QUEST - AMSTERDAM (NOORD-HOLLAND) 1988 - 2005

BIOGRAPHY: In august ’88  ex-Warrior and ex-Second Face frontman/bassplayer/entertainer Willem Ros teams up with former Black Knight members Ron Moné, Rudo Plooy and Jenny van de Goor.
Within 6 months the band does a few gigs and with newly written songs the band enters the Polderweg Studio’s in Amsterdam. Result is the demo ‘Searching for the Unknown’.
The music is melodic Heavy Metal with a raw edge to it. A short time later the former Black Knight members start up Black Knight again and leaves the band. Willem Ros decides to continue with Quest and finds new members in Jan Karsten, Andreas Smits (ex-Storm) and Eddy Volkers.
Over the following years the band plays quite some gigs and write new songs. Only on own recorded live shows the songs can be heard. Good Hard Rock/Heavy Metal songs in which twin guitar solo’s and Willem’s eccentric bass playing draws the attention. Their best period in Quest’s history. The band appears on the compilation Cd ‘Metal Trax part 2’ with the song ‘Alien Invasion’, a 9 minute epic song. It’s clear Willem got influenced by bands like Europe in this song. ‘Alien Invasion’ isn’t a bad melodic Hard Rock song, but it misses a good structure due it’s length probably. After the release the band still exists, but not much is heard from the band outside the rehearsal room. At the end of the 90s Quest plays in a new line-up at the Heavy Metal Dag in Hoogeveen. This as a 3 piece band, of course centred around Willem Ros.
But again, it’s gets quiet again and then the news comes that guitarist Eli left the band. A few years later Willem makes another attempt with another line-up. A few gigs and years later Quest splits up. Willem doesn’t stop and in 2005 he comes back with, yes, another line up. This time with John Spanjaart, drums, and Patrick Kruijer on guitars. The same year they change the band name into Speedchaser (which is the title of a Quest song). According to themselves ‘because of practical and promotional reasons’. A website is made and the band plays a few gigs in 2005. It’s now 2006, the website is offline and it seems nothing is going on anymore. But with Willem Ros you never know. Just check the news section here now and then. If we got any news, we will put it in there.

** Most memorable remark from Willem Ros ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, we’re gonna play a song from Ozzy Osdorp.....Paranoid!'

(Stefan)

MEMBERS:

Willem Ros – vocals/bass
Ron Moné – guitars
Jan Karsten – guitars
Andreas Smits – guitars
Sven Bollemeijer - guitars
Eli – guitars
Patrick Kruijer - guitars
Jenny van de Goor – keyboards
Rudo Plooy – drums
Eddy Volkers – drums
Fred van Hensbergen – drums
John Spanjaart – drums

DISCOGRAPHY:

1989 Searching for the Unknown(DEMO)
1994 Metal Trax pt. 2 (Compilation - Track: "Alien Invasion")

MEMORABILIA



Old Quest line-up picture


Bassist / vocalist & mainman Willem Ros