Drelmanes: MOAR!!!!one!!!!11!!!
I wasn't going to post anything after all, since I figured you were already pretty much buried, but if you want more, okay. :p
Many of favorites actually haven't yet been mentioned at all, so I have plenty to post. I'll also throw in a few that aren't necessarily my favorites, but that I think are overlooked and deserve a plug. Apologies for the length of this post, but I don't like just throwing out random names, so I've written a bit about each band. I mostly favor power metal, and I especially like female singers.
Nevermore - mentioned once, but I want to highlight them here. Gloomy progressive melodic thrash; male vocals. I love the vocalist, but he's probably an acquired taste. Any of their albums are worth getting, though their debut is definitely the weakest, in my opinion.
Benedictum - US-style power metal; female vocals. This group doesn't get the attention they deserve. Great riffing and composition, but the biggest star here is the unbelievable singer. It was hard to pick one track to represent them, so I chose one of the more immediate ones.
Helloween - European-style power metal; male vocals. One of the very first acts in their particular subgenre. Helloween adds a dash of pop to their sound, making them a bit peculiar, but distinctive. For a good while I didn't really like these guys, but nowadays I consider them one of my favorites. I personally much prefer the later albums with Andi Deris on vocals (mid-90s forward).
Amaran - I'm not sure how to describe them, so I'll go with heavy gothic-tinged power metal with female vocals. It's tragic that they broke up after only two albums. Get them both - A World Depraved is really good, but Pristine In Bondage blows it away.
Communic - I would use the same words to describe Communic as I would Nevermore, but they're actually quite a bit different, having a more ballady sound than Nevermore. My one complaint is that their songs tend to run about one verse longer than they should.
Overkill - I love these guys. Usually tagged as thrash (and subsequently overshadowed), but I feel they're more of a blend of thrash and US-style power metal. The vocalist takes a bit of getting used to, as he goes quite high at times, particularly on the earlier material. I'm still working my way through their discography, but Ironbound and Horrorscope are particularly good choices.
Triosphere - progressive power metal, female vocals. Fast, heavy and inventive, and their frontwoman absolutely dominates. Love it. Go listen.
Warlock - 80s-style power metal, female vocals. Doro Pesch was one of the early female vocalists to sing outright heavy metal, and is still one of the better female voices in metal. Warlock is a bit inconsistent, but at the very least, Burning the Witches and Triumph and Agony are well worth getting.
WildeStarr - straight-ahead retro power metal, female vocals (yes, that's a woman). Love the raw guitars and throaty singer.
Sister Sin - retro power metal, female vocals. This group really isn't bringing anything new to the table, but I have a lot of fun with them and wanted to give them a shout, since no one seems to have heard of them. The singer is not that great technically, but she makes up for it with her violent delivery (and has improved greatly since their first album).
Dark Empire - dark power metal, male vocals. This group surprised me with an amazing debut, though their second album strays too far into Blind Guardian territory for my taste. Check it out.
OK, this list is getting a bit long, so I'll end it here. If you want more, I've got more.
