Style: traditional progressive metal, symphonic metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Circus Maximus, Pagan’s Mind, Vande- wait WHAT
Country: Germany
Release date: 19 April, 2024
So Vanden Plas is probably the band I’ve listened to the most in my life, and it’s still somewhat surreal to me that I’m now reviewing an advance promo of their upcoming album. What’s even more surreal is that last year I somehow completely missed that their keyboard player Günter Werno actually left the band before releasing his solo album (which was my album of the year). Judging from the band’s Facebook post, they were just as shocked as I was as Günter left no statement about it whatsoever, and it’s their first and only lineup change since 1990. Replacing the man we now have Alessandro Del Vecchio on keys. He’s got big shoes to fill, so let’s see if his foot enlargement surgery was successful.
Vanden Plas open by giving full spotlight to Alessandro’s keyboard work, working his way up from solemn piano playing to a dreamy synth texture which the rest of the band comes in on. His style is similar to Günter’s but he uses more retro sounding synth patches and his orchestration is a bit more ethereal in nature. From there on the riffs come in and we’re back in familiar Vanden Plas territory, made complete by Stephan Lill unleashing his familiar melodic shred. The title track functions as a prolonged overture, setting the stage with as much dramatic heft as the band can muster, unleashing a plethora of piercing, emotional solos and imposing symphonic metal sections. Andy Kuntz comes in belting halfway through for about a minute, making the song the closest thing to an instrumental the band has written since “Fire Blossom” on The God Thing. Vanden Plas may not experiment much compared to other bands in the genre, but it’s still nice to see them trying new things late in their career.
In that regard, The Empyrean Equation feels fresh because it balances concision and ambition in a way they attempted but did not succeed in before. At only fifty-six minutes and six tracks, the album flies by; yet at the same time, they pull off an epic conceptual work and have penned their longest song to date. And of course, there are moments of songwriting magic aplenty, whether it be the majestic chorus of “Sanctimonarium” (that SANCTIMONARIUUUUMM refuses to SANCTIMONA- leave my brain a-SANCTIMO-lone), the gorgeous acoustic passage leading into the bridge of “The Sacrilegious Mind Machine,” or any of the many evocative, melodic solos that Stephan Lill pulls off effortlessly throughout, fellow melodic metal fans will have an absolute field day with this one. The newfound addition of Alessandro on backing vocal duties is also an incredible asset, as seen on the climaxes of “The Sacrilegious Mind Machine” and “March of the Saints.”
But you’re prog fans, so you want to know about the long song. “March of the Saints” develops from a normal chorus-driven song into increasingly symphonic and progressive territories. At ten minutes it seems to conclude with an epic finale, but instead it reprises the middle of the overture, pulling on your heartstrings one last time before bringing the album full circle Octavarium style with the same piano notes that opened it. I didn’t even notice the promo streaming had the auto replay option on by default on multiple occasions. The other two long songs SANCTIMONARIUUUUM and “The Sacrilegious Mind Machine” are similarly epic and journey-like in structure, both reaching career-defining highs in their best moments.
As a devout superfan of the band, I would love to continue waxing poetically about the album, but I also have a job (hobby) as a critic. The Empyrean Equation succeeds especially in its most vulnerable and melody driven moments, but it tends to falter when it comes to the riffs and the more straightforward prog sections. Not that Vanden Plas was ever a particularly riff driven band, but Stephan could pen some nasty ones when the song demanded it. Most riffs on the album are fine, but I found them lacking the sharp edge of the band’s former work, something which is particularly instantiated on “My Icarian Flight”, its mid-tempo hard rock main riff and plodding verse chugs failing to live up to the riff quality of previous rockers like “Holes in the Sky” or “Cold December Night.” As for the prog, while executed with virtuosic proficiency, it does feel like Vanden Plas are going through the motions on occasion and those bits don’t always gel tonally with the album’s emotional, melodic side. As great as SANCTIMONARIUUUUUM is, the jam session six minutes in doesn’t quite match the epic, dramatic vibe of the rest of the song, and they repeat this strange jam sesh vibe s five minutes into “The Sacrilegious Mind Machine” before it’s pulled back by a sweet guitar solo.
If you didn’t love Vanden Plas before then The Empyrean Equation of the Long Lost Things is unlikely to change your mind. While they sometimes fall into autopilot, Vanden Plas also show an honest desire to stretch their songwriting muscles to their creative limits resulting in far more fresh ideas than stale ones. I like to think of Vanden Plas as the musical equivalent of the ethos of being the best version of yourself rather than that of stepping out of your comfort zone. Is this their best work yet? Probably not, but it’s damn good either way.
Recommended tracks: SANCTIMONARIUUUUM, The Sacrilegious Mind Machine, March of the Saints
You may also like: Günter Werno, MORE VANDEN PLAS (see: The God Thing, Beyond Daylight, Christ 0), Shadow Gallery (Andy | reviewed | all | of | their | albums), Virgin Steele, Koyaanisqatsy (YouTube)
Final verdict: 8/10
Related links: Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: Frontiers Music – Website | Facebook | YouTube
Vanden Plas is:
– Andy Kuntz (vocals)
– Stephan Lill (guitars)
– Torsten Reichert (bass)
– Andres Lill (drums)
– Alessandro del Vecchio (keyboards)
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