Power Theory – Out of The Ashes, Into The Fire

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American traditional metal outfit Power Theory, formed in 2007 by guitarist Bob Ballinger and singer Dave Santini, offer some serious Accept worship for much of their debut album, mixed with a little power metal, a dash of classic thrash, and a heavy helping of Iron Maiden. The first album of the album is a lot better than the second. There’s a particularly outstanding run from This Madness Is Mine (track two) to Never Surrender (Terror In Time) (track five) where each track grooves hard and utilies more interesting vocal melodies and riffs, and it’s at these times that Out of The Ashes, Into The Fire because a very enjoyable, if not wholly original, listen. But elsewhere thing’s aren’t so great. Santini’s voice simply does not suit ballads, and as such When The Rain Comes Down is a real low-point. When he raises it, it sounds fine, but when he’s singing the more sombre verses it doesn’t work. The rest of the songs are victims of the usual problem with a lot of traditional and power metal; musically they are too generic. Tracks like Prevaricator, the very silly Insane (Metal’ Part of My Brain), the title track, and vitual Maiden tribute Slay The Beast Within slip into Anvil territory all too easily. The production also needs work. The backing vocals sound like they’re coming from some distance away from the microphone, and the snare drum suffers badly from echo while most of the rest of the drums sound like they’re being played under water. As does the lead guitar at times, which often struggles to cut through the rhythm guitar and the bass for solos. That makes it sound dreadful; it isn’t. It could just be improved and fixing those things would do wonders for the album as a whole. There is genuine promise here. Most of the songs are excellent traditional heavy metal which fans of the genre looking for a new band will love. On a follow-up, if Power Theory get some better production and replace the generic songs and the ballad with more grooving ones, they could have a top-drawer album on their hands.

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2011, Albums, Heavy Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, Power Theory