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If you hate "happy" Power Metal, stop reading. Still with me? Heavy Duty is the second album from Parsifal, a band made up of musicians from Sweden, Norway and Denmark. It's been a while since I have heard an album where the drummer gets spun up like a top and rocks the double-kick bass drum from nearly start to finish but that's what Parsifal does. The cover art for Heavy Duty might have you thinking Black or Pagan Metal, and the speed of the drums approaches some of those bands in a couple of spots ("The Seven Sorrows" for instance), but clear, high singing, major chords and neoclassical lead work are the order of the day. The songwriting is generic and I can't honestly remember any of the choruses, so there's some work to do there but the musicianship is solid and the solos are entertaining. The biggest area of opportunity for Parsifal is the vocals. Singer Oscar Pelin has the right kind of voice for this type of music and can actually hit the high notes without sounding like he's going to burst a blood vessel. On the downside, despite obvious talent, his technique is sloppy and he slides around quite a bit before settling on the right note. The undisciplined singing is in sharp contrast to the precision the band is obviously going for. There's definitely some work to be done but fans of Timeless Miracle and Celesty should keep an eye on Parsifal as what they are going for should be right up your alley even if they aren't quite there yet.