220 Volt: Power Games (Music on CD)

Originally released in 1984, Power Games was the second album from Swedish heavy metal band 220 Volt. The band played a melodic version of the NWOBHM style of metal that bands like Jaguar and Diamond Head perfected. Like early Europe meets Overdrive.

With Power Games, 220 Volt straddles the line between polished melodic rock and epic, high-energy heavy metal. The melodies take center stage, but there’s a satisfyingly heavy tone throughout the album. The songs are simple and straightforward, but there’s a dramatic feel to them and the vocals (especially when the backing vocals kick in) are really memorable. “Firefall,” “Night Without End” and “Carry On” are standouts, but the whole album (brief as it is at just 35 minutes) is really solid.

220 Volt never really conquered the world the way Europe did, and Power Games isn’t quite an essential release, but if you’re a fan of the early Swedish metal sound or of the more melodic NWOBHM bands, there’s a lot to like about this album.

Reissue Notes: Power Games was finally given an official CD release this year thanks to the Music on CD label. That’s the good part. The bad part is that while the album has been remastered, the source material appears to be the original vinyl. There is no bonus material, even though they could have put the 1984 Heavy Christmas single and still had room leftover. And the booklet is almost non-existent. This is as basic a reissue as the old Wounded Bird titles, which is a real shame.