Before the review of the new Dragonforce platter hits, the power nerds at AMG wanted to nerd out with a ranking of their noddle-fests. We let them for some reason.
Power Quest
Helion Prime – Question Everything Review
“Revisiting Helion Prime’s Terror of the Cybernetic Space Monster in preparation for their new record was like listening to it for the first time all over again. Though no worse than I remembered, it is every bit as forgettable now as I had scribed in 2018, with the pain of its disappointment in 2020 only dulled by further proximity from the band’s stellar self-titled debut.” Pain, Prime, and power,
Freternia – The Gathering Review
“Of all the bands that flooded the European power metal scene in the late 90’s and early 00’s, Sweden’s Freternia is certainly one of them. I’m not so much apathetic towards them as I am unfamiliar; I followed countless power metal bands in the previous decade, and while I’ve long known of Freternia’s existence, I never got around to adding them to my rotation. In retrospect, they were a solid early example of Blind Guardian worship, and one that may have tapped into some serious potential, had they not fizzled out in 2002 after only two albums. When several members of Freternia formed Cromonic a few years back, I had thought that the latter band would serve as the former’s replacement, so I was a bit surprised when Freternia’s comeback album, The Gathering, surfaced in the promo sump.” Join the Freternity.
Ancient Bards – Origine – The Black Crystal Sword Saga Part 2 Review
“When it comes to my favorite metal guilty pleasures of the past decade, Ancient Bards’ first two records have locked down a pretty sweet slot. Arriving at a time when even the first wave of Rhapsody imitators were beginning to lose relevance, the Bards fully embraced the irony of their “Ancient” moniker, injecting a well-worn formula with Power Quest-levels of sugar-coated melodies and the invigorating folk overtures of Equilibrium to formulate something that was fully cheesy, yet fully fresh.” Bards, beets, Battlestar Galactica.
Power Quest – Sixth Dimension Review
“In my personal pantheon of guilty pleasures, Power Quest reigns supreme. Formed in 2011 by ex-DragonForce keyboardist Steve Williams (lead songwriter and sole remaining original member), this band made a name for themselves in the early-to-mid 00’s by redefining the meaning of cheese, mashing Teutonic power metal together with synth-drenched glam rock—think Van Halen’s “Jump,” by way of Freedom Call, and you’ll have a reasonably accurate idea of what to expect. ” The cheese quest never ends.
Tales of Gaia – Hypernova Review
This album absolutely fucking broke me. You see, the AMG style guide requires blog contributors to make careful scoring decisions based on how good or bad an album is. In terms of quality, Tales of Gaia’s debut Hypernova, in direct defiance of this foolproof system, is absolutely paradoxical. It is both one of the best and worst power metal albums I have ever heard, an amazing contradiction of a record that lacks so much as a hint of self awareness while also never taking itself seriously.” Power without responsibility.
Arthemis – Blood – Fury – Domination Review
“Until recently, Arthemis had been one of around a few dozen bands I’d always had a mild curiosity for but had never bothered to closely investigate. I’m convinced the only reason I knew of their existence was because they included Power Quest’s vocalist and guitarist (Alessio Garavello and Andrea Martongelli, respectively) amongst their ranks, though now only the latter remains in the band. I also vaguely remembered them from high school as one of a handful of power metal bands that had a propensity for including bare breasts on their album covers, which always struck me as an ironic practice for what might be metal’s least sexy genre.” From Power Quest to Power Chests.
Eden’s Curse – Symphony of Sin Review
“Standing at the crossroads of catchy hard rock and traditional metal, Eden’s Curse has been quietly killing it since 2007. Founded by vocalist Michael Eden, this quasi super group (composed of players from bands I mostly never heard of) has released three albums of high quality, hook-filled, anthemic music similar to Leverage, Masterplan, Starbreaker and the Russell/Lande albums. Though the members have ample musical chops, they eschew wankery in favor of simplistic, rocking tunes with memorable choruses and their approach invokes the charms of 80s style, bluesy, quasi-hair metal.” In the mood for something light and sweet? Eden’s Curse has just the thing for your musical sweet tooth. Oh, the sugar rush!!
