Artist: Vanden Plas
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 1994
Rating: 4/5
The year was 1994 when the quintet from Kaiserslautern struck and heralded the rise of progressive metal on the old continent too. Five years after the debut of Dream Theater, who opened up entirely new paths of creation in the world of music. But looking for similarities between the debuts of the two bands is utter nonsense. The Vanden Plas debut is oriented toward classic power metal, while Dream Theater signaled right from the start that they like to blend practically everything that smells of music. The Vanden Plas sound is marked above all by the rush of bombastic riffs in songs that are expressively alive and form the foundation on which Vanden Plas still build all their masterpieces today.
So, the band’s debut alone already has the qualities demanded by even the strictest music snobs. And those are: a stylistic break from cliché standards, high atmosphere, a lively and dynamic song structure, with every track making sense from start to finish. That last compliment is usually the Achilles’ heel of the debuts of many progressive bands (from Dream Theater to our own Prospect). You won’t find any drawn-out solos, whether on keys or electric guitar, that would wreck the tempo of the songs or in any way hurt the mood they conjure up. So the assault on the very top of the progressive metal scene in Europe was guaranteed. Staying in Europe, something similar worked out for Threshold at the time with their first record “Wounded Land”.
“Father” is a typical Vanden Plas song, one that makes you recognize the band right away. Open guitar riffing is up front. It’s an element the band has kept in its music to this day, having managed to balance the progressive elements almost perfectly with the elements of the German school of classic heavy metal. The band handled the production themselves and kept an incredibly lively sound. “Push”, the second song in line, is a continuation of that riffing, where Stephan Lill drops the riff in the transition before the chorus, the rhythm section steps into the foreground with a clearly audible bass guitar, which lifts the atmosphere. A melodic, typically melancholic chorus follows. In these parts the rhythm section is more active, which lets the drums and bass guitar really come alive. Of course, the keyboards cover the open guitar riffs in these sections. The most progressive of the bunch, “Soul Survives”, is surely the peak of the record, and not because of its length but because of its polished composition, which already hints at the direction the band would develop in the future. All the transitions and solos fit perfectly with the main riffs of the songs and don’t hurt the high mood for even a moment. “Days Of Thunder” (orig. Kansas) is added as a bonus track on the 2002 remastered reissue (on the original 1994 release it came out only in Japan). It has elements of glam metal, a real relaxing massage for the ears at the end.
The vocals of Andy Kuntz are perhaps a slightly weaker point, but he makes up for it with his distinctiveness. In places he gets “thin” in the higher registers, so you really get the feeling that Andy sings some of his lines a bit through his nose. The weak production also shares the blame at this point for the “thin vocals” in places. The layered backing vocals complement the main line tastefully and harmoniously. Andy is otherwise an excellent choice precisely because of the distinct color of his voice. And in the closing “How Many Tears”, Andy’s improvising is the brightest spot of the song.
And as if that weren’t enough, the band also added a bonus CD to the reissue of “Colour Temple”. “Accult”, originally released in 1996, features acoustic versions of “Father”, “Days Of Thunder”, “How Many Tears”,…and a few classic covers, such as “Kayleigh” (Marillion) or the bluesy “Georgia On My Mind”.
For a band’s debut, Colour Temple is more than an excellent creation and therefore worth every sin.
Lineup
Andy Kuntz – vocals
Stephan Lill – guitar
Torsten Reichert – bass guitar
Guenter Werno – keyboards
Andreas Lill – drums
Production
Vanden Plas
Track list
1. Father
2. Push
3. When The Wind Blows
4. My Crying
5. Soul Survives
6. Anytime
7. Judas
8. Back To Me
9. How Many Tears
10. Days Of Thunder*
Album length: 58:29
CD 2. “Accult” (EP,1996)**
1. Bonus Track
2. My Crying
3. Theme From ‘Pseudo Silk Kimono’
4. Kayleigh
5. Father
6. Georgia On My Mind
7. How Many Tears
8. Des Hauts, Des Bas
9. Spanish Rain
10. Days Of Thunder
11. Raining In My Heart
* BONUS TRACK ON THE 2002 REMASTERED REISSUE
** BONUS CD ON THE 2002 REMASTERED REISSUE
