Finally I have found another band which is quite heavy very melodic and amazing to listen through their entire album without growing tired of it quickly. This is the fifth studio release by Vanden Plas, which is a concept album which is inspired by the Alexandre Dumas novel :The Count of Monte Chisto.
When I first heard this band inside the local music store, I thought it was an odd Dream Theater release. I heard strong keyboards, heavy palm muted guitar riffs, complex solo's and a vocalist, who in a way, sounds a bit like James Labrie. So being a pretty big Dream Theater fan I picked this up and from the opening of the album it caught my attention and never really let it go.
From when I started listening to the album to the very end it lent off quite a dark atmosphere, Each song remaining heavy through out the album, from the first song on the album it completely captures your interest, pulls you in and doesn't let go. Each song had amazing riffs and solo that will just make your jaw drop because they sound amazing, There are bands that people say that just throw in solo's because they want to show off, but this each solo fits the mood perfectly for the song which is being played. Vocally, this is also great he throws his voice all over the place reaching high and low notes and not sounding ridiculous.
I would compare the lead singer to that of James Labrie, but if you can't James Labrie's high notes, then you will have no problem will falling in love with this band because they go no where near that territory where you are thinking "shut up already!"
Keyboards- stick out on this album because of the solo's and just the pure atmosphere to keep the songs sounding dark and mysterious like. There are some amazing keyboard solo's on here that you will want to hear again and again, hitting rewind just to hear the entire solo again, I would say the keyboard solo's are much better than the guitar solo's you'll hear, not to take anything away from the amazing guitar solo's either.
Guitars- There are a lot of riffs and they never stay the same throughout any of the songs, always changing themselves and then going into a great solo somewhere with the keyboard and always it sounds great. There is not one song on here where I can annoyed with the guitar use at all.
Drum & Bass- This is an album where I notice the drums a lot and the bass is right there along with it charging the songs along into a brilliant mix. I wouldn't say the drummer in this band is the best, but he is damn good and never gets annoying. Then again I never get annoyed with drums unless it's something like St. Anger.
In closing- if you listen to bands such as Symphony X, Dream Theater, Lunatica, or Heavenly you should definitely give this band a listen. What makes this band stick out above the rest is just the much darker feel than the other, but still sounding smooth while keeping it heavy and interesting.
