Quest Fest has slowly and deservedly become a household name in terms of being one of the THE events to showcase the best in melodic metal. It has certainly become the equivalent of a particular festive day in that community. This year, it came with a change of city and location, all for the better. It’s KK’s Steel Mill is paramount for the metal community with it being the venue owned by the legendary KK Downing (ex-JUDAS PRIEST / KK’s Priest). Upon arriving at the venue there was a throng of adventurers ready to begin their Quest. Comrades greeted one another and old friends were reunited with a sense of excitement and wonder in the air, songs were sung as the ever-evolving queue grew and grew.
Entering the venue press passes were collected and pre-ordered merchandise was collected as the assembled artists merchandise was displayed ready for purchase. Another section of the venue was set out as a mini-market for crafters to sell their wares alongside quiet space to take time out to draw, talk amongst friends and even do a bit of gaming – consoles and RPG were both on offer! The venue change is clearly evident of how much this festival has grown from year to year and is testament to the hard work put in by the organisers and the team supporting them.
A mighty army emerges, brandishing weapons of their craft and heading straight into their battle cries! They were HEROES OF THE GAUNTLET. They are a fairly new entity to enter the power metal sphere; aesthetically, WARKINGS and TWILIGHT FORCE collaborating come to mind. The band is inspired by the video game Gauntlet: Slayer Edition and consists of both male and female vocalists who create lyrical harmonies that intertwine with the musical stories of battle. Their fun and energetic stage antics matched the brilliant and uplifting melodies they had in store. One thing I was particularly impressed with was the brilliant harmonies between vocalists Anna and Mark. They were the type of band that had a couple of unforgettable moments; doing the macarena dance moves to one of their songs was just one of those moments. They were so magical that their drummer was invisible! Whether you had been doing it for a long time or were brand new to it, being the opening band is a challenging feat. Judging from the vast amounts of crowd interactions, HEROES OF THE GAUNTLET rose to this challenge and conquered it triumphantly.
Find HEROES OF THE GAUNTLET here.
STORMBORN’s performance was incredibly intense. The amount of energy displayed among the members was infectious, and they showed no signs of slowing down at any point in their set. The twin axe attack was more akin to the traditional heavy metal sound as opposed to full-on power metal but was the perfect location to showcase their craft. Charismatic vocalist Chris Simmons gave off strong Marko Hietala vibes in terms of charisma and vocal style. The latest single Trick of the Light is clearly an earworm!
Find STORMBORN here.
HUZZAH! The York-based Metal Mercenaries SELLSWORD were next on the stage, and this was my first time seeing them since 2019 and therefore my first time seeing them with vocalist Nathan Harrison. It was really good to see the band perform again, and the dynamic has not changed with a different vocalist; the iconic sword mic stand is still in use, and the band’s arsenal has only increased over time. The setlist featured songs from both of the band’s albums to date, which included songs such as Rise and Take Command and Pendragon. The main thing to call out here is to unleash the trebuchet! The crowd was attacked not just by one machine of war but two! While not fully successful at deployment, there were plenty of t-shirts fired into the waiting crowd. It is always good to see a band after such a long time, and I do look forward to seeing the band perform again.
Find SELLSWORD here.
FELLOWSHIP has grown from strength to strength; one of their first shows was Quest Fest 2022, when they played on a much smaller stage and further down the bill. Judging by how full the room was for them, it was clear they were one of the most anticipated bands to see. They delighted questers with a mix of songs from across their two albums, which provided the uplift that a lot of us need in these dark times. The band opened up with the song Glory Days, which instantly hooked the crowd. The band’s stage presence was inspiring and had the crowd eating out of their hand throughout the performance. The set also included Until The Fire Dies, Hold Up Your Hearts (Again), and closed with the almighty and powerful Glint. The crowd even partook in the first bit of crowdsurfing of the day. FELLOWSHIP is slowly becoming a household name in power metal, and judging from their whimsically delightful performance, it’s easy to see why.
Find FELLOWSHIP here.
SEVEN SPIRES are one of the best rising bands globally, and this was their first time at Quest Fest and Wolverhampton. First impressions? The sound is tight and polished. Their charismatic stage presence and tight musicianship won audiences over as they performed a mixture of songs from across their albums. Vocalist Adrienne Cowan has featured on AVANTASIA albums, and amongst the touring members, which was evident in her stagecraft. The aspect about SEVEN SPIRES that massively stood out was that whilst cycling through their set, it sounded like a completely different band per song, such was the dynamic of vocal changes between guttural and soprano. One could have been listening to DIMMU BORGIR and then someone like TEMPERANCE. Memorable songs were The Cabaret of Dreams, Succumb, and Gods of Debauchery, and this was only the band’s second ever time in the UK. It was getting to this point where more headbanging than note-taking meant there were many opportunities to soak up each and every part of their performance. There is already such a following that it will certainly encourage future visits to our shores, and judging from the reception, it’s easy to say they are welcome back again.
Find SEVEN SPIRES here.
FABIO LIONE needs no introduction as the former singer of RHAPSODY (and latter Of Fire) and ultimately the voice of Power Metal as we know it, and as he has always been victorious! His charisma and passion shone through as he belted out those notes, and it was clear that he was one of the favourites to see. Fabio was joined on stage by other former RHAPSODY (OF FIRE) bandmates Dominique Leurquin, Alex Holzwarth & Patrice Guers. This was a pivotal and iconic set with classic after classic that was lapped up indefinitely by the crowd. Homages to the late, great Christopher Lee abound in Unholy Warcry and also featured the almighty songs The March of the Swordmaster and Emerald Sword. It was an honour to finally witness such a legendary vocalist perform these quintessential Power Metal classics!
Find FABIO LIONE here.
Quest Fest has a reputation for picking worthy headlines, and SONATA ARCTICA was no exception. Both of us have a long-time love for the band, and it had been a long time since each of us had seen them live, so this was an exciting moment.
The band started out by playing two tracks from last year’s Clear Cold Beyond album, which I will be honest I had not gotten around to listening to. These songs are very much in the vein of the classic SONATA ARCTICA sound and a welcome addition to the band’s repertoire. The rest of the band’s set was heavily focused on their classic songs, which included San Sebastian, Replica, My Land, Full Moon, Wolf & Raven, and Don’t Say A Word. Each song was massively lapped up by the crowd with singalongs throughout, and vocalist Tony Kakko still has that distinctive and magnificent voice. With the band approaching their 30th anniversary next year, this band is still destined to be around for many more years to come. An hour isn’t that long for a headliner set, so one can imagine how difficult it must be to squash nearly 30 years of music into an hour setlist. SONATA delivered this with flying colours.
This brought the festival to a close and left all adventurers successful in achieving their Quest.
Find SONATA ARTICA here.
Final Words:
Martin: It was amazing to back at a festival I had previously attended and can see the sheer scale in how it has grown and evolved since the previous ones I have attended. I wish the festival all the success and look forward to further bands being announced for 2026!
Lotty: This has been my fourth year covering this festival! Whilst the festival has grown and evolved, the strong sense of community is in the air and grows stronger every year. It’s one of the places I feel you can be your true authentic self, I cannot wait for next year!
Words: Martin White & Lotty Whittingham
Photos: Phil Whitehouse
