Musically, Vanden Plas once again offers a perfect combination of heavy and melodic, while the orchestral arrangements here are more in the background compared to the last studio album. At the same time, the quintet comes closer to its original roots, such as “The God Thing” or “Far Off Grace”: more progressive elements in the songs, similar to what one knows from those earlier releases. The six, mostly long, pieces achieve their impressive and fascinating effect through a very band-oriented arrangement, so that the clear and intensive urgency of the songs shines through naturally. The listener is captivated from the start, first by songs that each deserve to be called epic and second through the story told through the lyrics.
This recording is once again a product of the band's trusted collaborations with sound engineer Markus Teske at Bazement Studios.
“The Ghost Xperiment – AwakenIng” is the first part of a two part series, with “The Ghost Xperiment – IIlumination,” expected to appear in fall 2020.
“The Ghost Xperiment – AwakenIng”, a phenomenal long player, once again proves why Vanden Plas are among prog metal's elite class.
German progressive metal masters Vanden Plas Official will release "The Ghost Xperiment - Awakening” on October 11
Watch the music video for 'The Ghost Xperiment’ NOW
The album is part one of a two part concept album, with the second album to be released in 2020.
The quintet's ninth regular studio production, “The Ghost Xperiment - AwakenIng” continues to underscore the high artistic level of musicianship and lyrical creativity that the band have sustained for so long. Based on an actual documented paranormal experiment, the main character in the story, created by frontman Andy Kuntz, is Gideon Grace, a man who has to fight constantly for his life against the relentless shadows of the “House of Rain” as he wanders through France. Burdened with a heavy weight of sorrow following the agonizing death of his beloved Ivy, Gideon's pain is also his driving force in the war with his demons. He expands his knowledge with books he finds in the library of a German school of metaphysics. It is here that he reads about secret teachers and parapsychological experiments, which become an important foundation from which he can fight against the creatures of darkness. When it comes to the first showdown with said creatures, rather than finding peace, Gideon's battle tears open a hole deep into the abyss of Hell.'
Musically, Vanden Plas once again offers a perfect combination of heavy and melodic, while the orchestral arrangements here are more in the background compared to the last studio album. At the same time, the quintet comes closer to its original roots, such as “The God Thing” or “Far Off Grace”: more progressive elements in the songs, similar to what one knows from those earlier releases. The six, mostly long, pieces achieve their impressive and fascinating effect through a very band-oriented arrangement, so that the clear and intensive urgency of the songs shines through naturally. The listener is captivated from the start, first by songs that each deserve to be called epic and second through the story told through the lyrics.
This recording is once again a product of the band's trusted collaborations with sound engineer Markus Teske at Bazement Studios.
“The Ghost Xperiment - AwakenIng”, a phenomenal long player, once again proves why Vanden Plas are among prog metal's elite class.
Frontiers Music Srl is pleased to announce the release of VANDEN PLAS' forthcoming live CD/DVD entitled “The Seraphic Live Works” on May 12.
In their long career, Vanden Plas Official has only released one live album, "Spirit of Live," recorded in Paris at the legendary Elysée Montmartre, in 2000. With the upcoming release of "The Seraphic Live Works," the wait for another documentation of the band's immense talents asa live act is finally over!
Through many tours and countless concerts, Vanden Plas has proven again and again that it is among the world's leading progressive metal bands. The quintet's glowing reputation carries across the pond to the U.S. where Vanden Plas was invited to appear at the renowned ProgPower USA in Atlanta in 2011. Regardless of a band's fame, an invitation to this prestigious event is an honor and their performance is certainly a high note in Vanden Plas' history. And it is for exactly that reason that Vanden Plas decided to captutre that unique moment.
"The Seraphic Live Works" shows unmistakably how extraordinary this gig at Center Stage Theater was for everyone involved. A performance exploding with energy, euphoric audience, and the venue's own special flair. The recordings will captivate every viewer and there is no question that Vanden Plas made the right decision to preserve this performance for eternity.
"The Seraphic Live Works" captivates and enthralls for nine songs, beginning with straightforward opener "Postcard to God" through the atmospheric "Far Off Grace" to the brilliant closer, "Silently." In this extended live version of the song, Vanden Plas ignites a prog metal fireworks display that is unparalleled, leading the listener through more than 11 magnificent minutes to a spectacular conclusion.
Vanden Plas has fans all over the world, but for those who have not yet been able to experience the band, they wanted to give them the next best thing with "The Seraphic Live Works." The audio and video capture an authentic band that stands out in the prog metal genre.
Frontiers Records is pleased to announce the first edition of the Frontiers Metal Festival which will be held on Sunday, October 30th at the LIVE MUSIC CLUB in Trezzo Sull’Adda (Milan), Italy.
After the success of the first three editions of the Frontiers Rock Festival, the Italy based label decided to create a spin-off event to highlight the incredible talent of the heavier bands on the roster. The bill is made up of seven international and Italy based bands, all of whom will please fans of the power and progressive metal genres.
TRICK OR TREAT will kick off the festival, playing songs from their awesome new record, “Rabbits' Hill Pt. 2,” which will be released on July 8th. Spanish metallers Lords Of Black, featuring new Rainbow singer Ronnie Romero Official Site, will follow with their exciting mixture of classic heavy metal combined with power and prog metal. From there, DGM, an Italian band, who will release their highly anticipated eighth album, “The Passage” on August 26th, will take the stage and show of their incredible progressive metal stylings.
With no rest for the wicked, Italian symphonic metallers Secret Sphere will take the stage, spearheaded by the fabulous singer Michele Luppi, now keyboardist and background singer in Whitesnake. The Festival will continue on with a theatrical approach – Prog and Symphonic – from the magnificent German band Vanden Plas Official. Their live return to Italy is certainly one of the most anticipated events of the day.
The two headliners will be: Labyrinth – a new Frontiers signing, recently finalized – one of the most successful Italian metal bands of all time, which will see the return of singer Roberto Tiranti to the line-up, who will offer a live rendition of their classic masterpiece “Return to Heaven Denied” from start to finish, in addition to some of the most acclaimed songs from their storied catalog. The last slot of the evening could not have been left to anyone else other than Germany's mighty Primal Fear, one of the most successful metal bands around, fresh off the successful, chartbusting album “Unbreakable,” which charted in their home country of Germany, as well as in the United States and many other countries around the world.
Doors will open at 14.00 hrs. Early bird tickets, available until June 30th, will cost 31.00 EURO. Then the price will go up to 35.00 EURO until the day of the Festival. Tickets purchased on the show day will cost 39.00 EURO.
Metalheads all over Europe – YOU SIMPLY CANNOT MISS THIS SHOW!
Following on from their early 2014 release – Part 1 of this 2 part progressive rock opera monster – Vanden Plas deliver the second half of the story over another 9 tracks and 66 minutes of complex and demanding, melodic progressive metal.
If I take both albums track for track, I’m finding myself favoring the first, but in reading my review of the first part, I could almost word for word repeat it here. So I will!
“This is one heavy album. Heavy concept, heavy lyrical content and heavy instrumentation. This progressive metal concept album is an adaption of a theatrical show the band put on, which itself was an adaption of a series of books by author Wolfgang Hohlbein. This is heavy going folks – not for the feint hearted by any means!
Of course it is extremely well done – but it requires a concerted effort on the art of the listener to get to know it. For that reason alone, it's more likely this is going to appeal to the band's already substantial fan base.
Dream Theater fans are going to appreciate the effort involved in writing and executing such a complex piece of music and there's enough here for all fans of progressive metal to appreciate.”
So with that said (again), I will add that this is an even longer piece of work with the shortest song clocking in at 5 minutes and the longest over 13 minutes!
These are not easy albums to get into – they are highly complex and require a lot of time and attention to fully appreciated.
If you are not progressively inclined, I would not recommend this. But as far as a symphonic melodic metal album with a range of emotions and a massive production effort goes, this is about as grand a vision as one could imagine and every bit as epic as expected.
VANDEN PLAS set to release the second chapter of Rock Opera written in collaboration with famed German author Wolfgang Hohlbein.
“Chronicles of the Immortals – Netherworld II” out on Frontiers in November!
Frontiers Music Srl is pleased to announce the release of the second chapter of VANDEN PLAS' rock opera, “Chronicles of the Immortals – Netherworld II” on November 6.
Approximately one year after the release of the first chapter, Vanden Plas return with their elaborate arrangements, superb piano melodies, and epic instrumental passages, paired with the signature heavy Vanden Plas sound and distinctive vocals of Andy Kuntz. In guitarist Stephan Lill’s words: “This is our 8th studio album, so now we know what works for Vanden Plas and what doesn´t. With every new cd we try to continue to break new ground, while still remaining faithful to our original style. As the songs of “Chronicles of the Immortals - Netherworld Part I & II” are written for a Rock Opera, this time the arrangements of the music are more epic and orchestral than on the previous albums. The engagements for several rock operas in theaters and the work together with big orchestras helped us a lot to improve the way of writing songs or to arrange song parts in a way that makes it special. A band needs this kind of a light progression. And maybe the next cd will sound a bit more reduced again, we will see.”
Fans of the saga of the immortal Andrej Delãny will now be able to enjoy the eagerly awaited continuation with "Chronicle Of The Immortals - Netherworld II." As "Chronicles Of The Immortals - Netherworld, Path I" ended, the perfidious plans of the dark Godmaker threatened to emerge. All seemed lost, yet from within the pervading darkness shone a soft light. Deliverance comes in the second half of the story, where the creative duo of Vanden Plas and Wolfgang Hohlbein has merged again in top form. And of course it will be up to the listener to find out how the story will end!
“Wolfgang Hohlbein was, together with his manager Dieter Winkler and our singer Andy, responsible for the story which was the base for both “Chronicles of the immortals - Netherworld” cd´s. For the theater piece we did here in Germany, he wrote a book especially for this event what was fantastic,” tells Stephan. Vanden Plas has always been open to remarkable and unusual ideas, and the collaboration with the writer Wolfgang Hohlbein found fertile ground there from the beginning. The author who has sold more than 40 million books worldwide was a big fan of the band. "Blutnacht" (Bloodnight), a stage production performed at the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern, was based on his series "The Chronicle of the Immortals." Hohlbein, his manager Dieter Winkler, and Vanden Plas frontman Andy Kuntz developed the story and Vanden Plas provided the musical realization. The reward was 25 sold-out performances during the 2012 and 2013 seasons and unanimously thrilled audiences.
“We will start the shows in support of the new album during the winter of 2015. For the previous cd, we played 3 to 4 shows in seven countries in Europe. That´s what we plan also for the beginning of 2016. We just have to coordinate the dates of our Vanden Plas concerts with the dates of our theatre shows to take care that there won´t be a crossing over,” concludes Stephan.
For more than 20 years, Vanden Plas has stood for intelligent Progressive Metal. With "Netherworld II," the conclusion of "Chronicles Of The Immortals," the band now opens a new and exciting chapter in its career.
Enjoy an album trailer below:
Tracklisting:
VISION 11even * In My Universe
VISION 12elve * Godmaker´S Temptation
VISION 13teen * Stone Roses Edge
VISION 14teen * Blood Of Eden (* All love must die) (* The rite)(* This is the night)
VISION 15teen * Monster
VISION 16teen * Diabolica Comedia
VISION 17teen * Where Have The Children Gone
VISION 18teen * The Last Fight
VISION 19teen * Circle Of The Devil
Line up
Andy Kuntz (Vocals), Stephan Lill (Guitar), Günter Werno (Keyboards), Torsten Reichert (Bass), Andreas Lill (Drums)
