Power Quest are delighted to welcome guitarist George “The Kid” Karafotis into the band, replacing Andy Kopczyk who left the band earlier this year. Hailing from Thessaloniki, Greece, George also plays in the bands Vermillion Days (Greece) and Wild Willy’s Gang (Norway) and was previously a member of Raven Lord and Exorcism.
Power Quest keyboardist and founder member Steve Williams had this to say on the matter.
“It’s fantastic news to have George as part of the band. I’ve known him for a couple of years now and our drummer Rich has known him for 5 years since they played together in Raven Lord. George obviously brings a highly skilled level of guitar playing to the table but in addition to that he also brings a wealth of knowledge and experience. On top of that he’s just a bloody nice bloke haha! I look forward to hitting the road and the studio with George in the months and years to come. Welcome aboard matey”
George recently travelled to Southampton, UK to meet the band and undertake his first photo shoot as a PQ member ahead of rehearsals and live shows coming later in the year.
George commented as follows
“I can’t even describe how happy and excited I am for this new era! It feels so amazing to be a part of this great group of smart, hard working and really talented musicians. I felt so welcome from the very first minute during the photo shoot that I wasn’t even sure if I was a new member or if we had been playing together for a few years. I could feel the chemistry already. It was like the perfect balance of espresso and milk in a good hot cappuccino, hahaha!
When I first met Rich, he introduced me to Power Quest and I must say that I got stuck with the Blood Alliance album for many months, so when Steve contacted me about the guitarist’s position some weeks ago, I felt that it was a straight “YES” before we even talked about the rest of the band’s obligations.
I am really looking forward to hitting the road and the studio with my mates and deliver some high quality power metal to all of our friends/fans for many years to come! The Quest just started for me, see you all soon \m/”
Power Quest Tour Dates
Nov 10 Brainstorm Festival, Apeldoorn NL
Nov 15 Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes UK
Nov 16 Hobos Music Venue, Bridgend UK
Nov 17 The Underworld, London UK
Nov 18 Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth UK
Dec 05 O2 Academy 2, Newcastle UK
Dec 08 Corporation, Sheffield UK
Power Quest online
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/powerquestofficial
Website: http://www.power-quest.co.uk
Inner Wound Recordings online
Website: http://www.innerwound.com
]]>
Power Quest, the renowned melodic power metal band based in the UK released their new album “Sixth Dimension” in October last year through Inner Wound Recordings. The title track “The Sixth Dimension” is now available for streaming on YouTube at the link below. The song was written by Steve Williams and Richard West [Threshold] and features guest vocals by Anette Olzon [The Dark Element, ex. Nightwish].
Stream “The Sixth Dimension” at YouTube here: https://youtu.be/HR0gaeGz63s
Steve Williams of Power Quest comments:
“It was brilliant to have the opportunity to write this song together with Richard West. We’ve known each other for many years and Richard was previously involved in a production capacity with the Master of Illusion album back in 2008. It’s turned out to be one of my favourite PQ songs and hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to work with Richard in the future. It was also fantastic to be able to secure the services of one of my favourite vocalists, Anette Olzon, to be part of this song and it was a real pleasure to work with her.”
Power Quest Tour Dates
As Special Guests of Freedom Call
Feb 22 Cathouse, Glasgow UK
Feb 23 Corporation, Sheffield UK
Feb 24 The Station, Cannock UK
Feb 25 Underworld, London UK
Jul 06 Amplified Open Air Festival UK
Power Quest online
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/powerquestofficial
Website: http://www.power-quest.co.uk
Inner Wound Recordings online
Website: http://www.innerwound.com
]]>Sixth Dimension opens fast with ‘Lords Of Tomorrrow’, it has a nice melody, a good keyboard line and with tempos in Dragonforce mode. The vocals of Ashley Edison are excellent, Ashley has the voice a good power metal band needs. The guitar solos are splendid and virtuose throughout the album. “Starlight City” is next and is a real happy mid-tempo metal hymne, with a little bit of cheesy refrain and ‘whaaooooooohooo’ sing a long part. Many times this style turns out too cheesy and too boring, but not this time, the solos and excellent vocals safe the song. Fans of Freedom Call will certainly have a big smile on their face.
What I like best of Sixth Dimension are the mix of beautiful keyboard melodies varied and combined with faster tempos. ‘Kings and Glory’ is a perfect example, combining the speed of Dragonforce with the melody and catchyness of Freedom Call. ‘Face the Raven’ already was released on the 2016 EP and should be known by the fans already. Next is ‘No More Heroes Anymore’, a mid tempo song with a nice refrain. More AOR influences can be found back in ‘Revolution Fighters’, together with ‘Pray For the Day’one of the softer tracks, but with again a spectacular solo.
After that, the best has still to come, first is ‘Coming Home’ with its great keys and excellent build up from soft to fast and back. Followed by the final title track, opening with a rather familiar keyboard part. A mid-paced hymne with again great melodies, an excellent refrain and near the end a guest appearance of former Nightwish singer Anette Olzon. My final judgement is that Power Quest delivered an album that has some interesting speed parts for the Dragonforce fans, but fans of Stratovarius and Freedom Call will also be pleased.
Great European power metal with enough variety in speed, melody, great vocals, amazing keyboard parts and solos.
]]>