Van Canto - Break The Silence (2011)

Van Canto - Break The Silence

Opinions on the band Van Canto seem to be very split. On one end, it's a comedically bad premise that is only good to listen to for the laughs. On the other end of the stick, there are people who find this a very unique and original sound that is sadly underappreciated. I am one of those people
After listening to Break the Silence, despite not being the best the band has to offer, Van Canto quickly earned my respect. They actually found a way to make a capella and heavy metal fuse into a surprisingly good discography laden with good covers, epic sounds, and stuff you can rarely find in other bands.
The album opens with very well harmonized singing from the whole band that turns into the main gimmick of the band. The "dum dum dum" vocals in the background replace instruments as the female co-lead vocalist takes over. This beautiful intro explodes into great, power metal goodness, yet they only real instrument in use is drums. At the very least they have that. I don't think beatboxing would be a good replacement for drums.
The lyrics of "If I Die in Battle" are cheesy, medeval, war song lyrics as you hear in a lot of power metal, but by the time the chorus hits, most people have decided to either leave this band behind, or continue on to see what else they have to offer.
Admittedly, "Seller of Souls" isn't one of the best songs on the album. The opening sounds kinda silly with the higher pitched "bum bums" and is. . . even more silly to try and explain now that I think about it. The cheesiness in the lyrics is also somewhat overwhelming, lead vocalist Igna Scharf's background vocals sound a bit off, and the music video for this song portrays the male lead vocalist punching what appears to be floating mounds of bubbles from a bubble bath. The chorus still manages to be catchy and fun though. Not a bad track, just somwhat ridiculous in some areas.
Adding to the large pile of covers this band has done, and the first of four on this album, "Primo Victoria" is one of the best this album has to offer. The a capella vocals combined with the tribal sounding drums comingle very well, and the adition of Joakim Broden, vocalist for Sabaton who originally played this song, and his deep, heavily accented vocals greatly add to the vision of war this song portrays. It somewhat makes me wish Joakim was the full time vocalist for this band. He really overpowers the lead singer and overall does a better job than he ever did.
"Dangers in my Head" is probably the weakest song on the album. The lyrics aren't catchy, are very monotone at times, and the chorus doesn't even sound like it fits to the music at points. The song doesn't really pick up until the bridge, where the epic background vocals really pick up and make it much more fun to listen to. Overall, a pretty forgetable song, and the album could have lived without it.
I've personally never heard of Fading Starlight, so I can't really compare their cover of "Black Wings of Hate" to the original. From the sound of it, it's a pretty decent cover, though it wasn't a great idea to have Inga to do the whole song. She's not a bad singer, it's just that she does a much better job in the background. The a capellas really make this song listenable though. They're dark and pretty well done. It's still worth a listen.

. . .An Alice Cooper cover?

When I saw this, I just shrugged and said "Okay." It's kinda odd for a band that does mostly covers of power metal and thrash metal songs about war and supernatural stuff to cover a song about sex from one of Alice Cooper's earlier glam metal albums.
Ignoring the fact that it's about as out of place as a southern metal song would be on a power album, the song actually sounds pretty awesome. It's at a slightly faster tempo than the original, and I think that was a good choice. Having it any slower would sound awkward. It's heavy, and pretty easy to headbang to. It's not very sexy though. That has been completely erraticated by the a capella vocals and the attempt to make it sound more epic. Unless you're making love while riding a dragon, don't put this song on, and if you ARE making love on a dragon. . .you are the coolest motherf***r alive and you deserve a medal. . .So yeah, good song.
"Spelled in Waters" has an actual guitar in it, provided by Marcus Siepen of Blind Guardian, for those who may be getting tired of the entirely a capella sound. It's a slow, and a rather pretty sounding song. It was a very good idea to have someone actually play acoustics on this song. Having it done through voices would have ruined the mood. I find this song enjoyable. Nothing mindblowing, but a nice break from the heavier songs.
"Neuer Wind" is sung entirely in the band's native language of German. If I wasn't so bad at singing along to foreign language songs, I would be singing this in my head all the time. It's catchy and just a fun song. It's got a nice rhythm and is something you can listen to and just bob your head to and smile.
"The Higher Flight" is fast, heavy, and catchy. Another great high point to the album. The chorus can easily get in your head and stay there for a while. The bridge quiets the song a little but, but is still equally as epic as the rest of the song.
The final song is the second Manowar cover this band has done. "Master of the Wind" adds another instrument in the form of a piano. It closes the album on a slower note. Inga is on lead vocals on this song again, but she does a much better job in this song than she did on "Black Wings of Hate." I don't know what she did different, but she just sounds much more tolerable and pleasant to listen to. This cover still pales in comparison to their cover of "Kings of Metal" on their Hero album.
It feels like I complained a lot in this review, but this album really is great and continues the streak of Van Canto's creative and interesting music, but your ability to enjoy this band may vary. You may listen and be immersed into their epic sound, or maybe you'll just laugh your ass off and never listen to them again. Personally, I'm just waiting to see what one of my favorite bands is going to come up with next.

Copas from http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/51096/Van-Canto-Break-the-Silence/

Tracklist:
01. If I Die In Battle
02. The Seller Of Souls
03. Primo Victoria [feat. Joakim Broden] [Sabaton cover]
04. Dangers In My Head
05. Black Wings Of Hate
06. Bed Of Nails [Alice Cooper cover]
07. Spelled In Waters [feat. Marcus Siepen]
08. Neuer Wind
09. The Higher Flight
10. Master Of The Wind [Manowar cover]
11. Betrayed [bonus]
12. Bad To The Bone [Running Wild cover] [bonus]
13. A Storm To Come [bonus]

TKP 

password : my nymph 

Read More

Van Canto - Tribe of Force (2010)

Van Canto - Tribe of Force

Every once in a while something unique comes along and grabs my attention. A few weeks ago, I received a press release promoting Van Canto’s third album, TRIBE OF FORCE, and the band’s innovative style of A Capella Metal. A Capella music is group vocal music and/or singing without musical accompaniment from instruments…..the first thing that comes to mind is barber shop quartets, doo-wop groups and choirs. A Capella singing in Heavy Metal? No instruments? I was skeptical but I read the press release and saw that it included a link to a video of the band covering Manowar’s ‘Kings Of Metal’ (from their second record HERO). I was impressed with the cover, especially with how I forgot that the only instrument used was the drums!
Based on their ‘Kings Of Metal’ cover, and their cover of Metallica’s ‘Battery’, I decided to give TRIBE OF FORCE a try figuring that at least it would be a change of pace if the concept of vocalizing the guitars, bass and keyboards didn’t work. The first single from the new album is ‘Lost Forever’ and it is a perfect way to kick start the album with it’s Power Metal style and superb vocal harmonies. At first I wasn’t too sure because the harmonized vocal intro had me thinking that this was going to be a less aggressive project but, once the drums kicked in, Van Canto really go for it! Frist the lead vocal trade-off between Philip and Inga is excellent, both have great voices with plenty of range, and the male/female co-lead vocal adds an extra dimension. Inga’s operatic style easily puts her right up there with some other female vocal heavyweights in Metal like Tarja Turunen (ex-Nightwish), Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil) and Simone Simons (Epica). The cool thing is you can also hear some Medieval/Rennaissance style like Candice Night (Blackmore’s Night) in her delivery as well. What is most impressive is the guys doing the bass and guitars…..Stefan, Ross and Ingo do one hell of a job sounding like their instrument counterparts that you sometimes forget that it’s really just singing. Listen to the guitar solo, that’s Stefan singing the solo, not a guitar!
Needless to say, I was impressed. Van Canto continues in the same Gothic/Power Metal direction with ‘To Sing A Metal Song’, ‘One To Ten’ (featuring Victor Smolski of Rage), and ‘I Am Human’. The vocals are excellent and the vocal instrumentation is excellent but it’s at ‘My Voice’ where I start to get that “I’ve heard it before” feeling. ‘My Voice’ is a good original song with plenty of layers and tempo changes but I get the point and I am now listening for the guitars. Track six is a cover of Grave Digger’s ‘Rebellion’ (from 1996′s TUNES OF WAR) and features Grave Digger’s Chris Boltendahl on lead vocals. Normally I don’t welcome covers but this is a nice way to break the album up, especially with Boltendahl guesting. If you compare this version to the original, it’s a pretty good rendition and it is amazing to hear the band vocalize the instruments. Listen again for the guitar solo by Stefan! The second single and video is ‘Last Night Of The Kings’ and it is a ballad with a Medieval/Rennaissance sound. This song could easily fit on the first two Blackmore’s Night albums and the a capella singing fits perfectly.
The title track sounds a little more laid back, more commercial but ‘Water Fire Heaven Earth’ stands out with Inga’s operatic vocals. It’s more of a Gothic Metal mid-tempo song and it’s very good due to the beauty of the lead vocal, Inga rivals her peers and is definitely a superb operatic vocalist. I wouldn’t mind hearing more of a spotlight on Inga in the future, although Philip has a great voice too and the vocal trade-off is a perfect match. The second cover on TRIBE OF FORCE is Metallica’s ‘Master Of Puppets’…..it’s not a bad cover and I actually like Van Canto’s interpretation, I prefer the original but it’s a fun comparison piece. ‘Magic Taborea’ starts off kind of slow and subdued but, as the song progresses, the tempo picks up and it has an epic sound to it. What impresses me here is the quick keyboard vocalizations, they are like the guitar solos, very impressive. Tony Kakko from Sonata Arctica guests on the faster ‘Hearted’ and I like Van Canto’s addition of some harsh vocals to the arrangement to make things more interesting. Last song is ‘Frodo’s Dream’ and it’s another epic sounding song but I’m just not getting into this one at all.
Bottom Line:
I have to admit that I was skeptical that Van Canto could pull off an A Capella album of heavy Metal songs but they are all talented vocalists and they do a superb job on each and every song. Let me add that drummer Bastiam Emig puts in a stellar performance over the entire record and really drives the songs. Being the only person playing an instrument, his performance needed to be great and it was. Overall, I liked the album, even the cover songs but, after multiple listens, I started to lose some interest. I have played TRIBE OF FORCE to death so I could really focus on those layers of vocals and the vocal instrumentation but I found that I was looking for the real thing after a while so I needed to give myself a break and come back to it with fresh ears. That doesn’t diminish the talent and solid performances because there is a lot of quality work on this album and Van Canto isn’t the novelty act that people might mistake them to be. These musicians are all extremely gifted and they do a great job creating interesting and enjoyable songs. I wouldn’t be surprised to find this somewhere in my year’s best list for 2010 and I am definitely going to check out the band’s first two records.

copas from http://heavymetaladdiction.com/2010/05/10/van-canto-tribe-of-force-2010/

Tracklist:
    Lost Forever
    To Sing A Metal Song
    One To Ten (featuring Victor Smolski from Rage)
    I Am Human
    My Voice
    Rebellion (featuring Chris Boltendahl from Grave Digger)
    Last Night Of The Kings
    The Tribe Of Force
    Water Fire Heaven Earth
    Master Of Puppets
    Magic Taborea
    Hearted (featuring Tony Kakko from Sonata Arctica)
    Frodo’s Dream

TKP

password : bidadariku

Read More

Van Canto - Hero (2008)

Van Canto - Hero

So much can be said about Van Canto's second album; it was an album that was their big break in the metal world. Of course, in order to do that, some changes from the first album (which was a nice effort but not nearly as good as Hero) were required. The biggest improvement is the production - their voices are mixed very nicely and sound much more like actual instruments, unlike on the first album, which has pretty much a demo recording quality, so half the stuff got blurry. That allows the clever arrangements to really shine. But that is not the only change.
The album consists of half covers and half original work, and that was certainly a good commercial move by the band, it got them famous in various metal scenes and cliques because they chose those covered songs very carefully. There are, of course, since Van Canto plays/sings power metal, far most covers for the appeal of swordbearers and dragonslayers among metalheads (some of the bands covered are Manowar, Blind Guardian and Angra). But the ones which turned most eyes (and ears) on their work are the covers of metal classics "Battery" and "Fear Of The Dark." They are done perfectly, complementing the original music and have a great groove to them.
But this is not a band that simply covers stuff while writing shitty music. No matter what people have to say against the style they're playing/singing, Van Canto has a quality which I value more than all the technical genius of every progressive artist I adore - they make you feel warm with their songs. Their written material is not only catchy and anthemic, but soulful as well. Though Van Canto's best written work is on the third album, this album and the debut get a fair share as well. It's highly unfair to say any song is better than the other, but if I had to pick a favorite, I'd go for "A Quest For Roar."
Speaking of their execution of the tracks in question, everything is pretty awesome. Of course, the concept wouldn't work unless the singers weren't good at what they do, and that especially goes for the two leading ones. Inga Scharf sounds a lot better than on the first album and gives great performances, especially on "Wishmaster" and "Fear Of The Dark." The leading male vocal, Dennis P. Schunke, is probably one of my favorite power metal singers simply because of finding his own style of singing and delivering it perfectly, unlike those Daniel Heiman and Timo Kotipelto wannabes.
Having said that the production is a big improvement, I must point out one remark though. I'd like to see them recording guitar solos without the studio toys, to make them sound more like a human voice and less like a guitar. That would take away some of the magic that Van Canto has (when you forget those are human voices in the background, you can easily mistake them for instruments!), but it would sound more interesting.
Can you have metal without strings? Van Canto says yes, and a lot of people agree, so why wouldn't you join the rakkatakka army if you already haven't?



Copas dari http://www.metalstorm.net/pub/review.php?review_id=9244

TKP

password : bidadariku

Read More

Van Canto - A Storm to Come (2006)

Van Canto - A Storm to Come

Van Canto do something I've honestly never thought possible, namely combining power metal with acapella singing. Well, not strictly acapella, as they feature real drums, but every other sound on this album is provided by the human voice.
The idea struck me as a potential gimmick before I heard the band the first time. After all, we have bands singing in Latin and other dead languages, dressing up as Tolkien characters and doing all sorts of other weird things in the world today. A great many of these bands are memorable only for the gimmick, and I was concerned that Van Canto would be "that acapella band", rather than being memorable for good music.
"A Storm to Come" focuses slightly more on the acapella side of the band than the power metal one, although all the songs (with the possible exception of their finale, covering Metallica's "Battery") are clearly performed with a power metal attitude. The other full-length tracks are all original compositions, a good move as it allows the vocalists to show their skills and in a sense "get used to" the format.
The lineup of the band - in general - has a male and female pairing taking the "lead" parts, with three other vocalists in the wings. These three men provide the sounds of the rhythm and lead guitars, as well as the bass. It's not always so simple here, as Inga (female vocals) often disappears into a "guitar" solo as well, while some of the "instrument" vocalists appear singing real words at times. At its best, this creates a surprisingly "thick" sound that those who've listened to acapella music in other settings will recognise immediately, albeit with the twist being provided by the power metal attitude and subject matter.
To be brutally honest, some sections of this album do tend to drag. The lyrics don't often move beyond the cliches we all know and love (or know and hate, depending) of power metal - riding off on incredible quests, discovering beautiful maidens, standing alone in the face of unspeakable trials and the like. A number of the arrangements, too, are rather uninspired, although they do showcase the unusual talents of this project. The blandness is mitigated somewhat by the genuine enthusiasm the band has for what they're doing. I simply can't believe that grown men would sing "rakatakatakataka-BUM-DUM-BUM" if they didn't believe in what they were doing, for example.
Still, as debut albums go, this provides some serious hope for their second release. Van Canto may never move beyond being a footnote in the annals of heavy metal, but they'll almost certainly become a footnote well worth checking out.

Copas dari http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Van_Canto/A_Storm_to_Come/145532/

Tracklist:
1.     Stora Rövardansen     01:33      
2.     King     03:44         
3.     The Mission     04:18         
4.     Lifetime     04:49         
5.     Rain     04:03         
6.     She's Alive     04:12         
7.     I Stand Alone     04:44         
8.     Starlight     04:40         
9.     Battery (Metallica cover)     05:13         

TKP

password : nymph

Read More