British melodic progressive metal band. Similar to Dream Theater, Sacred Warrior, Elegy and Jacob's Dream. Also TNT and Magnitude 9 comes to mind.
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WHEN THE WORLD FALLS DOWN (1997) CANYON (CDR) |
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Line-up: Tony Ritchie - Lead Vocals, BV's Paul Curtis - Guitar, BV's Bill Yates - Guitar, BV's Chris Dale - Bass, BV's Lionel Hicks - Drums and Percussion Ivan Gunn - Keyboards, BV's Guest: Doogie White - Backing Vocals |
I've crawled my way backwards through this bands back-catalogue, starting with 'Perfect Balance'. Each album have been a pleasant experience, and their debut is no exception. OK, so it's not Lance King's smooth voice. But Tony Ritchie does have a good voice too. And the songwriting is just as excellent here as on any of the other discs so far. Balance Of Power are one of the leading bands in the melodic metal genre as far as I'm concerned, and they proved it from first go! At times I wanna call them the new Dokken! Finding an original copy of this gem turned out to be hard, so a generous trader from Holland sent me a CDR of the Japanese edition of the album to keep me happy until I could score the real deal. I finally did, but it is It's always nice to have the Japanese versions with the bonus-track too!
Killer tracks: Against The Odds, Can't Close The Book, Don't Wait Until Tomorrow
BOOK OF SECRETS (1998) NIGHTMARE
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Line-up: Lance King - Lead Vocals Pete Southern - Guitar Bill Yates - Guitar Chris Dale - Bass Lionel Hicks - Drums Ivan Gunn - Keyboards Guest: Tony O'Hora - Backing Vocals Tony Ritchie - Backing Vocals |
The second album from the English melodic soft-prog-metalers, and the first one to introduce vocalist Lance King. 'Book Of Secrets' is yet another great album that I easily could get into. The formula is the same as on their later releases, so there is not much else to say about it, that I haven't said about the other albums I already own (this is the third album I got from the band). 'Book Of Secret' is a concept album, and in between songs there are some narrated parts. But there are no lyrics in the booklet, so I'm not entirely sure what the concept is about. But it's no secret that the Bible is the book in question. The version I own has to be a re-release of some kind, as the booklet also has a picture of the bands next effort in it.
Killer tracks: Book Of Secrets, Do You Dream Of Angles, Miracles And Dreams
TEN MORE TALES OF GRAND ILLUSION (1999) NIGHTMARE
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Line-up: Lance King - Lead Vocals Pete Southern - Guitar Bill Yates - Guitar Chris Dale - Bass Lionel Hicks - Drums Guest: Doogie White - Backing Vocals |
Man, I'm really starting to love this band! I thought that their latest release ('Perfect Balance') had to be their best effort, but this album proves me wrong! The two albums are equally astonishing. Lance King's vocals takes Balance Of Power into the big league, but the other musicians are just as amazing. Great melodic tunes, but at the same time very riff-based. It's unfair to pick favorites from these kind of albums. I'm gonna spend hard earned cash on their back catalogue now!!!
Killer tracks: Prisoner Of Pride, Under The Spell, Sins Of The World, Ten More Tales Of Grand Illusion
PERFECT
BALANCE (2001) NIGHTMARE
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Line-up: Lance King - Lead Vocals Pete Southern - Guitars Bill Yates - Guitars Tony Ritchie - Bass Lionel Hicks - Drums |
I had heard many good things about this band, but nothing prepared me for how good this really was. Excellent progressive metal with very melodic tunes. Really good songwriting, combined with highly competent musicians makes this band stick out in the crowd. I haven't had a feeling like this since I first heard Elegy. The cover art on the European Massacre release is different from the US Nightmare release. This US edition also includes a CD-ROM track. I finally replaced my cardboard promo version with this original CD. A must!
Killer tracks: Shelter Me, One Voice, House Of Cain
HEATHEN MACHINE (2003) MASSACRE
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Line-up: John K - Lead Vocals Pete Southern - Guitars Tony Ritchie - Bass Lionel Hicks - Drums Additional musician: Leon Lawson - Keyboards |
When a band loose such a key element as their vocalist, it usually changes a band pretty much. And when a band loose such a great singer as Lance King, it is darn near crucial for their existence! But I'm so happy to say that Balance Of Power have really risen to the occasion. Not since Angra changed their throat have I witnessed such a glorious replacement. John K (ex-Biomechanical) is everything Lance was, and even though he reminds me as a cross between Geoff Tate (Queensr˙che) and Ray Alder (Fates Warning), I think he brings his own style to the band. And musically the band delivers too. I am enjoying 'Heathen Machine' immensely, and it is nothing short of a mew masterpiece from the British lads, and that says a lot! The compositions of Lionel and Southern are tremendous. When the best albums of 2003 are being listed, 'Heathen Machine' are a strong contender to one of he top 5 spots!
Killer tracks: I love them all.
Chris Dale guest appearances:
Tribuzy - 'Execution'
Related artists: