Power Quest - Blood Alliance (2011)

Blood Alliance is English power metal band Power Quest's 5th studio album. It's certainly a good album, but is it great? We'll see...

1. Battle Stations [1:46]
2. Rising Anew [4:35]
3. Glorious [4:58]
4. Sacrifice [6:13]
5. Survive [6:02]
6. Better Days [5:24]
7. Crunching The Numbers [7:26]
8. Only In My Dreams [6:09]
9. Blood Alliance [9:04]
10. City Of Lies [6:38]
11. Time To Burn (Bonus Track) [5:42]

Looking back now, I'm surprised I enjoy this album as much as I do. It's better than your average, generic power metal album, but that's little reason to actually listen to it. The first time I listened through it, I thought very little of it, but the more I listen through the album, the more I find myself liking it.  I find vocalist Chitral Somapala's voice is hit and miss, depending on how long he's holding a high note, but overall he does a good job.

I feel there's not a lot of depth to this album, but that being said there's a fair amount of diversity, which is always a plus in my books. As with any good power metal song, there's got to be a catchy riff, and Blood Alliance delivers on that front with almost every song. Rising Anew has a particularly nice riff, but I feel the main chorus ruins it a bit, though songs like Sacrifice and Glorious keep their awesomeness throughout. Not all songs are great though - City of Lies is nothing special, and the vocals in Crunching The Numbers and Only In My Dreams have more bad moments than good.

I'm just not feeling this album all that much, though it's grown on me a bit after half a dozen playthoughs. There's just not much to make it stand out from a typical power album, but I quite like Glorious, Sacrifice, and the album namesake, Blood Alliance. Props to the band for having an album that isn't just generic song after generic song, but there's not enough to differentiate it from most other power metal albums out there.

Overall Score:
77/100

Stratovarius - Elysium (2011)

Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band that's been around since 1984, and they're one of the most popular and influencial bands in the power metal genre. I can honestly say I was greatly looking forward to this album, but I can't help feeling disappointed with it. It's not completely a loss though, as I'll explain in a bit.

1. Darkest Hours [4:10]
2. Under Flaming Skies [3:51]
3. Infernal Maze [5:32]
4. Fairness Justified [4:20]
5. The Game Never Ends [3:53]
6. Lifetime In A Moment [6:38]
7. Move The Mountain [5:33]
8. Event Horizon [4:23]
9. Elysium [18:06]

Elysium as an album is a treat to the ears on some tracks, but for some reason I always take a while to adjust to Timo Kotipelto's vocals. Some of the tracks on this album just sound too generic for me to enjoy thoroughly, but luckily Stratovarius still has some tricks up their sleeves, like the 18 minute album namesake, Elysium. Being the longest song Stratovarius has put on a studio album yet, this song is a strong mix of power and progressive metal, and easily the highlight of the album. So many great solos to be found here, and the vocals really stand out here compared to the rest of the album.

That being said, there are some catchy riffs and vocals to be found in Lifetime In A Moment, as well as Fairness Justified. Like I mentioned above however, there are some tracks that are simply too generic to enjoy throughly, like Under Flaming Skies, or too laid back, like Move The Mountain. Now, I almost universally enjoy variety in my metal albums, but it has to be done right - Timo Kotipelto's vocals just don't go well with a slow tempo song, and the solos don't fit well in there either. I'm looking at you synthesizer.

Overall, a sturdy album by Stratovarius - not solid, but 'sturdy'. I highly recommend the track Elysium, while Lifetime In A Moment and Event Horizon are worth a listen. If you like what you're hearing, I'd say give Fairness Justified and The Game Never Ends a try too, but I would avoid the rest of the album personally.

Final Score:
73/100