and the lead guitar riff in the chorus is insanely catchy and very technical.
Their next best song is "Psalm of Lydia":
And of course, "My Acid Words":
Nevermore's awesome. Or at least they were.
SYMPHONY X:
When you want your power metal with some prog influences, you get Symphony X.
Their most popular song is "Paradise Lost":
But their best song is, in my opinion, "Sea of Lies":
And they have no shortage of great material.
JUDAS PRIEST:
Of course you somehow knew they'd be here. Rob Halford is one of the best vocalists in heavy metal, period.
My favorite song by them is "Painkiller". Really showcases Rob Halford's insane vocal range. And plus, despite the shredding guitar, the song opens with a drum feature!
Another great runner up is "Metal Meltdown". How could I not recommend a song that opens with shredding guitar?
Judas Priest rocks. I don't love them as much as I do Iron Maiden, but Judas Priest deserves the same level of respect for being pioneers of metal. And as you've heard, nobody quite does it like they do.
There's quite a few more to go yet, but I think that's more than enough material for now.
Enjoy!