Originally written by Ramar Pittance
England’s Power Quest play a competent but uninspired brand of melodic power metal that struggles to tread water with the likes of Sonata Arctica and Stratovarius.
With a marching keyboard intro that gives way to the moderately paced dual guitarwork of the neo-classically bent “Find My Heaven,” Magic Never Dies begins by misleadingly portraying itself as a derivative but well studied piece of Scandinavian influenced power metal. While the band returns to this form on the tracks “Another World,” “Diamond Sky,” and “Galaxies Unknown,” what leaves the firmest impression is a mid album slump of embarrassing power pop. Both “Hold on to Love” and “The Message” are overwrought with ancient hard rock clichés, stock riffs, and boxed in solos. Worst of all, the later is a song about the road, a topic already successfully lampooned years ago by Tenacious D.
The production is crisp and bright but entirely minuscule. There’s a complete lack of grit or bottom end and an overemphasis on guitars that aren’t doing anything interesting.
This is an entirely tired album that simply lacks the intensity to mask its lack of depth. You might as well rock out to your metronome.
