POWER QUEST – Magic Never Dies

British Power Metal bangers Power Quest are back, with Magic Never Dies. Led by keyboard wizard and former DragonHeart member Steve Williams, Power Quest delivers what you would expect from any Power Metal band — non-stop double bass, guitar harmonies, epic choirs and high-pitched vocals — they’re all in here. Power Quest music is somewhere in-between early Helloween and today’s Power Metal greats such as Edguy and Stratovarius.

The symphonic intro, a mandatory element to every Power Metal album, is present on Magic Never Dies under the form of “Ascension.”

Following that is the fast-paced “Find My Heaven,” with good harmony between keyboard and guitars in the intro. Alessio Garavelo’s vocals fit like a glove, sounding somewhat similar to Fabio Lione’s work with Rhapsody. The whole song has a Rhapsody feel to it actually, even with Neo-Classical soloing passages. The synth solos are great, and while not being totally new to Power Metal, bring new life into a genre where all bands sound very similar.

“Galaxies Unknown” starts with the never-ceasing double bass drum, and an epic keyboard melody. The bridge has a somewhat Progressive feel to it, with a section that reminds of Dream Theater’s “Take the Time.” The chorus has a really catchy melody, with sweet vocal harmonies.

The Power Ballad “Hold on To Love” shows Europe influences. The keyboards set a different mood, breaking the style’s cliché. The chorus is very Hard Rock influenced, and bits of that style are spread all over the song, culminating at the guitar solo.

“Diamond Shy” begins with a cheesy keyboard melody that seems as if it was taken from some kid’s show that used to air in the eighties. This is one of the many standard Power Metal songs in Magic Never Dies.

The next track, “The Message,” starts with a Progressive feel, borrowing the piano intro from Symphony X’s “The Accolade.” The song is a Ballad, with lots of atmosphere. The vocals sound a bit misplaced, being overly emotional, and Alessio’s voice seems to lend itself better to more aggressive singing.

“Soulfire” has a long intro, with atmospheric keyboards and lacks some melody to make it stand out. The song, overall, is a bit dull, but the keyboard solo is one of the best in the record, making this one worth listening.

The happy sounding Hard Rocker “Children Of The Dream” has that eighties feel back again. With that said, this is another song where you can just push “forward” on your CD player with no regrets. The cheesy keyboards on this one can sound really annoying after some time.

Bach-inspired organs make up the intro to “Another World,” by far the best keyboard passage on Magic Never Dies. The epic sounding melodies are back once the keyboard riff is over, and the double bass drums come in again. After the long intro, another Power Quest standard song reveals itself.

Back to the Symphony X feel, “Strike Force” begins with a orient-inspired keyboard melody. The obscure feeling of the intro gives up space to yet another happy part still in the intro. The verses have “staccato” guitars backing them, and the choirs in the bridge will have you clicking if you’re into Hammerfall. This song is one of the few that break the evenness of the record, sounding unique, and somewhat dark.

The closing title track, “Magic Never Dies,” brings the Europe inspired keyboards back, sounding really in place this time. The verses seem to be just standard, with that feeling being mostly caused by the lack of interpretation on Alessio Garavello’s singing. As for the rest of the song, it’s just what you will have already become used to, until the acoustic break that brings in some medieval music elements, just before the solo.

Magic Never Dies is a good Power Metal album. There just have been so many bands out there playing this style, that all of them start to sound exactly alike, but that’s not Power Quest’s fault. They deliver a consistent and well-written album, but fall into most of the style’s clichés. If you’re still not bored out of your mind from me-too Power Metal bands, this album is indeed a good pick up.

Lineup

Steve Williams – Keyboards
Steve Scott – Bass
Alessio Garavello – Vocals
Andrea Martongelli – Guitars
Francesco Tresca – Drums