Hot on the heels of their two-part concept piece Chronicles of the Immortals and the rock opera Everyman, German progressive metal act Vanden Plas return for what is to be the first part of another conceptual multi-part epic, The Ghost Xperiment: AwakenIng, with part two coming in fall of 2020. The Ghost Xperiment: AwakenIng centers around an actual documented paranormal experiment, of which lead singer Andy Kuntz created a new story involving a character named Gideon Grace and his journey combating demons and other creatures of darkness.
Featuring only six tracks clocking in at roughly 45-minutes, The Ghost Xperiment: AwakenIng might seem rather short by Vanden Plas standards, but its brevity is a welcome change from this band, the album flowing nicely and doesn't overstep its bounds one bit. 'Cold December Night" kicks things off in grand fashion, the lead vocals of Kuntz soaring over the top of symphonic prog-metal arrangements, Stephan Lill's guitars thick, and Gunter Werno's keyboards sounding majestic as always. "The Phantoms of Prends-Toi-Gardes" kicks things up a notch in terms of complexity, yet the song still retains those trademark Vanden Plas hooks, while the more melodic & mellow "Three Ghosts" show the band is still capable of delivering an emotional rocker, but still find the room to inject some heavy riffs and blazing instrumental passages. Easily an album highlight and Andreas Lill's drums are off the charts. Symphonic metal fans will love the huge sounds of "Devil's Poetry", chock full of keys and Kuntz's passionate vocals, but it's still a terrific headbanger with lots of blistering solo spots. Another lengthy number is the proggy "Fall From the Skies", Kuntz leading the charge over gutsy riffs and plenty of orchestral keys, the rhythm team again working overtime on this gem of a track that will easily appeal to any Dream Theater fan. The album concludes with "The Ghost Xperiment", another fine slice of melodic progressive metal, vocal harmonies flying all about the mix and plenty of musical fireworks to sink your teeth into.
The truth of the matter is that Vanden Plas has been one of the most impressive acts on the prog-metal scene for quite some time now, but they tend to get overshadowed by many of the bigger names out there. Perhaps that will all change with the release of The Ghost Xperiment: AwakenIng, a really terrific release that follows up a catalog of more terrific releases. Let's face it, these guys have never delivered a bad album and this latest concept piece is another winner that will leave everyone salivating for 2020's part two. Outstanding!
Track Listing
- Cold December Night
- The Phantoms Of Prends-Toi-Gardes
- Three Ghosts
- DevilsĀ“ Poetry
- Fall From The Skies
- The Ghost Xperiment
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