This the band’s follow up to one of my favourite albums ever, The God Thing. It must be daunting for a band to have so much praise heaped on your art, and knowing that you have to follow it at some point. Well, it obviously didn’t bother them that much – this album is another monster record. Another huge killer production that is so clear and separated that you feel as though they are playing in your room. The Dream Theater references are easy to spot, but they add a whole lot more – especially with melody and crunch.
The opening riff to I Can See just rattles teeth. It’s a beast of a riff, and is such a dramatic piece (as indeed are most of their songs). The title track follows and it’s just sublime. The vocals and harmonies are just superb, and the guitar tone and riff is just evil. The intro and riff to Into The Sun is just epic, and their sense of melody is just fantastic.
You get the picture. This is another awesome record by such a great band that you’ve probably never heard of. You even get the added bonus (on this vinyl version) of a cover of Kiss Of Death by Dokken.
Another milestone reached as this is my 600th review.
This is a vinyl reissue of the band’s 4th studio album, originally released in 2002. Their second album, The God Thing, is one of my favourite albums of the genre. They have the perfect sound for me, with the huge guitars and the crystal clear production, it’s what your hi-fi was made for. This album is a continuation and it’s just superb. Very strong songs and arrangements with a killer production – this is Prog metal at its best. Equal parts Dream Theater, Metallica, and Dokken is about as close as I can get to describe their sound, but they are much more than that.
Nightwalker opens up the album in fine style and is an epic tune in the truest sense of the word. Cold Wind will blow you away with the perfect balance between crunch and melody – a superb track. They know how to tone it down and change the pace perfectly, as the beginning to Scarlet Flower Fields has such beauty before the power takes over, add to that a killer instrumental section, and ladies and gentlemen we have a contender. Healing Tree is a power ballad with the emphasis being on the power as well as melody. End Of All Days starts off at a pace with pounding double kicks that you can feel. The beauty and the power vie for your attention, and the guitar sound is freakin’ huge. Free The Fire starts with the heavy Metallica style chuggas, and Andy Kuntz’s soaring vocals. This track really drives hard and fast, and the keyboards just sit behind the guitar to really make this a huge sound.
Can You Hear Me is the one true ballad on the album, but the melody is just superb. Phoenix closes out Side 3, and I love the heavy off time grooves, those harmonies and vocal melodies are just awesome, and the guitar solo…well!!! Side 4 is given over to the title track, which is killer as it twists and builds into the inevitable crescendo. This version has a bonus track, Point Of No Return, which, if you can imagine, sounds a bit like Yes with heavy guitars.
A truly superb record that you should grab a copy of ASAP. A final warning however, this is my third copy of this album. The previous two were unplayable as they had defects in the same place on both records, and the copy I have now is very noisy. Frontiers need to get their quality control in order as this is not the first problem I have had with their pressings.
This is one of my favourite releases from the last 25 years, and it’s nice to see it get a release on vinyl, having originally only being available on CD. However, they have now swapped labels from Inside Out to Frontiers. Try to think of Judas Priest mixed with Images and Words era Dream Theater, and you would be close. The production on this record is exceptional, and it always amazes me how full and huge the instruments sound. The guitar sound is bigger than the biggest thing you can think of, and the drums sound so full and massive. They certainly know how to make a record.
The opening salvo of instrumental piece Fire Blossom that leads into Rainmaker is a freakin’ awesome opening to a record – it really sets the scene for the rest of the album. Every song sounds epic and grandiose, and vocalist Andy Kuntz sings for his life on every track. The ending of Day I Die is so huge and monster sounding that it will send goosebumps down your body. They definitely have a sense of the dramatic, and it can be heard in the opening to Garden Of Stones. It has a slow almost operatic build up, with a beautiful guitar lead in to the fat monster riff of the main song – it is really well put together. This is the format for the whole album, and the quality of each piece is off the charts.
If I’m pushed for a favourite track (and believe me, it’s so hard as they are all awesome) I would go for We’re Not God. The guitar tone alone is just unreal, coupled with the melody and the composition of the tune – its incredible. The band are huge in their native Germany, and I am at a loss why world domination has a eluded them.
This is 10/10 all day every day from The Grooveman.
This is the tenth studio album from these German Prog metallers. I first got into these guys through their first album The Colour Temple. Their second album, The God Thing, is an absolute masterpiece of the genre. This album is actually part 2 of the Ghost Xperiment concept. So for those of you not familiar with Vanden Plas – think Dream Theater in their more basic moments, with a huge fat guitar sound and great melodies.
First track, When The World Is Falling Down, is a great opener with a huge riff and a great vocal from the unfortunately named Mr Kuntz…Under The Horizon is next, and is more of the same – a great opening side. Black Waltz Death starts Side 2 in a mellow mood – with a nice acoustic intro that turns into a great power ballad with a cool solo section. The Lonely Psychogon closes out the first disc with another fat beast of a riff with a cool heavy groove. Great song!
On to Disc 2, and the epic Fatal Arcadia, which is very Dream Theater Train of Thought era. Ever since the second album (the aforementioned, The God Thing) the band have not been able to shake the DT comparisons, and when you listen to this tune you can understand why. It’s not a bad thing, may I add, as they do it really well. The Ouroboros is next to finish Side 3, the longest track on the album at 13.06. Another slow-burner of a tune that builds and builds into a tune of epic proportions. Another great song with some killer playing. Over to Side 4 we have Ghost Engineers – with its almost classical beginning and the weakest song on the album. Last track is a bonus track for the vinyl, Krieg Kennt Keine Sieger, and not a bad track it is.
Special mention goes out to Stephan Lill, who has a huge tone and drives the band with some monster riffs. That’s not knocking any of the other members as they are all great players – it’s just that guitar is very front and centre in the mix. If you were ever thinking about buying a Vanden Plas album and not sure where to start – I would go with The God Thing first, and then this beauty. Be careful when buying as the pressing quality is not great I’m on my third copy. Frontiers have no quality control.
