BEYOND DAYLIGHT

Vanden Plas hails from the beautiful Fatherland. Their music is as vast as the Black Forrest of their homeland. According to the group they have released their most stylistically diverse recording to date with Beyond Daylight. I certainly can concur that I heard a good cross section of powerful rock music on this advance CD. The first edition is set for the first pressings and it will include a bonus track, which is a cover version of Kansas' classic rocker "Point Of Know Return." So not only can their fans enjoy a more assorted mix of metal and prog-rock, they get a blast from the past.

There are some standout tracks such as "Scarlet Flower Fields"; it's most impressive with its fascinating lyrical content and the mightily charged vocals of Andy Kuntz. Stephan Lill (guitars) and Günter Werno (keyboards) form a formidable wall of sound as the rhythm section of Torsten Reichert (bass) and Andreas Lill (drums) pummels your senses until you submit. "Beyond Daylight" is their grand masterstroke painted from the varied progressive musical palette. The curtain closes slowly and with purpose as this epic number pushes you beyond the fringes of music itself as it sucks you into its time warp. You will easily fall into the lure of fantasy with this music, which I am sure is the intent and focus of the entire project. Good prog-rock will always have that effect on me, and I know its doing the job when I am swept away by the sheer force and clout of the music. "Healing Tree" shows how the group can step back and reflect upon their sensitivity and gentleness with a ballad. That is the splendor and magnitude of any good band, their ability to rock with authority and show the beauty that lies within the music as well.

So it's all here in one tight and firm package awaiting your eager ears to devour. This album is 100% progressive metal at its apex.