VANDEN PLAS

Fifth studio album of german prog metal band Vanden Plas from 2006 named Christ O. The story behind this album is in Andy Kuntz view an remake about the famous Count of Monte Cristo, written and compose in his manner and re adapted to modern days life. To tell you the truth it get me more than usual to listen to this album then any VP album before, because this version of the novel is kinda hard to get into in fiew listen. So after 10 or more spins since he was released 3 years ago I bigun to understant this modern aproach of mr Kuntz. The music is a little more heavier then previous albums, and a thing that I don't really like, the toying now with more power metal than usual or even in places some hard core chops on guitar, very rough and not really impressive in Vanden Plas sound as a whole. Like Symphony X case when their last was way more heavier and deseppointing many fans included me, in this case is the same. Well the album is not bad, some pieces are really good and have that VP flavour from early years like the opening track Christ 0 (nice chorus here), Postcard To God and Wish You Were Here, these 3 pieces are the best, the rest are only ok, not bad but without any shinig moments as on previous albums. In Vanden Plas career this is their most unpleasent (not bad) album so far and in prog metal scene an usual album with high and lows but very vague in contrast with their Far off grace or The god thing (their best albums for sure) and in contrast with othe rband and albums from that period. I will give 3 star while is not bad for sure is less intristing than any other VP album so far and I think is time for a new one because are allready 3 years from this one.

When i pulled the liner notes out and saw the picture on the back it actually startled me.Why? Because it's the same guy who's on the cover of KARMAKANIC's "Who's the Boss In The Factory?". I swear it's the same freaking guy! Same hat,face,cigar,suit...it's him! Anyway back to VANDEN PLAS. According to Pete Pardo this latest recording from this German Prog-Metal band is a concept album based loosely on the story of "The Count Of Monte Cristo".It's interesting to see the high ratings for this album because for me it's my least favourite,and i've heard them all and am a big fan.First of all with the bonus track it's almost 80 minutes long! Second of all i'm not big on concept albums. It's hard for me to put a finger on it but this seems so uninspired and so avaerage for this band.It doesn't hold a candle to "The God Thing" in my opinion. "Christ O" opens with some atmosphere and choir before we get blitzed but then it settles quickly with vocals.This is actually an excellent track when it gets fuller. "Postcard To God" is heavy to begin with but settles when the vocals come in,although the heavy drums continue with synths.The heaviness is back after 3 minutes and we get a guitar solo 4 minutes in. "Wish You Where Here" contrasts the heavy and lighter passages well.Not a fan of the mellow sections with piano but the full on assaults work well.I like the dark and sinister sound after 4 1/2 minutes.Some great guitar follows. "Silently" opens with piano followed by the heaviness which comes and goes.Violin and a calm 3 minutes in followed by a good guitar solo.Themes are repeated. "Shadow I Am" impresses me with the heaviness and drumming,especially on the chorus.A ripping guitar solo after 3 1/2 minutes. "Fireroses Dance" opens with piano as fragile vocals come in.A fuller sound after a minute as the contrast continues.Some welcomed heaviness after 3 minutes as we get an incredible second half. "Somewhere Alone In The Dark" is a heavy beast with some killer guitar.Nice. "January Sun" opens with fragile vocals and piano as violin comes in.Not a fan.We get some samples to do with the concept.A better sound 5 minutes in but it ends as it began. "Lost In Silence" is a laid back tune with vocals. I think most will look at this as one of the bands best,but some of us are disappointed.It's still a good album of course.

At this moment of reviewing this album has received 9 ratings and no reviews yet. And I have to say, this is not an easy one to review for me as well. First I have to say I'm a huge Vandenplas fan at least where their studio efforts are concerned.

And there actually lies my problem with Vandenplas, with this live-issue. A few years ago I had the chance to see them live myself when they visited Holland in a combined concert with Riverside. In fact I went for Riverside back then who opened the evening gig. But it became all very late and because I had to catch the last train I missed out on Vandenplas. I was really hurt but this pain has decreased after hearing this live album. Not that there is anything wrong with the musical performance, on the contrary. For instance Stephan Lill is indeed the guitar hero I always saw in him and also the other bandmembers perform excellently. The only thing I have a problem with is the entertaining (not the vocal !) performance of Andy Kuntz. To explain this I have to start with the statement that I like a bit of modesty on the stage. A down to earth and sympathetic connection with the audience of mostly the singer of a band is what I very much appreciate (like Roine Stolt or Nick Barrett for instance). And that's exactly not what mr.Kuntz is doing on this album. All he can come up with is over the top shouting out and showing off his great skills of the various languages (English and French (the gig was in Paris), because you have to know many Germans don't really control these languages). Apparently Andy Kuntz is so proud of this that he really wants everybody to know. Well, I'm sorry but I don't like that attitude and I regret to admit that the man hasn't increased his distinction for my personal taste. Because that is at the same time something you have to realize, it's just my personal feeling about this, any other person might feel very different about this and experience it all as great entertainment !

Besides above stated this is a more than excellent performance by Vandenplas on this live album, maybe even worthy of the 5 stars but I feel I have to subtract at least half a star because of my complaint for this is really a disturbing element when I play this CD. Highlight is the excellent Into the Night played in the beginning and getting the audience in the right mood. And the rest is hardly any less. Shame about the almost narcissist tendencies of Andy Kuntz on several moments (especially when he goes French) ruining the thing slightly for me. But I can go no lower than 4 stars because this band is simply too good !

Without a doubt this is my favourite VANDEN PLAS record.There are no ballads on this one although there are mellow passages which are used to great effect in contrast to the heavy sections.This album has some great atmosphere to it,as well a ton of heaviness.They do not compromise on this record or pull any punches and i love it.Of course your reading words from a guy who's favourite DREAM THEATER album is "Train Of Thought", get the picture? The liner notes are filled with some great pictures of the band including Portnoy and Pertucci.By the way VANDEN PLAS say hi to ANGRA and TIME MACHINE among others. "Fire Blossom" is the 3 minute intstrumental intro track.Piano and bass stand out early before synths and drums join in.The low end guitar sounds great,quite powerful.Piano returns, then back to the heavy soundscape.It ends with thunder as it blends into "Rainmaker" where we can hear the rain falling hard.Check out the guitar melody as heavy riffs and killer bass comes in.Very powerful sound.Vocals and a calm after 1 1/2 minutes.It kicks back in and the bass is huge! Ripping guitar solo before 5 minutes.Amazing song,one of their best ever. "Garden Of Stones" is about a literal place in the south of Crete where Andy has visited many times and experienced positive things as a result.A piano intro as fragile vocals join in.It stays mellow until an explosion of sound after 2 minutes.Here come the riffs a minute later.Check out the crunchy riffs 6 minutes in! This one smokes! "In You:I Believe" is heavy with synths.Lyrically it's like a prayer.The guitar is all over this one. "Die I Die" opens with background synths,gentle guitar and reserved vocals.It kicks in around a minute.Nice. This contrast continues.It gets even heavier 5 1/2 minutes in with intense vocals. "Crown Of Thorns" opens with piano as mellow vocals come in.Cello after 3 minutes then it starts to pick up 3 1/2 minutes in.Here we go! The highlight is the guitar solo 5 minutes in that goes on and on as drums pound away. "We're Not God" opens with what sounds like the twin guitar attack of JUDAS PRIEST.Lots of crunch in this one.Synths before 4 minutes as the guitar driven heaviness continues.Great guitar before 5 1/2 minutes.Love the vocals too.Some complexity on this one. As good as all these songs have been the last two tracks are the best. "Salt In My Wounds" is the heaviest track yet.Just a monster sound with background synths.The verses are calmer with piano,but the chorus is slow and very heavy. "You Fly" is a hymn and dedication to Andy's grandfather who passed away.He tells a touching story about him in the liner notes.The piano intro is run over quickly by a dark and heavy wall of sound.Vocals and a calm come in but they're brief.The contrast continues though.Killer guitar solo after 3 minutes.Very heavy riffs a minute later.Amazing sound.When it settles down there is this powerful undercurrent of sound.Emotional track. This is my kind of music. And how awesome would "The God Thing" sound live.

If you want to read a good story check out Man Overboard's review of this album,you'll be glad you did.The band thanks DREAM THEATER,ANGRA,SILENT FORCE and KAMELOT in the liner notes.I love all 5 of VANDEN PLAS' studio albums,but this is my least favourite.Andy Kuntz for me is the star of this band,i love the tone of his voice,but on this album they drift too much into the mellow zone for my liking.And sure Andy sounds great singing ballads,but i'd rather be beaten over the head by a VANDEN PLAS song then be wooed by one. "Nightwalker" opens with spacey sounds before violin comes in,then a crushing soundscape. Background synths and vocals 1 1/2 minutes in.A nice heavy sound follows.Andy sounds amazing on the chorus.Lots of bottom end 4 minutes in.A mellow ending. "Cold Wind" is another great tune.Piano melodies to open as drums,bass and synths swallow them up quickly.It's speeding up.Awesome sound! Vocals come in as riffs continue.Again like the previous song the chorus is fantastic.A wonderful guitar solo 3 1/2 minutes in. "Scarlet Flower Fields" is the first ballad-like track,but by far the best one.Gentle guitar and reserved vocals to open before it starts to build to a full sound.This contrast continues.Andy shines on the chorus.Check out the bass after 3 minutes and the drumming that follows.The best part might be the soaring guitar after 4 minutes. "Healing Tree" is one song i'm not really a fan of.Good lyrics though in this ballad.I like the instrumental work 3 1/2 minutes in and the guitar solo that follows though. "End Of All Days" opens so gently and then 20 seconds in were hit with an all out assault.A calm with vocals a minute in.The contrast continues.The second half of this song is killer! Blistering guitar 5 minutes in.Oh my! "Free The Fire" hits us hard with punishing riffs as the guitar plays over top.Vocals join in,in this uptempo rocker.A great crushing sound after 3 minutes. "Can You Hear Me" is ok,it's another ballad. "Phoenix" opens with uptempo piano,but it gets heavy fast.Another great chorus.Tasteful guitar solo before 4 minutes. "Beyond Daylight" is the almost 11 minute closing track.Piano and fragile vocals early before it kicks into gear before a minute.This is another mellow song for the most part. Barely 4 stars for me.

I think they've simplified things a little compared to "The God Thing" and increased the heaviness while they were at it.Maybe playing in front of those large audiences when they toured with DREAM THEATER made them think more of how these songs would sound live. "I Can See" is a good example of the heaviness, as we get hit hard by riffs right off the hop.Stephen Lill said he wasn't sure how the band would react to this song when he presented it to them, because it wasn't anything like what they had done before(the staccato riff combined with the uptempo beat).Synths then vocals join in quickly,and i must say i'm a big fan of Andy's vocals.I like when it settles a little with vocal harmonies.The drums pound relentlesly throughout and check out the guitar solo 2 1/2 minutes in.Great ending as well. "Far Off grace" is where they slow things down to start with.Pleasant vocals and acoustic guitar before a powerful display crashes in.This contrast continues.Tasteful guitar before 4 minutes with piano coming in a minute later.It kicks back into gear before 6 minutes.Nice.What a terrific way to start the album with those two songs. "Into The Sun" opens with synths that are blown away in a hurry by heavy riffs.Not blown far apparently 'cause they're back rather quickly in the background this time.Vocals and a heavy undercurrent follows.Love the chorus.Themes are repeated. "Where's The Man" is heavy with synths to open.Nice drum work.It settles when vocals come in.I like the instrumental interlude before 4 minutes.This one is dark,atmospheric and emotional. "Iodic Rain" is spacey to open before some killer drums come in, and then it's full speed ahead.It calms down with chugging riffs,vocals and background synths.More great drumming after 3 minutes,a scorching guitar solo comes in a minute later. "I Don't Miss You" is a ballad of reserved vocals and piano for the most part.Andy wrote this as sort of a sarcastic love letter.Words like "I don't miss you,i don't even love you,i wish you would die in my arms". "Inside Of Your Head" has a cool laid back intro before the heaviness arrives.Vocals join in.Synth solo 3 1/2 minutes in followed by a guitar solo.This is one of my favs along with the first two tracks. "Fields Of Hope" builds to a full sound before a minute.It calms down when vocals come in.Some excellent chunky bass in this one after 2 1/2 minutes to the end. "I'm With You" opens with piano then fragile vocals.Synths then acoustic guitar follow.Drums come in as it builds.Synths are prominant 3 minutes in followed by a ripping guitar solo and a full sound.It ends as it began. I know there isn't anything new here,that isn't the point.I just love this style of music a lot.This was a blast!

This album lacks originality.... However, this is first class prog metal!

But with a heavy Dream Theater influence... Specially the way the Günter Werno's keyboards are similar to the Kevin Moore's ones. And Andy Kuntz tries to make some James LaBrie typical tricks too, specially in the deep tones... The riffs of the songs are also very Petrucci. The general style of the music is maybe a bit more classical, and it's a bit under the 80's influence, but the overall sensation is that this album is way too similar to Dream Theater.

Nevertheless, like I said before, the music inlcuded here has prime quality... The production is just perfect, outstanding. Everything sounds great here! I specially like the interludes of the songs, the instrumental sections. For example, in End of All Days, we have the typical prog metal song, with a good chorus. But suddenly, after the second chorus, an acoustic guitar appears, accompanied by a great keyboard melody... Then some good vocal melodies guide the song to a hard, intrincated and brilliant section. And this kind of breakings (with different schemes...) happens in almost every song! The piano part in the middle of Beyond Daylight, the very Dream Theater but excellent solo in Scarlet Flower Fields... I really love the instrumental sections of this album!

Another important fact is the good mixture this album has between hard and mellow tracks, the slow and speed ones... The dominat key are the middle speed ones, but we have also some metal bullets like the classical Free the Fire, and the Symphony X influenced Phoenix... So this good choice of the tracks mood, together with the homogene quality of almost all of them, makes this album really enjoyable to listen to.

Best Tracks: a really difficult choice... My favourites are maybe Nightwalker, Scarlet Flower Fields (great chorus, and brilliant middle section...), End of All Days (I also love the instrumental interlude...), Can You Hear me (a really catchy ballad...) and Beyond Daylight (maybe the best track of the album...)

Conclusion: if you are a prog metal fan, you'll surely enjoy this album, like I do... But if you're are searching something really new or exciting, you're looking in the wrong direction, because this album lacks some originality. There are no big surprises in the style of this germans... They make great music, but they take no risks. This is the reason I can't say this album should be in every prog music collection.

My rating: ***1/2

It's always good to listen to Vanden Plas for one simple reason; they always try to focus their sound on making good songs, not just based on complexity and endless musical sections that involve to the musicians and their instruments every time, almost without breathing (I'm not against the virtuosity and complexity in music, in fact I enjoy it, but many bands forget the essence of making good music, with more technique than feeling in many cases).

For that reason it's very pleasing to hear an album like this, because Far Off Grace not only is the third effort from this great Progressive Metal act from Germany, but also is the product of a mix between their heavier side and melodies that suggest charming music landscapes along the recording.

The album is strongly influenced by Dream Theater's early years (specially by Awake album), Far Off Grace possesses quality, good tracks and catchy rhythms. Musically, I liked the melodic and soft moments on songs like Far off grace (great keyboard work), I don't miss you, the instrumental dynamics on Into the sun, Iodic rain and the use of zither to create an middle-east atmosphere on Fields of hope (it sounds pretty good).

Ironically, they weren't too far to get their own sound, a sound that would shine with total splendor and personality on the adaptation of certain book from the French writer...

...Alexandre Dumas?, but that's another review!.

By: Epsilon.

It's not necessary to extend any comment about this work, because in my own words "Beyond Daylight" is some steps below in relation to Vanden Plas' previous albums; however, there are catchy and special moments inside the record that can give certain help, saving this review from an unfortunate final score.

Basically, this album is nearer to a melodic metal style and far from rhythm's changes and progressive vision from other times. Nevertheless, the magic appears (only for some passages) and leave to the album free from mediocrity, even I have the sensation that they could make a better work on this opportunity.

Undoubtedly the good melodies are still there, almost nothing has changed in their way to make music but "Beyond Daylight" has disappointed me a little.

Some tracks to take in mind: Scarlet flower fields, Free the fire, Can you hear me, Phoenix.

Final score: 6.5/10.

By: Epsilon.

ELEGANT VISION OF GOD!!!

3 years after the first release of the band, these five top musicians from Germany bring us one of their greatest albums. The god thing, it's a lesson of how to make a record that can combine melody, style and sophistication with a great dose of well distributed musical arguments.

It's an album that lyrically puts the discussion about the dogmatic beliefs on today's world and how we live with those contradictions daily (I think that VANDEN PLAS was very brave for suggesting this kind of topic, because it's not easy to talk about them, at least I see it in that way). Musically, the band plays alternating strong melodies and really inspired soft and calm music moments here and there. It's very hard to choose only one song among all, because each song complements to other and like this until ending the record.

Individually?, mmm... well, it's impossible to stand out only one musician of the five because each one of them make a brilliant work during all the album, but I liked the atmospheres created by Mr. Werno on keyboards and specially the rhythm section work (by Mr. Reichert on bass and Mr. Lill on drums).

I just have to say... great work!!!.

By: Epsilon.