Enjoyable Power Metal
One of the problems with living in England is its scoffing attitude towards power metal, and as a result power metal shows such as tonight's Helloween and Power Quest bill, are frighteningly rare. An injustice to a form of metal that comes across so much better in the live forum than on disc, it's like going to see the great pyramids and then trying to get someone to appreciate their splendour with a couple of small photographs. I can give no better example of this than tonight's openers Power Quest. I first heard some Power Quest on a trip to Sweden and felt the that it all sounded a little tame and far too keyboard heavy, thus giving it that cheesy signature which fuels the British music press's patronising attitude towards the genre. Live however, they are a different prospect, for the keyboards are lower in the mix allowing the bottom end to thump and the guitar grind.
7:20pm is an early start for a support act, and so Bradford Rios was only half full, but they gave it their all, a tribute to their experience I feel. Vocalist Alessio Garavello gave us the biggest laugh of the night, as he appeared looking like a clone of Graham Bonnet. His shirt was dreadful, his sunglasses were from the 70s, and the less said about his gold trousers the better. His voice however, is quite impressive which makes up for the comedic garb. Arguably he was too low in the mix but his magnificent range still managed to cut through the music, his falsetto screams almost shattering his lenses. Andrea Martongelli guitar work was also quite stirring, however the biggest stumbling block myself and my colleagues found in Power Quest's music, is that there is only ONE guitarist. Whenever Andrea played a solo, melody or tune, the music lost all its potency, for when Power Quest are playing ten to the dozen they sound excellent, without the extra rhythm guitar the mix sounds weak and ineffective, no matter how good the song maybe.
The superb 'Neverworld (Power Quest part 2)' ended a tidy set, and must have impressed many of the attentive metal heads, because their mailing list form was filling up nicely. They certainly have the ideas to make a bigger impact in the genre, but I feel they need to get another guitar player to flesh out and add more power to their sound. (Where do I apply?)