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Power Quest - Promo 2001


*
=Staff's pick

Glory Tonight*
Follow Your Heart*


Genre Power Metal
ZP (Dragonforce)
Guestvocals
Tracks 2
Sam Totman
Guitar
Runningtime 12 Min.
Adam Bickers
Guitar
Label ---
Steve Scott
Bass
Release Dec. 2001
Scott Michaels
Drums
Country England
Steve Williams
Keyboards
Similar artists Dragonforce, Freedom Call

England hasn't exactly been a source of melodic metalbands earlier, but things are looking brighter and brighter in that area for every year that passes. This is a very pleasant acquaintance to make, and shows that these teadrinking chaps have all the skills it takes to produce magnificent metal. The keywords in Power Quest's music I would have to say are: Happiness and catchyness. The only band that comes to my mind when it comes to making you feel this good when hearing their music, is germany's Freedom Call. The music is extremely catchy with "happy" harmonies, and makes you just feel plain good, but at the same time all ingredients that makes a band "Metal" is there - the heavy riffs, the refrains, the solos.

This is the kind of melodic powermetal that brings a big grin on your face when listening to it, and it sticks long after the last tune has faded away. This made an impact on me - even though it is not anything really innovative with their music, they manage to show us that they have fully understood how metal is supposed to be played, and make very clear that they have begun their journey to bring us Metal of high quality.

For the ones that have heared another englishbased band, called Dragonforce (formely Dragonheart), this will sound familiar to you. Some members are actually ex-members of Dragonforce, and Power Quest's music goes in the same vein as the earlier mentioned band, but here made with a bit more focus on melodies and keyboards - and slightly better made if you ask me.

The opener Glory Tonight is a fastpaced metalpearl, which opens with a swirling keyboardharmony followed by good riffing and battering bassdrums with a killer chorus, and the guitarharmonies and leads are also mentionable as they are brilliant. Guitarists Totman and Bickers show themselves to be very skilled at what they do, and deliver intelligent and very catchy riffs and solos of various speeds and moods, and Williams on keyboards are a virtous in his occupation. The other bandmembers are not to be unmentioned, as they are of valuable help to make the whole picture in this.

The vocalline in the next song Follow Your Heart is brilliant, both in the verse and the bridges with a megacathy couple-of-men strong choir, that produces a very pleasant atmosphere. The riffs and keyboards are just as good and catchy here as on the opener, so they show that there are way more ideas to work with here, and not just a one-hit wonder. On this demo, though, they have had help from singer ZP, normally in Dragonforce, and Power Quest is still looking for a replacer for the job behind the mic.

Overall this taster gives me a strong feeling that this have all the potential to grow into something big, if these guys get the chances and possibilities to concentrate on developing this - in my eyes this is one of the best and most promising debutants I have heard in my life.

The production is really good, and has almost a professional touch over it, and I can just imagine how this will sound after some good solid time in the studio with fatter guitars and keyboards as a result, and an overall more powerful soundpicture. This band will be highly interesting to follow, and I personally can't wait to lay my hands on their debut fullength album, which is scheduled to be recorded during June this year, with a tentative release around fall.

I lift my hat off for this, Power Quest! A work very well done!

See also review of: Magic Never Dies , Wings Of Forever , Neverworld

Production
Vocals
Compositions

7

8

9

 
Summary



8,5 chalices of 10 - Tommy

Related links:

www.power-quest.co.uk