Blood Alliance

UK power metal band Power Quest (originally formed and based in Italy), has had a rocky ride throughout their career. Not massively popular, however the band has continued to churn out decent albums and have established a stable, medium sized legion of fans; primarily in their homeland of Italy and also in Europe. Being a typical Italian influenced power metal outfit, it meant lots of over-the-top theatrics (ala Rhapsody of Fire, but a few notches down), while many (arguably) consider their style to be “happy/flower metal” due to the extreme overuse of the keyboards.

The other main criticism of this band was directed at vocalist Alessio Garavello whose high-pitched and relatively un-metal sounding vocals were deemed out of place, and added fuel to the happy metal label fire. You either liked Garavello’s vocals or you hated them, there was usually no in-between (I for one never liked his voice). Power Quest has also had a consistent revolving door of members since their inception in 2001 and to date just the keyboardist Steve Williams remains the only original member of the band. The band had four long-time members all depart in 2009 (five members in total), including vocalist Alessio Garavello, while the merry-go-round continued in 2010 with two more members calling it quits.

Power Quest may have been fractured from the many departures in such a short period of time, but ventured onwards and recruited renowned Sri Lankan journeyman vocalist Chity Somapala (Red Circuit, ex-Firewind, ex-Civilization One) for their latest album entitled ‘Blood Alliance’. It is now unfortunate for Power Quest, that at the time of this review, Chity Somapala has just recently left the band and left Power Quest on another search for a vocalist. The remaining members involved with ‘Blood Alliance’ (aside from Steve Williams) include drummer Rich Smith, bassist Paul Finnie and guitarists Gavin Owen and Andy Midgley.

There does come a time when a band finally turns a corner and everything clicks in the right moment. In Power Quest’s case, it has happened here with ‘Blood Alliance’. While their previous albums hit the mark in some aspects, they also completely missed in others, the new album however is the band’s most consistent release thus far and undoubtedly helped by the far more enjoyable vocals of Somapala over Garavello. While there is nothing and I underline nothing new or fresh with Power Quest’s song-writing, style or structures, the output overall is still entertaining and very much what most if not all melodic power metalheads would want to hear on an album. Still fairly keyboard friendly and therefore still holding onto that cheesy “happy metal” tag, Power Quest has beefed up their sound somewhat on the new album, sounding similar to early Stratovarius and also Axenstar, Freedom Call and a few others.

After an intro featuring nothing but supreme guitar shredding to get you in the mood, the album opens with “Rising Anew”, a speedy and melodic track with wailing guitars and galloping double bass drum beats. The track is memorable and catchy, with a keyboard/guitar solo in the middle to top it off. “Glorious” follows straight after and it is yet another cracking track, very melodic and a great performance by vocalist Chity Somapala. Once again we are treated to some more shredding solos, with Gavin Owen and Andy Midgley showing off their guitar “wankery” skills.

The excellent tracks continue with “Sacrifice”, which has the feel of an old-school Power Quest track, heavily saturated with keyboards and extremely melodic; but also contains a wicked riff throughout to give that ounce of heaviness in an overall un-heavy song. While “Better Days” is borderline melodic metal and again typical old-school Power Quest, this time round however it does sound catchy (thanks to Chity), whereas the same type of song on an earlier album would sound plain awful. Rounding off the better tracks include the powerful and kickass “Crunching The Numbers”, the melodic and flighty “Only In My Dreams” and the riff/keyboard-laden nine minute epic title track “Blood Alliance”; which is arguably the best song on the disc.

Despite the new faces that appear in the credits, keyboardist Steve Williams still retains a lot of control of this band, particularly with the song-writing, and as such, ‘Blood Alliance’ is still typically Power Quest, but just not as melodic as they have been on previous albums. The other change is that Chity is a far greater singer than Alessio Garavello and that alone is a huge difference. The performance all-round is also far polished than before and overall ‘Blood Alliance’ is the most consistent Power Quest album, and arguably their best to date. It may be cheesy and the happier side of metal, but darn it, sometimes it’s so damn catchy. For Power Quest and melodic power metal fans only.

(Originally written for www.themetalforge.com)

Power Quest used to be such a subtle band. They were happy and fun, but the melodies were light-footed and nimble, deceptively simple, and blended so well with the grandiose synths that they created really great, timeless tunes. Even though they never had an album to match Neverworld, which is perhaps my favorite European power metal album ever, their early work was very good in general and had a great sense of songwriting and hooks to it. You never got the sense that the band was pandering or trying to reach a wider audience. The band always had this delicacy to them that kept their sound from becoming too cliché or blunt.

But that seems to have changed with Blood Alliance…

On this album the band has hired new singer Chity Somapala to replace their old singer Alessio Garavello, who was frankly my favorite aspect of their old albums. Chity’s voice isn’t too bad I guess, he sounds clear and powerful, but he just has this really sneering, nasal tone to him that really doesn’t sound very good on the more rocking songs here. And I don’t know, maybe I’m just being petty here, but he really isn’t a fraction as good as Alessio was – he’s got charisma, sure, but he just doesn’t transcend the music and completely dominate every single vocal line like Alessio did, and while it’s nothing against Chity, he just isn’t the same.

The rest of the band sounds different too, mainly because their synth driven style from old albums has been replaced with a meatier guitar sound and a more riff-heavy sound. I usually like that, except Power Quest was so good at creating those keyboard lines that I wish they hadn’t made this change. The music overall is more polished and professional sounding, but it sounds a lot more mainstream and Dragonforce-y, without the class and unique sound this band used to have.

That wouldn’t be so bad if the songs were all top notch, but frankly this is really inconsistent, and while some of these tunes are awesome, others are just kind of dragging. Opener “Rising Anew” is a hooky speedster with a great vocal hook and some catchy double-bass peddling along with the crunchier riffs. “Glorious” is almost the same thing, but it’s still cool, and I think the chorus on this one is even better.

But after that, well…I think I need to point out exactly what Power Quest is good at and what they aren’t so good at. What they’re good at, great at even, is writing super fast, uplifting power metal with high-flying choruses and sweet-but-not-too-sweet melodies that hit in all the right spots – songs on here like the awesome “Survive” highlight this aspect, and the 7-minute epic “Crunching the Numbers” is damn good as well, with some theatrical elements and a heavy, complex chorus section. A lot of people don’t like this song for some reason, but I don’t know, I think it’s pretty cool.

What they’re not so good at is writing hard rock songs. I really love “Edge of Time” from Neverworld, but other than that, most of their rockier songs just leave me a bit cold, sounding just a tad too lavish for my tastes. “Sacrifice” isn’t too bad, but “Better Days” and “Only in My Dreams” get pretty annoying at times. The problem is that these songs make up the bulk of the album, and while I am all for bands going back to the earliest roots of metal, a lot of Power Quest’s rock tunes remind me more of mid-80s glam with way heavier guitars than anything actually worth remembering. Eh. Maybe with Alessio these tunes would have been better.

I think what it comes down to is that this album is just kind of bloated. The band clearly put a lot of work into this, but sometimes less is more, as Blood Alliance clearly demonstrates. The production is too clean and squeaky and Somapala’s vocals don’t do much for me at all. None of the songs is outright bad, but the album feels longer than it is, and gets pretty tiresome to listen to as it goes on due to the over-saturated production and constant try-hard meedly-meedly guitar work. This sounds good at first, but when the band stretches it out to a whole hour, it gets pretty filling, like that time you ate way too many chocolate candies and got a stomach-ache later.

That’s kinda what this album evokes. At first it sounds like the best thing ever, but after a few listens it starts to get really sugary and you realize it doesn’t have much substance. Oh well.

No matter what, I’ve always had/will always have a soft spot in myself for power metal. I mean GOOD power metal. The fancy, poppy, sugary melodies, classic-trained riffs, and operatic warbling that propel the listener to realms of pure, unadulterated fantasy leagues away from the bitter pill of a reality we’re forced to swallow. However, trying to find good power metal in the swallowing sea of Dungeons and Dragons/World of Warcraft-obsessed shred meisters can be a bit daunting and problematic, but such a holy grail is worth procuring in the long run. Trust me on this.

That sort of mentality was put into play when I had the chance to check out the newest Power Quest album and, not having heard anything Power Quest has done up to this point, I shrugged off any preconceived notions on them and dove in…

And I gotta say, the end result was all sorts of enjoyment on my part. What Power Quest has to offer me, and other listeners out there, is a 10-track excursion into musical awesomeness that is quite rare in this present, modern age. “Blood Alliance” takes the better aspects of old school power metal and combines them with progressive melodies, some tasty shred moments and even elements of fist-pumping arena rock that astounds and truly dominates the listeners’ attention. It’s been quite a while since I’ve picked up a disc like this, and each subsequent listen only furthers my enjoyment of their wares. The production is clear, the performance is solid, and the musical appeal just shows a bunch of wacky Brits playing their collective hearts out to successful results. This goes to show that there could be more to British melodic metal than meets the eye, as elegance and flair are put center stage amidst palm-muted guitar riffs, wacky-yet-sophisticated leads/solos, space-age keyboards and soaring vocals/choirs that take the Avantasia power/prog/opera approach, remove the self-realizing egotism and actually make it good and palatable for us lesser folk to eat up by the spoonful. Seriously…I haven’t heard an album so stirring for a while now, and it puts a rare smile on my face to know that bands like this continue to exist and shine through the smog of uninspired contemporary and underground rock/metal acts that do nothing for any kind of common musical good. It’s just a shame that I’d not truly been in the know about their repertoire since their inception, but, as the old adage goes, it’s better late than never, and I can still fall back on the fantastic likes of “Glorious”, “Sacrifice” and “Better Days” to placate my desire for distorted romps into the universe and beyond.

In the end, Power Quest’s latest is a wonderful disc chock full of energy and great ideas. This may end up being the power metal album of the years in my eyes, as I’ve yet to come across an album/group that has the capacity to usurp such a mighty throne. HIGHLY recommended.

Amid the rising tide of stellar come backs going on this year, it is difficult to keep up with all the musical fireworks and other celebratory events in the power metal world. But even with surprising releases out of Stratovarius and Timo’s new project Symfonia, the virtual continental shift that is Power Quest’s first release in 3 years has topped them all thus far, and has even showcased this band outdoing even their own body of work going back to their formation in 2001. Imagine every utterly cliché image of 80s metal with all of the sci-fi/fantasy trappings, but injected with enough speed and majesty to rival both the “Keepers” albums and even most of Judas Priest’s offerings. Though this is essentially the same band with a brand new lineup, led by the same songwriter and keyboardist, “Blood Alliance” crosses the borderline from being a mere reformation into an outright revolution of sound.

Led by the sleazy and rougher edged vocals of veteran Chitty Somapala now, the band comes off as a bit leaner and meaner than the ultra squeaky clean opera tenor of Alessio Garavello. But the real changeover in sound is most noticeable in the guitar assault, which still retains the usual happy-go-lucky riffing character, but is much chunkier and meatier in sound. Even on the overtly hard rock, Van Halen tinged “Sacrifice” and “Only In My Dreams” with the spacey keyboard themes, the guitar tone is reminiscent of that signature crunch normally associated with Accept. Likewise, the familiar sound of Helloween oriented speeding goodness of the band’s first 3 offerings, that has been similarly propagated by Trick Or Treat of late are back to replace the lackluster, slowed down modernism that stunted “Master Of Illusion”. There is not a single song on here that comes off as dull, nor is there really anything that can be qualified as an outright ballad, though this has not previously been the band’s Achilles heel.

From beginning to end, this is a relentless offering of speed infused melodic goodness that is easily digested, yet also utterly addictive and loses none of its potency after repeated listens. To announce Steve William’s desire to return to where he belongs, “Battle Stations” repackages the famed “Power Quest” theme into a shred happy speed fest ditty that has all but no resemblance to the ambient/orchestral intros that kicked off the first 3 albums. In likewise fashion; “Rising Anew”, “Survive” and “City Of Lies” brings this winning format to the full length equation, gripping the listener with punishingly memorable chorus lines, gratuitously fancy yet fitting guitar solos that merge Malmsteen and Brian May in the same general way that former guitarist Andrea Martongelli did previously, but with even more intensity and poise. Even amid a healthy supply of repetition heard on “Glorious” and the epic title song, the power of each individual section and note from either the instruments or Somapala’s pipes endures with utter ease.

If nothing else, this is among the more exceptional displays of how no matter how inconsistent a lineup may be, provided that the person writing the songs is getting the job done and the players are competent, great things can happen. This isn’t merely the best album that Power Quest has offered up, but better than anything I’ve heard out of Dragonforce and a number of other bands who play in a similar style. This is the sort of album that will very possibly be toxic to certain ends of the metal spectrum due to its overtly happy tendencies, but will probably be more appealing to some outside the standard audience of Euro power metal than say “Magic Never Dies” or “Wings Of Forever”. This is a linear, predictable, yet utterly festive experience that anyone who fell in love with Helloween during the heyday of the Kiske era will not want to be without.

Originally submitted to (www.metal-observer.com) on April 5, 2011.

Since I discovered Power Quest, I've been absolutely nuts over them. Every one of their albums has entertained me thoroughly (except for the lackluster song “The Message”) and I hold Steve Williams to be something of a melodic genius. Like most fans of the band, I was pretty concerned and sad to see the old members depart (especially considering the ample talent of Alessio Garavello), certain that the sound of the band would change drastically with the departure of everyone but Williams. However, it seems that he's gotten some pretty significant talent to replace the departed Italians. Williams has at last built a primarily U.K.-based outfit that should serve him much better for touring and recording purposes.

Power Quest has a distinct reputation for being extremely flowery and happy. On their last record, Master of Illusion, Power Quest somewhat forsook this path for one of more gravity, and it came back to bite them a bit, since some fans didn't care for the transition and variety. Simultaneously, the band didn't garner too many new fans with the release. This caused some frustration and while Steve Williams had considered calling it quits, I'm bloody happy he didn't after hearing Blood Alliance.

As anticipated, this isn't quite the same sound. The listener immediately gets slammed with a heavy guitar assault with “Battle Stations”, a fast instrumental tune that seems to be the band's statement of just how things are going to be this time around. As it fades out, the equally guitar-heavy (and quite appropriately-titled) “Rising Anew” charges in with its superb hooks and fatal chorus. Chity Somapala proves that his voice does indeed fit the Power Quest formula. Despite his deeper tone, he's easier to understand, and is able to pull off the vocal slides and melismas that Williams seems to demand from his frontmen. Of everything on this album, it is probably Somapala that I'm most pleasantly surprised by, as I haven't found his prior work particularly stunning.

While the first couple of tracks are decidedly meatier in sound and more guitar-driven, “Survive” calls to mind Power Quest songs of old with heightened focus upon the synthy keyboards. In general, the keyboards are downplayed, with the lead guitar taking many more of the hooks and lead lines. However, the melodies are extremely stylistically similar to the band's old work, and clearly of the same mold. Despite the change in instrumental focus, the sound has returned to a less-varied sort, typical of the band's pre-Master of Illusion catalog.

My favorite tracks here are the instrumental opener, the longer self-titled track, and both “Survive” and “Sacrifice”. The band generally maintains a very upbeat atmosphere, with the exception of “Crunching the Numbers”, which means that the band will largely appeal to the same audience as before. However, I think the newfound guitar emphasis and lower-ranged singer will gain the band new respect, as well as appeal to some who found their music previously unpalatable. Meanwhile, past fans of the band's work who are jumping up and down to get their hands on this album will not be disappointed in the least.

Blood Alliance is a great return from a talented band and songwriter. I'm pleased with my decision to get an early Korean pressing of the album, and this is likely going to end up on my end-of-year list for 2011. Look into this album right away if you're a fan, or even if you found them a bit too fruity before. Steve Williams and company provides another outing of smashing talent and great fun!

Originally written for www.blackwindmetal.blogspot.com/