This is the playlist that Ronnie James Dio built. Not literally, of course—Ronnie is no longer with us—but if it weren’t for his stunning vocal work and vivid fantasy lyrics with greats Rainbow and Black Sabbath and his U.S.-based solo band Dio, there would likely be no power metal. In fact, the anthemic vocals, explosive guitar riffs and thundering double-bass drums of the genre—complete with themes steeped in battle lore, Bronze Age heroism and medieval adventure—can be traced directly back to RJD. Key progenitors like American loincloth enthusiasts Manowar and Canadian bodybuilder Thor took Ronnie’s dungeons-and-dragons cue and added a muscular, self-mythologising aesthetic, while myriad Europeans piled on with even more guitar pyrotechnics. Germany seems especially fond of the genre, producing such crucial practitioners as Helloween, Running Wild and Blind Guardian (among many, many others), while Sweden claims revered vets like HammerFall, Sabaton and Dream Evil.