HOLY FORCE – Holy Force

It seems in the last couple of years there’s been a downpour of supergroups from various types of Metal.  Another amazing and talented group is the Holy Force, and the band’s self-titled debut brings a wave of ’80s-oriented Melodic Heavy Metal smeared with Power Metal elements. Furthermore, the entire roster of this supergroup consists of four individuals that each made an impact on his own.  Basically, the man behind the strings, shredder Ango Chen, was one of the main reasons for the emergence of this group. For the vocals he chose the experienced, high-pitch specialist, Mark Boals.  On the bass there was no one more intelligent and impressive than Mike Lepond from Symphony X and Seven Witches.  For the skinning the skins, there was a need for a bad ass muscle man, and therefore the ex-Manowar hitter, Rhino, was selected.

Holy Force in more than several occasions reminded a lot of a great mix between Rhapsody Of Fire (speed and vocal patterns), Uriah Heep (wonderful vocal harmonies and keys), and Malmsteen (guitar shred feel and hard ‘n’ heavy riffs).  It seemed initially like Holy Force combined all these elements pretty well, but unfortunately almost every track sounded similar to the next.  The crew of Holy Force did put on quite a show, but the one who really turned tables was Chen who may blow you away with his outstanding solos.  On the other hand, Boals’ vocals weren’t of the same caliber as on his other works.  Boals has some great moments, and he was one of the reasons why some of the tracks turn out to be hits, but his work as vocalist for other bands have sounded better

The ultra-harmonic “Moonlight Fantasy” was a savvy killer, and “Seasons” and “Power Of Life” kept the flame of the ’80s going under the duress of Chen’s supersonic lead guitar shredding firecrackers.  If you think Malmsteen is not enough for you, Chen is the next thing in line. “Flying” and “Holy Force” were more of the heavier kind, more solid in quality, and pretty enjoyable tracks.  The bottom line, although usually experienced players bring out the best in one another, in the case of Holy Force, that didn’t exactly happen with this release to its full potential.

Tracklist

1. Holy Force
2. Flying
3. Breathe
4. Seasons
5. A Country Good Or Bad
6. Power Of Life
7. Sky Etude
8. We Are The Warriors
9. Moonlight Fantasy
10. The Wings Of Forever
11. Chasing The Dream
12. Emperor
13. Waiting
14. See You In The Future

Lineup

Mark Boals – Vocals
Ango Chen – Guitars
Mike Lepond – Bass
Rhino – Drums