QUEST

The band from Staffordshire did not spent much time between their debut and the sophomore release.With Steve Lipiec replacing Tony Moore on keyboards,Final Conflict entered The Gaolhouse Studios in their town Newcastle under Lyme and recorded the concept album ''Quest'' in 1992.It was their second and final release for the Spanish Gaia Records.

The strong debut ''Redress the balance'' had already set high marks around the band,but at the end ''Quest'' turns into a slight dissapointment.Actually the first two or three tracks are quite good and fairly comparable to the best out of their debut: Imaginative, clean and alternating Neo Prog with AOR/Hard Rock touches,very good vocal ranging from more sensitive to strong lines and of course catchy and melodic guitar work.From now on the album will somewhat fall towards the cliff.Very AOR-based with synths more on the front having a mediocre sound and only a few nice guitar moments and some MARILLION-esque keys will save the tracks,which heavily lean towards good production and energy but less on inspiration and trully memorable material.We will have to wait for the longest and last track ''Betrial'' for some decent stuff again.Here the band show what they are capable of with the atmospheric lyrical intro giving its place to some dynamic guitars and vocals along with the good synth work.

''Quest'' should not be among your major preferences,no matter if you are a fan of Neo Prog or not.Half of the album is rather forgettable and uninspired and the few interesting compositions will appeal to fans of GALAHAD or second phase-PALLAS.Better try some samples before moving to a buy...2.5 stars.