Power Quest are one of those bands that continue to make huge strides forward album after album, gig after gig, always giving it there all and never giving second best.  Now with a new album, a new label and a new additional guitarist in the fold, we catch up with Britain's premier Power Metal band on the first night of their UK tour to give us an insight into this new and exciting chapter of the bands career.

MM -  As always chaps it's a pleasure to chat with you all again.
SW - Yes it's nice top see you guys again as well.

MM - Quite a lot has changed since we last caught up with you, which I think was in April 2007.  
SW - Was it really that long ago?

MM - Yes.  Since that you've released a new album, you've got new management, a new label and added an additional guitarist.  Where shall we start?  OK, let's start with Bill Hudson
SW - Mr Bill Hudson! Perhaps Bill would like to explain a little behind that.

BH - Hello!  Nice to meet you.  Well me and Steve have been friends for maybe 3 or 4 years.  We met online through my old band Cellador.  We were always saying that we get along so good over the internet, even though we had never met in person, so it was really a no-brainer that at some time and at some point we would have to do something together.  We had been talking about putting a different band together, then it seemed Power Quest were putting together the new album at around that same time and so we had the idea that I would guest on the album, which I did on the song 'The Vigil', where I played a solo. 

Steve was supposed to guest on the Cellador album, but things ended up working out differently and I quit Cellador.  Six months later he told me the band were preparing to go out on tour and well you know I have never been to Europe and so I thought I would come over to Europe and follow the guys around while they were on tour.  Steve said, well if you're already going to be here, why don't we get you on stage?  I said, you know what, wouldn't it be cool if I was in Power Quest? (laughs).  You know that's literally how it was.  Steve said, yeh it would actually, let me talk to the guys.  That's literally how it was, it was kind of a natural thing, it just happened like that.

SW - guys literally the same day.  I said, I've got a bit of a crazy idea, what do you think?  Everyone said they thought it would be cool and alright so we agreed to give it a go.  As Bill said he'd already done a solo on the new album, which I thought had come out really really well, and that kind of gave us the idea that the style would work quite well.  From the bands point of view, these two guys (points to Andrea and Bill) combined are going to take some beating!

AM - We've already had a few thoughts about the next album and think it will probably be very guitary.

SW - Andrea and Bill already have a little guitar piece ready for the middle of the sets.  It's really cool.  

MM - This is it though, we're not planning on adding any more members to the band are we?
SW - This is it, we simply can't afford a bigger bus to take any more people! (laughs)  What am I talking about, we can't afford the one we've already got! (laughs).

MM - On to the new album, what's been the reactions from the fans and media towards 'Master Of Illusion'? SW - Generally speaking it's been exceptional.  We've had a lot of fantastic reviews and some great stuff back from the fans.  We've had a lot of the old fans who've been with us since the start saying, hold on a minute, this is a bit different this record, but you know that's bound to happen after 3 or 4 albums.  You can't keep making the same record over and over again.  I think we've been listening to some different stuff when we were writing, trying to perhaps incorporate a few more modern touches into the songs without straying too far away from what we always do.  Overall I think the reception has been great

and I have to say that Napalm have done a fantastic job on the promotional side of things, which is what we've been missing in the past.  Kudos to them for that.

MM - This tour will see the band well into 2009, what plans do you have beyond the current music tour?
SW - I think we're all starting to really think about the next record already.  Bill's obviously keen.

AM - We're writing new songs and new instrumental parts, new double guitar stuff and it's going to be interesting because the Power Quest trademark and styling will still be there, but we're going to add more guitars.  Every album has got more bold.  We're very excited about the new line-up so let's see.

SW - Of course later in the year we'll be heading to the States for the first time ever to perform at ProgPower USA, so that's something we're all really really looking forward to.  Bill's obviously a bit of a professional when it comes to Prog Power over there.  

BH - It will be my third year in a row there.  I played in 2007 with Cellador.  I played this year with Circle II Circle and next year I'll be coming back with Power Quest.  Let me say this, I do think that Power Quest has a great future in the States, not just because I live there, but I saw the reaction when the band was announced on the big screen.  I didn't know and I called Steve, it was like 7 am over here and I think it will be crazy.  When I did a signing session for Circle II Circle I ended up singing more Power Quest cd's than I did Circle II Circle.  This is by no means an exaggeration.  This is true, that is what I am particularly looking forward to the most.

MM - It's quite a big thing for you guys as I know it's something you've really wanted to do for a while now.
SW - Yes I think so.  You know the States is one of those go to places. You want to play Europe, you want to play the States, you want to play Japan.  Slowly we are ticking those things off the list.  Hopefully while we're over in the States we'll do a few more shows while we're over there.  Even if it's just another 4 or 5 it would be a really cool thing to do. 

AG - We will really try to and some more shows to that because it is madness to go all that way for just one show.

SW - Also from the fans point of view we've known people over there have been into the band for a number of years and they're always emailing or messaging us on MySpace asking us when we are coming, so it's great to finally be able to say, we are actually coming and you're going to finally get to meet us.  We did an interview a few weeks ago with a DJ in Florida and the lady who was interviewing us did most of the talking! (laughs).  The interview was about 1 1/2 hours and she was so stoked that we were finally coming over.  She said she was so thrilled that we were finally coming to America.

MM - The band are due to play the prestigious Hard Rock Hell Festival here in the UK later this week, are you looking forward to that show?
SW - Yes we're playing the festival this Saturday night.  The only unfortunate thing about it is the timings of the slots.  We seem to have drawn the short straw and we're on the same time as the Black Label Society, which isn't ideal in those situations but equally there's going to be people there that aren't going to be into Black Label who might prefer some Power Metal instead.  Needless to say we're going to go there and do the very best we can and have a good time.  

MM - You mentioned earlier that the band have already started to think about the next album.
SW -Yes, Bill's got some ideas about it already and I was showing the guys a few ideas I've got and some stuff at the rehearsals we did last weekend, a few songs but nothing in too much detail at this point.  Between us I think we've already got the nucleus of maybe 6 or 7 new songs and I'm sure there will be more coming pretty soon.  I think probably the experience of us all playing live together is going to be very productive as well.  

AG - We have to know each other, apart from the usual members, and we have to know how we are going to play.  We are going to work together and once you know musically how you can all work together it makes it easier.   

BH - And you know isn't the internet wonderful?  You can write something and then send it to the other guys to listen to straight away when you have finished it.  I send stuff over and it will be like 3 am in the morning here because where I am I'm 8 hours ahead at home.  

SW - Yes everyone else is saying, for fucks sake we want to go to sleep! (laughs)  

BH - Yes that is what they told me! (laughs)

SW - Slightly changing the subject here, this tour we have a slight change as we don't have Steve Scott here with us on this tour.  He's still back home in New Zealand, so we have Jon from Mercury Rain filling in on bass for us on this tour.  Jon's doing a great job for us to be honest, particularly considering he's just become a dad and he has a two month old kiddie and has had to learn 13 plus songs at pretty short notice is a big ask.  But he's come in, he's stepped up to the plate and he's done a grand job.  

MM - If you had to take one song off the new album as the one song that represents Power Quest right now, which one would you choose?
BH - Well it's funny because the song off the new album that really represents Power Quest for me we don't even play on this tour.  The song is called 'Kings Of Eternity' and I think it is definitely my favourite track off the new record but these guys they don't want to play it! (laughs).  I guess 'Cemetary Gates' would be a close second.

AM - 'Cemetary Gates', definitely.

FT - I'm going to say 'Save The World' but we're not going to play that either so ... (laughs).  So I guess 'Cemetary Gates' or 'Human Machine' as a close second.   I guess 'Human Machine' as it's cool.

SW - I think we all have a thing for 'Cemetary Gates' without a doubt but I like the title track 'Master Of Illusion' and I'd also agree with Francesco on 'Save The World', but it's been one of those albums for me where my favourite song of the album keeps changing, even for me.  In the past I might have thought that I didn't like a particular song as much as some of the others but on this album it's been different and I can honestly say I've never thought I don't enjoy that, I really enjoy the whole record.  

AG - I agree with you they are all different but they are all good.  They may all have that same trade mark but they are all very different.  For example I think 'Civilised' which is quite rocky and I like rocky stuff.

MM - Have you had to change the arrangements of any of the older songs now that you have Bill in as second guitarist? AM - Well yes but we're going to share the solo's on the old songs and sometimes when I was the only guitarist we had to have more keyboard solo's but now it's not so keyboard guitar, keyboard guitar, now we can be guitar guitar keyboard if we want.  Now we're pretty much playing like the real record and it's working out really cool. BH - You know it is hard to find a guitarist who is humble enough to know he has nothing to prove and he just says to me yes you can take my solo.

AM - Well I don't care I just want us all to do a good show that is all.  (laughs) BH - Yes but that's not very common to come across someone who thinks like that you know.

MM - How much rehearsal time have you actually had a chance to do altogether before this tour?
AG - 16 hours exactly!

BH - Yes and if you take out the lunch we went out to have it's even less than that! The eating part of it is a big part of the band you know.  I have learnt this.  

AG - We had 3 days of rehearsals.  The second day was already going very good and the last rehearsal we had was yesterday.  It's cool.   

FT - We rehearsed a lot more for this tour because the last tour of England we did we had no rehearsals before at all! (laughs).

AM - Yes the first rehearsal we did for that tour was the very first gig! (laughs).  I remember Steve Scott telling Alessio who was playing the guitar about half way through the gig, oh wow you play cool guitar, because Steve had never seen Alessio play guitar before.  The first time he had seen it was when we were actually out on tour! (laughs).  

BH - I thought my first time playing with Power Quest would not be too much pressure, but no Andrea was running late so I had to play by myself.  I was like OK I could loose my job if I don't do this right.  Talk about pressure! (laughs).

MM - Is there anything that we've missed that you'd like to share with all our readers?
SW - Well one thing I'd like to say is it's been well over 2 years since we last played a show in the UK and it feels just great to finally be back.  This is the first night of the tour and we're all really really looking forward to getting out there and kicking some ass and they say.  It's great to have all the guys here in the band and we're all just really fired up.

AG - There is a saying we have about how we are feeling right now and that is "The Magic Never Dies!" (laughs).

MM - Well it's great to see you guys back out on the road over here because we were starting to get a bit worried that the only way we would see you is if we packed our bags and flew out somewhere to see you perform.
BH - It's perfect because it is actually really my first time over here in Europe and so I'm really excited about it and I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to do this interview and to all the fans who are coming out to see the shows.  Thanks to all the Power Quest fans around the world and if you can make it to one of the shows then please be here or wherever we play.  

SW - And so say all of us! (laughs).

MM - We'd like the thank the band for taking the time out to chat with us this evening and inviting us down to the show (which went phenomenally as the review elsewhere on this site will tell you).  If you like good melodic power metal of the highest caliber then be sure to check Power Quest out.