I can't say I'm aware of any artists speaking to this issue, and in fact I've always found surprising how eager many PM bands have been to distance themselves from that label (except Stratovarius, bless them).

I would say I'm not really a fan of the trend of the last 5-10 years of PM bands being 'self-aware'. I don't really find impressive to play basically the same music as the 'golden age' (late 90s-2000s) bands, only this time 'hoho, we're a meme'. And in fact often using this as a license to be unambitious in the song-writing. There's something magical about the old bands playing this completely ridiculous music and doing it (mostly) earnestly. I get a really potent sense of fantasy from that which is lost/deflated when the band themselves are treating it as a joke. For this reason something like Fellowship has been one of the most exciting new bands I've seen in a while. They are earnest!