Vanden Plas Germany

"Solid sixth effort from Vanden Plas, gifted progressive-metal band from Germany. The Seraphic Clockwork is a concept album based on a science fiction story written by singer Andy Kuntz about a man travelling back in time from 16th century Rome to 33AD Jerusalem to face his ineluctable fate.

All songs are a well-balanced mix of power, melody and technical prowess. The execution is spotless, and the production is professional and powerful. Stephan Lill’s sharp guitars provide strong riffs throughout the album and are the absolute protagonist in shaping the structure of the songs. Keyboardist Günter Werno also deserves a special mention: his synth and keyboard textures work as an indispensable contrast to the heavier guitar sections and help keep the songs fresh and engaging (check out his excellent work on the ballad ‘ Quicksilver ’ or in the heavier and darker ‘ Rush of Silence ’). Andy Kuntz is a gifted and technical vocalist and ‘The Seraphic Clockwork’ is in fact a very vocal-centered album which lives its best moments when the vocal melodies really shine, like in the powerful ‘ Holes in the Sky ’ or in the variegated and more complex ‘ On My Way to Jersulam ’. Similarly, when the vocal melodies are less inspired (like in the rather ordinary ‘ Sound of Blood ’) the songs fall flat and remain forgettable.

The biggest limit of the material is – in my opinion - its lack of originality, as all riffs and melodies share similarities with those proposed by other successful prog-metal acts such as Evergrey, Dream Theatre, Seventh Wonder or Shadow Gallery.But, all in all, this is a strong effort and an excellent exercise in (heavy) progressive-metal music, and if you are a fan of any of the bands mentioned above you’ll certainly enjoy this as well."

"This is a good metal album (PA 4 stars). The best tracks imo are " January Sun " (excellent!) and Christ O and Silently. The rest is not bad either, but somewhat less. Some tracks are somewhat cheesy metal (e.g. Wish you were here which starts out nice, but quickly becomes boring). I don't like the version of "Gethsemane" very much, I think the original with Ian Gillan in Jesus Christ Superstar is better. The singer just does not hit the emotion of the song enough, it's too polished, it should be more raw."

"I really like it! Somehow I expected this album to be a little more quirky, more different to the previous Vanden Plas albums. In a way it is different, there are much more authentic symphonic bits - not "just" keyboards. The band has been working with a big orchestra for the last year, and you certainly hear that influence. Having said that, these influences are more dominant on the second half of the album, and I hope they will continue in that direction on their next album."

"This is good stuff. The bands reminds me of Dream Theater, the similarities are obvious. The vocals are different though, at times similar to newer Threshold albums. There are really stellar moments in some of the songs, but the album as a whole is just not inventive enough for me.

But they're trying really hard, musicianship and production are top notch, so they get 4 stars from me, which really are just 3 1/2 stars. Sorry, but DT did it first! Also, the keyboards are - well - underwhelming. They are buried in the mix, and appear too thin and unimportant compared to the Guitars."