Artist: Vanden Plas
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2002
Rating: 4.5/5
Guitarist Stephan Lill’s serious health problems, which had doctors predicting he’d never be allowed to pick up a guitar again the way modern progressive metal demands, didn’t stop the guys from getting their fourth release done. With Stephan, of course, who made a miraculous recovery and played all the guitars just like we’ve come to expect from him. The combo of schooled chops and raw feeling has worked out for him again. Vanden Plas are one of the few bands that have stuck with the same lineup since day one.
“Beyond Daylight” shows Vanden Plas as a band that has finally managed to fuse progressive elements with classic heavy metal in a fantastic, atmospheric balance. There’s no more “Ugh, this one’s more heavy, that one’s more prog…” Nope, what we’ve got here is pure, perfectly balanced progressive metal.
The hard-hitting opener “Nightwalker” is proof of that right away. It packs killer transitions, and pay special attention to the “luminous” passage before the verse …”Where are you going to”…, followed by a gorgeous, melancholic chorus. Andy leans toward full-on melody in his singing. The guy has grown into a perfect singer, and he belts even the higher passages harder than ever. He doesn’t always lift the main vocal line in the choruses (“Cold Wind”, “Phoenix”), instead the vocal stays up in the pre-chorus sections. That lifts the mood there, and the recognizable layered, soaring backing vocals, perfectly tucked behind the main vocal line in the choruses, help too. As we’re used to with Vanden Plas, the guitar usually drops the riff in the choruses, the keyboards add extra atmosphere there, and the rhythm section gets busier, which doesn’t let the listener drift off for even a second.
The guitar keeps that mighty German power metal sound and is once again venomous when riffing. The riffs are progressively fractured. The drums in particular sound wider and deeper than on the otherwise excellent predecessor “Far Off Grace”. That’s exactly why I seriously doubted the guys could top “Far Off Grace”. But I have to admit they pulled it off. “Beyond Daylight” is the band’s next stage of evolution, a new step forward, another gorgeous chapter in the saga.
The peaks of the record are “End of All Days” and of course the title track (“Beyond Daylight”). “Free The Fire” is a killer rush, and with its opening riff and the melody of the pre-chorus it incredibly reminds me of “Brazilian fury” (Angra). The only ballad-ish moment on the record is “Can You Hear Me”, with its ambient keyboards and Andy’s trademark, sensual vocals. Here Vanden Plas veer slightly toward some Dream Theater ballad, mainly because of the similar structure of the opening verses. Overall, Andy does his job with serious conviction across the whole record. The choruses are all melancholic, one after another. He’s especially wonderful on “Healing Tree”.
The production keeps all the liveliness. The sound is unique and typically Vanden Plas. With this band you won’t run into songs without rhyme or reason. They’re all perfectly structured, the keyboard and guitar solos deftly complement each other, and they slip into the main riff or break out of it whenever they please without ever feeling jarring. That “whenever” means a certain dose of unpredictability in the songs, which is just one more plus for their new creation. So the playful interplay of five virtuosos is kept in balance throughout, and once again proves that Vanden Plas have a refined sense of composition.
Lineup
Andy Kuntz – vocals
Stephan Lill – guitar
Torsten Reichert – bass guitar
Guenter Werno – keyboards
Andreas Lill – drums
Production
Vanden Plas
Track list
1. Nightwalker
2. Cold Wind
3. Scarlet Flower Fields
4. Healing Tree
5. End Of All Days
6. Free The Fire
7. Can You Hear Me
8. Phoenix
9. Beyond Daylight
Album length: 55:25
