I'm curious how and when everyone got into this sub-genre.
For me, the first band I truly loved was Iron Maiden. I acquired a copy of Power Quest - Neverworld when it first released, and it blew my mind. From there, I picked up Sonata Artica's Reckoning Night and realised I'd found my jam. Almost two decades later, it is still my favourite type of music and the best thing is that many of my favorite bands from childhood are not only still going, but are releasing some of their best content.
A person I knew in highschool would play sabaton at robotics club meetings sometimes, he also talked about sabaton sometimes too. I liked the music, and listened to them more on my own, then discovered other bands like gloryhammer and twilight force.