About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

Classy and mostly successful European power metal from the re-vamped British-based rockers.



Pros

• Great guitar work and keyboard interplay.
• Polished production provides a high-gloss sheen.

Cons

• Initially lacks instantly memorable songs.
• Lead vocals sometimes unconvincing.

Description

• Released April 5, 2011 on Napalm Records.
• First album after significant lineup changes.
• Mixing of the album was delayed due to flood damage at a studio in Vincenza, Italy.

Guide Review - Power Quest - 'Blood Alliance'

Following the release of 2008’s Master Of Illusion, a seemingly endless stream of band members quit Power Quest one by one, leaving keyboardist Steve Williams as the last man standing. For a while, it seemed we’d seen the last of Power Quest, but as the sole founder member Williams is clearly made of sterner stuff and he has totally re-built the band from scratch. Blood Alliance is the first chance we have to assess the success of his commitment to the cause.

Musically, there’s no great change of direction, and these ten tracks find the band fine tuning their combination of Hammerfall /Sonata Arctica-inspired power metal with classic eighties-style hard rock. Occasionally, as on the near ten minute title track, the band flirts with progressive metal, but it never becomes self-indulgent or overly distracting.

The twin guitars of Andy Midgley and Gavin Owen impress throughout, with the dual riffing and shredding of instrumental opener “Battle Stations” setting the tone for the rest of the album.

The guitars work particularly well with Williams’ tasteful keyboards, while the rhythm section of Rich Smith (drums) and Paul Finnie (bass) is both solid and sympathetic.

Perhaps the one big stylistic change concerns new vocalist Chitral Somapala, who has an extensive resume, including stints with Firewind and Civilisation One. His is not always an easily identifiable power metal voice, and he spends much of the album shunning the high range histrionics often associated with the genre in favor of a more measured – and maybe even bluesy – approach.

The end result is that when Power Quest really put their foot to the floor on all-out, high speed metal anthems like “Rising Anew”, the vocals lack a certain bite. A cliché it may be, but certain songs on Blood Alliance are screaming out for a vocalist to rip your face off, whereas Somapala is more likely to tap you politely on the shoulder.

He is far from a bad vocalist, and when the band takes a more restrained approach as on the classic rock of “Sacrifice” he sounds confident, assured and soulful. Whether this will mean a re-think about the future direction of Power Quest remains to seen.

Aside some reservations about the vocals, the album is a little let down by the odd clumsy lyric, the fantastic musicianship and classy production ensure it remains above average. But only just.



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