Opening my top 5 with...
5. A Flame to the Ground Beneath - Lost Horizon
Highlander (The One): http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=OffF0e2h4TU
Pure: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=SYdbLfLnIHk
Lost in the Depths of Me: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=v7joi4dKmkM
Oh boy, here we are. I have not had the pleasure of listening to Lost Horizon's debut, but it would likely have been on this list as well if I had. So, this is the most epic album on this entire list. Daniel Heiman is probably one of the most well-regarded vocalists in all of modern metal, and this is justified. Heiman can hit pretty much every note and pull every single fluctuation of his voice off perfectly. Of course, if you have ever heard of Lost Horizon, you've encountered many people who are perfectly willing to go on about him at length, so discussing him is beating a dead horse. This album has six tracks minus interludes, and pretty much all of them are very long. Highlander is and shall be the longest track I will post in this topic. There's no filler in any of these songs; no part of any song isn't integral to the final product, and further on that subject, no part of any song is expendable. There are no problems, no lost interest, nothing at all but probably the greatest time you'll have with power metal. Highlander stands at 12 minutes, and this is
too short. I can't say that this is my favorite power metal album, but I can objectively say that this is the best power metal album on this list by a wide margin. This album is filled with nothing but epics; it's fairly progressive and it's not very heavy, but this album still manages to make Evolution Purgatory up there look like a nursery rhyme.
Next album is my highest-ranking power metal album, from a band that goes in and out of metal in general. Oh yeah, and it's pretty much the funnest album on this entire list; I've listened to it more than any other album ever.