Chity Somapala leaves Power Quest

[1928]

Hey, to each their own! Nothing wrong with that, in my opinion, since it's worded intelligently. It took me a while to get used to his voice in Power Quest - can't really remember what he sounded like on the older material (only had live vids to judge from) but I think his voice is one of the reasons I enjoyed Blood Alliance so much. In songs like Time To Burn, I think it compliments the sound perfectly. It almost has a literally 'cool' atmosphere to it.

Going to go spin Blood Alliance in the car now actually... if the CD player decides to work! It's time to burn~

 

[Shredlamode]

At the end of the day as much as I respect Chity as a musician and friend, I personally don't think his heart was ever fully in the band. All of us play in Power Quest because first and foremost we love playing this music... if we didn't enjoy it or played purely for money we wouldn't be in PQ and that's simple - I'm sure Steve can testify for this more than ANYONE else. I'd like to wish Chity the best of luck in his solo career and future projects!

 

[Power_Metal_Dom]

I think that's fair enough to say Thematt, everyone's entitled to their opinion. I did like and still like Chity as a singer but I couldn't fault him too much on his stage presence since (and I want to choose my words in the most complimentary way possible), well, he's never going to have the energy of Alessio say or someone new to the game. Instead he held court with his mic with a very cool and relaxed manner. Same approach to his singing I think as 1928 hinted at, his voice didn't fly up and down like fireworks at a fairground, they were just sonorous and soulful. It did take quite the getting used to after Alessio but it's shocking just how well they fit. And that goes for the whole lineup. Phenomenal to have a complete mix-up and come back strong, fresh, epic and so very well received by the fans. This is what I'm worried Chity is going to take with him, the cohesion that PQ had to build up from scratch. That and maybe a bit of a sour taste after that blunt post.

But then this is PQ. "No one can ever hold us down...No one on earth can stop us now". The Quest must and will go on.

EDIT: It is never any less incredible and admirable that Steve takes a financial hit on this and doesn't bank a big wage. For this I could not be more thankful to him and all the guys. I just wish that Chity was of the same mind but I can't realistically blame him for his viewpoint even if I want to fault him idealistically.

 

[Gibbon]

I also thought he was great on the album(altough never saw him live so don't know about that). However if he want to do other stuff, like change genre, I think he should if it makes him happy. But when I read

i don't care anymore what good songs,what great fucking label,what great respect...

...well let's just say he lost my respect for him.

And what Steve and Andy said above is the reason I think people should play music. All my respect to you and good luck with the new singer!

 

[1928]

Yeah, I have to say that post has begun to rub me the wrong way... I'm very glad to hear Andy say the rest of the band is fully dedicated to it, though. Hell, it made me giddy to see Rich get a PQ tattoo.

Chity's been in the game long enough that I'm sure if I was in his position I'd be a little annoyed at not being paid for my craft too, but I dunno, he wasn't too delicate with what he said... What I'm wondering now is if the new singer will have the same type of range that Chity had or not. It was a risky yet brilliant decision on Steve's part to choose someone like Chity and Blood Alliance turned out wonderful - I can only hope the same for the next album, which I'm more than eager to hear about.

Also

his voice didn't fly up and down like fireworks at a fairground,

I love this analogy!

 

[Gibbon]

Yes I totally understand if he's annoyed and/ or mad for not getting any profit in what he does, especially since it's really good work. But I think that going from a singer who has put in soul in music and done it for that long time(and you can totally hear this on Blood Alliance) to not give a shit about the music/friends etc. as long as he gets paid is a bit...wrong. Altough I'm not going to judge too much since maybe I don't know the whole story, but still.

And even though I'm not going to nag about that post anymore after this, what does he mean with power metal beeing dead in this case?

 

[yourbetrayal66]

I can understand chitrals frustration. But if his heart is not in it 110% thats going to mak him not enjoy his job. i loved chitral he was a great singer for power quest. hopefully the new singer will put 110% into this band like allesio did(sorry if its spelt wrong).
I will continue to support chitral in what ever he does in future projects. x

 

[Symphony]

I think Andy made a very good point in the sense that we all do this because we are passionate about it the music, the fans and everything that goes along with being in Power Quest.

As a last mention on the financials......none of us take a salary or wage. There are some very good reasons for this. Consider the following.......we get an advance from the label to pay for the album/artwork/mastering etc. Now this may only cover 50% of the costs involved.......so I pick up the tab. So immediately, before we even hit the road, we have thousands of pounds to make up in costs.

Merchandising is all controlled by us.......which means it is paid for upfront by the band, which is another considerable outlay. We don't receive tour support...so we are in effect self financed on the road. Hence why all earnings from shows are ploughed back into the tour to cover costs and anything that is left is then used to recoup merchandise and recording outlay as mentioned earlier.

It's a catch 22 really......we can't afford to be on the road as much as we would like and, as a result, we all need to work normal jobs......and as a result of working normal jobs, we only have so many days off per year to be able tour and record.....which in my case is 25 days.

I never ask other band members for contributions to these costs.....and that has always been the way. Basically, if I didn't have a decent day job.......there really wouldn't be a PQ as I wouldn't be able to manage the inherent costs involved.

If we are ever in a position to earn from PQ....fantastic! But for me.....the last 10 years has all been out been able to make albums and play for you guys and that will continue to motivate to drive PQ onwards

 

[Powerray]

up to the next quest !!!

 

[moleSG]

After reading this, I must admit to being seriously impressed to the dedication you guys have to PQ and to keeping it going.
I didn't quite realise a lot of the financing had to come from your own pocket, Steve, mega props for doing that.

Thanks for everything, onwards and upwards now, right?

 

[Andiferum]

Music has always got to be a passion first and a profession second. If you can make money from it, that's great. But even if you can't, it's just great to be able to play some music that people enjoy listening to.

 

[Cronopio]

Please don't blame me i won't sing for free anymore and i've done it too often for others.it's time to get paid for you work, i don't care anymore what good songs,what great fucking label,what great respect... nuff z nuff and power metal is dead so i decided my own thing, is it bad?

Even though I respect Chity's work as a singer for Power Quest, he really should have worded his comment differently. Now it comes across as if he were expected to work for free, or at the very least was not even informed of how it works with PQ. Even though I don't know for sure, I'm 100% confident that Steve and the other guys have been nothing but honest from day one.

By the way: How many UM accounts does Chity have?

 

[Bass Monkey]

Finally, the Bass Monkey has come back.............to the Power Quest Forum! And it seems like we can all smell what Chity's been cooking! Ha ha.

I completely agree with all that Steve and Andy have already said here guys. Thanks to Chity for the time he spent with us and good luck in the future, you're a great singer. Now it's all about Power Quest going from strength to strength.

Hopefully you can all see what Power Quest means to Steve, Andy, Rich, Gav and I. We all knew there was no money in this from the start, as did Chity. This is about music and our passion for playing it. We all sacrifice a lot to be able to do this, holidays, money, time with our partners and our families. It's you guys that make it worthwhile and we thank you for that.

I'm looking forward to getting out on the stage with the rest of the guys and our new frontman in November. I can promise you this, we're going to bring it!

 

[fool_in_paradise]

Really sad to see another line-up change for PQ in a longer, but still short, space of time. Steve is a great guy who puts everything into the music and has had a really tough time this past few years.
I think what we can say safely is that although the line-up problems weren't cracked this time round he came pretty close and has 4 members who share his vision for the band and, if the official statement is as confident as it sounds then the 5th member to share that vision has now been found! Long live the quest :Smokedev:

 

[Power_Metal_Dom]

Paul's getting ready to lay the smackdown! Thank you so much for everything dude!