Artist: Vanden Plas
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2006
Rating: 4/5
The Count of Monte Cristo is a novel written by the Frenchman Alexandre Dumas. Vanden Plas are hugely popular in France, and in that sense Napoleon’s conspirator, the one who, for his own good, deftly settled scores with the stench of the French bourgeoisie, is clearly a fitting source of inspiration for the German progressive metallers. Vanden Plas put out their last studio album a good four years ago. In the meantime they were busy with side projects. The guys dug deep into writing orchestral arrangements and playing with an orchestra itself. It shows in the sound, unmistakably. It’s gotten even more refined. The guitars have been pulled back a bit, big orchestrations are added, in places played by the 40-piece Pfalztheater orchestra from Kaiserslautern (Germany), where Vanden Plas also come from. Keyboards stand more than ever on equal footing in the band’s expression. The sound is even more alive, while carrying the dose of drama that bringing the story of Monte Cristo to life simply demands.
A lot of time for fresh ideas, and “Christ. 0” is bursting with freshness. The band once again doesn’t hide its highly developed knack for writing listenable songs of epic, anthemic proportions, with an unpredictable twist at every turn. The tracks are motif-wise complex enough, but not overly so, to send shivers down your spine on first listen. The opening (title) track right away presents all these upgraded traditional trademarks of the band, as does Shadow I Am, which sounds like a lost song from the “Far Off Grace” (1999) record, while the gorgeous power ballad Fireroses Dance plays the role of Healing Tree from “Beyond Daylight” (2002). Everything is played the “German” way, meaning full-on and with balls. Just as the band goes wild with a metal outburst (Somewhere Alone in the Dark), there are moments where they almost intuitively and with a fantastic feel “rein in” their wildness. The instrumental middle sections only prove the drive for perfection. Vanden Plas also show that the chemistry between the members works brilliantly, as the harmoniously flowing switches between motifs sometimes seem to have no end (Wish You Were Here, January Sun), while on the other side there are songs that can grow from a fragile intro into a truly cataclysmic, ultimate blowout (Silently). Dynamite and the dynamics of rapidly shifting moods. You can really tell on the album that the guys had plenty of time to polish the compositions to the max. The special edition adds a bonus track, a cover of the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” (by Andrew Lloyd Webber ) called Gethsemane. In a unique Vanden Plas outfit, of course, it fits the rest of the record perfectly.
The concept of Monte Cristo in contemporary symbolism through the eyes of Vanden Plas is convincing through and through, as Kuntz and company literally crawled into the count’s brain and identified with him, and with the phenomenon of his scheming, vengeful, schizoid mind, with great success. “Christ. 0” is a new milestone for Vanden Plas, who keep on evolving upward so successfully!
Lineup
Andy Kuntz – vocals
Stephan Lill – guitar
Gunter Werno – keyboards
Torsten Reichert – bass
Andreas Lill – drums
Production
Vanden Plas & Markus Teske
Track list
1. Christ 0
2. Postcard To God
3. Wish You Were Here
4. Silently
5. Shadow I Am
6. Fireroses Dance
7. Somewhere Alone In The Dark
8. January Sun
9. Lost In Silence
10. Gethsemane (bonus track)
Album length: 67:23
