BEYOND DAYLIGHT

This is prog metal at its very best, nothing more, nothing less. From beginning to end this is the album that Vanden Plas have been threatening since their debut in 1995. Just playing the first song, "Nightwalker", was enough to convince me that I was listening to a winner - everything about it is top quality, from the melodies to the harmony vocals, from the keyboard runs to the riffs to the drumming powering the song from the production to the sheer quality that shines throughout. They have toured with bands like Dokken and Dream Theater in the past and those bands need to keep an eye on what this band is doing.

This is the sort of album that Alan Batkin will rush out and buy with confidence, as it the sort of prog techno rock that the Germans can be very good at and this is certainly better than most. They aren't all about brashness of course, there is piano and sometimes acoustic guitar, but it is when they are combining all of the elements such as during the introduction of "Cold Wind" that sets the scene. There is a power ballad in the beautiful "Healing Tree", and the gentle acoustic guitar at the beginning of "End Of All Days" is literally blistered off the CD by some stunning electric guitar runs.

The band show that they are brimming with confidence as they are not afraid to approach an anthemic rocker like "Free The Fire" or even the bonus song "Point Of Know Return". This is a great album that will be getting some serious airtime in my house.

Originally appeared in Feedback #67, Apr 02