Lost in Time: Vanden Plas – The God Thing

Style: Progressive Metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater (Awake era), early Evergrey, Threshold
Review by: Sam
Country: Germany
Release date: 15 October, 1997

Vanden Plas is quite a remarkable band. They’ve not had a single lineup change since their formation in the 80s and are still ongoing today. Their guitarist and drummer Stephan and Andreas Lill are brothers, and the band also works together in professional theater in their hometown of Kaiserslautern. The connection these five have must be incredibly deep. In recent years, the band has slowed down a bit. They still churn out new releases somewhat regularly, but they haven’t gone on a real tour since 2016 and shifted priority to theater-work (for those of our readers living in Kaiserslautern, you can probably find a performance in the near future). Luckily for me, that also means their monthly listeners on Spotify dwindled, so I can write about them now.

Musically, Vanden Plas is one of those early “prog metal that sounds like Dream Theater” groups which infested the scene in the late 90s and early 00s alongside bands like Threshold, Shadow Gallery, and Circus Maximus. What set Vanden Plas apart from the crowd was their ear for melody and overall balanced approach to composition, never being quite the best in any one aspect, but always in the upper echelon. Their songs are tightly written, yet leave enough room for technicality and adventurous song developments. Over the years, they have become almost consistent to a fault. They know their writing style and stick to it closely, innovation be damned. However this album we’re covering today is before that point–from a time when they hadn’t quite found their sound yet and were willing to experiment. This is their sophomore album: The God Thing. 

In many ways this album is an odd-ball in the band’s discography. Compared to the rest of their output, it is far more dense, housing a lot of midtempo songs with technical riffage and choruses that take a while to wrap your head around. They aren’t afraid to take their songs in unconventional directions either. “Garden of Stones” and “You Fly” stand out especially in this regard with extended outros in which the band rides out an odd-timed groove instead of a more conventional approach like reprising the main riff with an epic finish. Only the song “Rainmaker” follows the more streamlined approach the band would become known for later, but even that is led into by what is to date their only instrumental song in “Fire Blossom”. The record also stands out for its overall darker tone, bringing far more Awake to mind than, say, Images and Words.

This approach doesn’t always work. I wouldn’t say there are any bad songs on here, but some of them don’t really stick their landing. “We’re Not God” has a very good main riff and verses, but its choruses merely reprise the song title with some variations and feels a little hollow. Similarly, “Day I Die” suffers in the chorus, though this time more so due to the lyricism. “I don’t die till the day that I die” WELL GEE, THANKS ANDY I DIDN’T KNOW THAT. Finally, “Salt in My Wounds” is a little plodding and I would have preferred a faster song there, though having my favorite piano solo ever and an amazing guitar solo in the bridge does – admittedly – score it some points.

The majority of the album is amazing though. “Fire Blossom” into “Rainmaker” is simply godly. Great technical riffs and wonderful keyboard melodies in the former, stupidly effective vocal writing and super sexy soloing in the latter. It’s no wonder “Rainmaker” is a live staple to this day (or well, up to when they stopped touring). The follow-up “Garden of Stones” is a brooding masterpiece that – once unveiled – won’t let go of you. It starts building up atmosphere and ends up entrancing you with its delicious riffs and melodies. “In You I Believe” has a main riff which is “Smoke on the Water” levels of catchy despite being in 7/8. “Crown of Thorns” is an amazing power ballad that builds up to one of the most satisfying guitar solos I’ve heard in ever (it was also a pretty good break-up song for me ngl). The album closer “You Fly” is similar to “Garden of Stones” in how dense it is but is also just as rewarding over time with its wonderful melodies and compelling song direction. The original CD also had a bonus track in “Combien de Larmes” which is a French acoustic version of “How Many Tears” from their debut album. It’s a lovely breather track and I recommend adding it to the queue at the end as if it’s a part of the album proper.

I don’t think it’s strange that Vanden Plas went in a different direction after this album. “Rainmaker” was clearly the most popular song with the fans thanks to its high energy and sing-along chorus, and that’s the template they used for their next few albums. It’s also the only song from this album to feature on their live CD “Spirit of Live” despite having only three full lengths at that point. But on the other hand, it’s a little sad. The prog fan in me wonders what path the band could have walked had they not reigned in their denser experimental edge so soon, especially when viewed in regards to how safe their last two releases have been. In a sense, this is their …And Justice for All. We’ll likely never see another record like it from them, but I’m damn glad it happened. 

Recommended tracks: Rainmaker, Garden of Stones, Crown of Thorns, You Fly
You may also like: Hephystus, Anubis Gate, Subsignal (spotify), Orpheus Blade (bandcamp), Payne’s Gray (youtube)

Related links: Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: InsideOut Music – Facebook | Official Website

Vanden Plas is:
– Andy Kuntz (vocals)
– Stephan Lill (guitars)
– Torsten Reichert (bass)
– Andres Lill (drums)
– Gunter Werno (keyboards)