Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Vanden Plas
Label: Frontiers Records
Released: 2010
Length: 72:31
Rating: 4/5
Vanden Plas are one of the bands that helped pin down what we now understand as progressive metal, after the genre started sprouting in all sorts of flavors around the globe throughout the nineties, thanks to the revolution Dream Theater kicked off the moment they hit the scene. Back when the genre was still brand new, bands were tuned in to each other but approached things differently, and every one of them carved out its own recognizable sound. From the Americans Shadow Gallery, the Brazilians Angra and the Brits Threshold to the Germans Vanden Plas. The latter had everything it took to become a bigger, better-known band on the world stage, but sadly they stayed in their own shadow, a totally unknown name. Today only the most devoted prog metal fans know them, though Vanden Plas did break through in France, where they still have a solid fan base. And the band earned some of the blame for its low profile itself, since it never really did proper concert tours, apart from back in the nineties.
16 years have passed since the band’s debut “The Colour Temple” (1994), and here we have only their sixth studio album. After “Beyond Daylight” (2001) Vanden Plas activity ground to a halt, and one of the reasons was the illness of guitarist Stephan Lill, who has evidently wriggled his way out of that mess. Whatever the case, the more than excellent “Christ O.” (2006) proved that Vanden Plas weren’t done yet, and the new album “The Seraphic Clockwork” (2010) only confirms the feeling that Vanden Plas simply can’t and don’t know how to disappoint whenever the time comes to put a new album together.
Once again we had to wait quite a while for a new album. In the stretch between the last two studio records, the band members were busy with theater “musicals,” like the project “Abydos,” then “Ludus Danielis” and, last but not least, the stage incarnation of the record “Christ O.” in a show theater. They were even involved in producing “musicals” for stage productions of “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Hair.” Through these new challenges the musicians were hardened and matured another notch, and as the renowned sonic perfectionists they are, they came to the new album full of fresh ideas and a clear creative vision.
Since Vanden Plas always go all in, on an “all or nothing” principle, they once again grabbed hold of a concept that winds through the whole album. The protagonist, a resident of 16th-century Rome, finds himself on an adventure through time and lands in the year 33 A.D., smack in the middle of Jerusalem. Through a vision of the apocalypse, an Old Testament prophecy leads him through the centuries like a spell, until he comes face to face with a divine mission. Just as they managed to bring the concept’s story to life brilliantly through music on the previous album, the guys deepen their reach in the same direction of musical perception and preaching on the new one. “The Sepraphic Clockwork” is an incredibly deep album, full of drama. Listening to it gives you goosebumps all on its own.
This much layering, theatrical drama and dynamics, and this much blending of highly vibrant moods is something Vanden Plas have never served up on an album before. “The Seraphic Clockwork” is the point in Vanden Plas’ career where the band finally shaped itself into a polished diamond of musical perfection, at least as we understand it when we deal with the notion of the progressive metal genre. That means the right balance of white-hot metal with the intelligence of combining orchestral arrangements, as well as the right balance between complexity and melodic accessibility. What “Christ O.” started, “The Seraphic Clockwork” has now wrapped up. There are the classic singalong lead motifs (the typically “Vanden Plas”-style choruses on Frequency, Rush Of Silence and the ballad Scar Of An Angel) that define Vanden Plas through the unique approach and tone of Andy Kuntz’s voice, then the razor-sharp edge of the production, which stresses the massive wall of avalanche-like guitar riffing from Stephan Lill, then the recognizable approach to keyboards embodied by Günther Werno, and last but not least the dynamic rhythm section, which thrills with vivid rhythmic turns and adds an extra dose of unpredictability to how the songs unfold. These guys have grown into an exceptional entity where perception and communication work at an extraordinary level, which is why Vanden Plas really are a band that stands out as a musical one-off on the world stage! Clear character and a straight-ahead vision of development that never stops inspiring.
“The Seraphic Clockwork” is also an exceptional record in that it strikes a gorgeous balance between complexity and melodic accessibility. Even though the record is sprawling, the songs carry multiple lead motifs, and the instrumental middle sections are turbulent and full of movement, with the obligatory dose of crossfire in the guitar-versus-keyboards duels, the red thread of the album stays clear the whole way through and faithfully follows a sharply defined melodicity and compactness.
The peak of the album is the closing mini-epic suite On My Way To Jerusalem, the culmination of the band’s top-notch vocabulary, which we can extrapolate from this song to the whole album. The magic of the album is so convincing that it easily casts a spell on the listener. Especially once it gets under your skin. The album just needs a few more spins, but once its energy grabs you, you’ll hardly ever resist it again.
Even though “The Seraphic Clockwork” is the most complex album in Vanden Plas history, the band has at the same time managed to hold on to what has always adorned them and earned them a pedigree of quality you can’t doubt for a second. The outstanding polish of the lead motifs keeps the album compact and gives it a clear red thread. There isn’t much room left for maneuvering when it comes to developing a deep philosophy. If you’re a prog metal fan, do yourself a favor and hurry to your favorite, best-stocked CD shop, and don’t hesitate to shell out a dozen euros for a musical pearl embodied by the new Vanden Plas album!
Lineup
Andy Kuntz – vocals
Stephan Lill – guitar
Guenther Werno – keyboards
Torsten Reichert – bass guitar
Andreas Lill – drums
Production
Vanden Plas
Tracklist
1.Frequency (6:16)
2.Holes In The Sky (5:26)
3.Scar of an Angel (7:27)
4.Sound of Blood (6:47)
5.The Final Murder (9:54)
6.Quicksilver (8:54)
7.Rush of Silence (9:23)
8.On My Way to Jerusalem (12:51)
9.Eleyson (bonus track) (5:33)
