Vanden Plas
The Ghost Xperiment (Awakening)

An operation already carried out with the previous concept, once again Vanden Plas break the work into two acts to be released in two convenient annual installments. “The Ghost Xperiment - Awakening” was released last October and the second part is expected soon.

Stylistically, nothing changes in the economy of the most important German progressive metal band, Vanden Plas have never shifted a comma of their sound (perhaps the only differences can be found in the 80s reminiscences of the first album or in the somewhat richer and more ambitious orchestrations from the fifth album onwards), they have never had the courage to try new paths and this could make them boring to some listeners in the long run. But undeniably, they've made a series of very valid prog-metal albums.

This is also one but there are objections to be made. Starting with the unusual choice for the group to make an album of only 6 tracks (the group's average publication is 9). Few tracks but of substantial duration, a formula absolutely customary in the progressive genre and probably the best, the band strives in these few tracks to bring out the best to make the album seem complete and exhaustive. But are we sure that Vanden Plas truly gave their best in these 6 tracks?

The first half indeed raises serious doubts. The shortest track, “The Phantoms Of Prends-Toi-Garde,” for example, seems like a rather dispensable alternative metal track, which doesn't bite, with a somewhat flat and monotonous guitar line and a forced aggression, it even fails in its presumption of wanting to be a direct and captivating metal track. But even the two slightly longer compositions “Cold December Night” and “Three Ghosts” don't offer the maximum. The first is surely a powerful and effective opener but from a 7-minute track, one does not expect just a simple effective opener; instead, we are dealing with an intensity far too constant and a refrain repeated perhaps too many times, there are just some small virtuosic flashes and a slow break forcibly inserted to give a tone to the track but in the end, it remains a "normal" track. The second exceeds 8 minutes and is not an opener, therefore one would expect even more, yet this too is a reasonably done task, again guitar riffs too tidy and regular, again always playing with the same intensity and little instrumental variety, potentially good slow parts but not enough to push the track beyond, there is never that expected rhythmic, melodic, or virtuosic upheaval, too normal a track for being over 8 minutes long. Essentially, if we were to evaluate this first half of the album based on expectations, we wouldn’t go beyond a fair 6.5, which is surely little for the progressive genre (metal or not, it matters little), a genre that certainly does not aim to be "sufficient" but rather to go beyond that sufficiency which characterizes classic rock or metal from beer festivals or stadiums. However, it is necessary to contextualize these observations: tracks like these would surely have been less disappointing in an album with about ten tracks or in a double album (“The Phantoms Of Prends-Toi-Garde” honestly would still have resulted as filler)... but in an album of only 6 tracks, where the maximum is expected from each track, they surely leave that bitter aftertaste.

However, the second half is of a completely different caliber, in the two compositions that exceed 9 minutes emerge, belatedly like a rooster waking up at noon, the best Vanden Plas, “Devils' Poetry” and “Fall from the Skies” are two tracks finally worthy of their name and their compositional ability. The first offers a beautiful combination of clear keyboards and prominent bass lines in the first minutes, finally offering a faster part capable of changing the track’s face thanks to powerful riffs and smooth synth passages in their manner and right after a long slow section with orchestral and cinematic connotations; the second gives its best in the first half where gothic and soothing parts alternate very well with heavy parts, but the intensity growth of the track in the second half is to be appreciated, first with its devilishly sharp guitar lashes and then with the splendid guitar-keyboard-bass unison placed at the right moment. In the closing “The Ghost Xperiment,” however, it plunges back into too much adequacy, an immediate track but lacking the necessary power for this type of compositions, to save it from the last place, however, are the orchestral inserts and a drumming not entirely elementary and cocky, moreover it does not drag unnecessarily.

Summing up: out of six tracks only two are really developed as they should, two are too static and uninspired for their length and two are far too low level for the band performing them, fortunately, the not excessive duration (46 minutes) makes the album quite smooth. In the end, we might rate it with a 6/7, quite low for a band that until now had practically only known how to improve and mature with each release; a drop in inspiration which is a warning bell, perhaps the formula has now become obsolete and it is difficult to find the right ideas in it, Vanden Plas would do well to change something and even do so in a somewhat drastic way. So far what the band has lacked is precisely the courage to dare, the impression is that it was precisely this going too much on the safe side and not straying from their port that has kept them together since the beginning, I don't think it's a coincidence that the band has never had lineup changes (quite rare).

Then, for heaven’s sake, not every album has to be a masterpiece to be listened to; this one stayed in my playlists for several weeks at the end of last year, after all, it’s always music played with skill and seriousness, but from the second chapter that should be out before long, something else is definitely expected.