Lost in Time: Vanden Plas – Christ 0

Style: Progressive Metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Ayreon, Shadow Gallery
Review by: Sam
Country: Germany
Release date: 31 March, 2006

In the midst of ignoring my review obligations like a proper student (I SWEAR I’LL FINISH MY GOOD NIGHTOWL REVIEW IT’S ONLY BEEN THREE MONTHS), I found out that one of my favorite bands had suddenly fallen below the monthly listener cap we use. So instead of writing just one Lost in Time column on them and then going back to the three albums I should actually be writing about, I started doing multiple of these instead (more to come). Last time we talked about The God Thing, Vanden Plas’ dark and brooding experimental sophomore album which lacked accessibility. This time, we’re discussing what is frequently seen as the band’s magnum opus, Christ 0.

Up to this release, the band had been growing increasingly confident in what their sound was gonna be. Far Off Grace was a solid collection of punchy songs that expanded on the success of “Rainmaker” from The God Thing, and on Beyond Daylight they injected a little more ambition into their compositions and some lovely folky atmosphere. After that they took a small hiatus to focus on theater work and brought Abydos into being. This provided the inspiration needed to truly find their niche. Starting with Christ 0, all of Vanden Plas’ output consists of concept albums, and influences from musical theater become increasingly apparent. This album is based on the 19^th century novel “The Count of Monte-Christo”. I’ve never been able to piece the story together from the lyrics, but I’m also a dimwit when it comes to poetry so the experience might be different for you.

What this record stands out for in my book is its overall balance and pacing. There is an equal amount of straightforward bangers with catchy choruses as there are challenging progressive songs and ballads. Far Off Grace and Beyond Daylight would have a little too many of the former in a row, and The God Thing could struggle with having too many of the latter, but on Christ 0 they’re paced really well. The theater influences also come through without being overbearing like they could be on later works (cough cough Netherworld series). It added a whole new symphonic dimension to their sound and it fits like a glove. You can hear choirs, swelling orchestration, and a more theatrical (in the literal sense of the word) approach to vocal writing. I wouldn’t call it cheesy, but it might be a tad on the melodramatic side for some of our readers.

The title track opener immediately tells you that everything’s right with this album. The riffs are sharp, the chorus is instantly memorable, the transitions are tight, the build up to and the solos themselves are incredibly cathartic, and the symphonic arrangements add nuance and grandeur to the song without feeling cheesy or overdone. “Postcard to God” continues the trend with an even catchier chorus and a delicious bridge that has simply everything from complicated rhythms to melodic solos to blistering unison. It’s a bit slower, but also features a lot of sexy tempo changes. No wonder that it’s their most played song live. What’s especially apparent from these two songs compared to The God Thing is how easily they’re able to make odd-time rhythms and mid-tempo choruses sound natural and catchy. There’s no “We’re Not God” or “Salt in My Wounds” here where you can intellectually understand the idea, but it feels plodding and/or uninspired (shout-out to the piano solo in the latter though – I can’t praise that thing enough).

And that’s only the start. “Wish You Were Here” is 9 minutes long but it flies by like it’s only 5 or 6, having another insanely good chorus and sexy, sexy riffs. “Silently” is another fan favorite that stands out for its melodic approach. I’d especially like to highlight the section at the end where they transition into an acoustic guitar and Gunter Werno delivers one of the most beautiful keyboard solos I’ve ever heard. The underlying drum beat is also fantastic. It’s easily one of, if not my favorite outright moment in music ever. “Shadow I Am” less of a fan of because the synths that open it are very loud and in your face while “Silently” ended on a soft ethereal note, but otherwise the song is just as well constructed as the others on the album. The second half features a similar amount of song diversity, but what I really want to talk about is the album’s epic, “January Sun”. It’s a theatrical piece and the climax of the album. They pulled all the stops to make the song as grandiose as possible, including choirs, strings, and classical piano. It opens and closes with the same musical-inspired solo performance from Andy, but the backing orchestration builds up anticipation in the former and climaxes in the latter. And in between is some of the best progressive metal I’ve heard to date. In my book, it’s an absolute classic, not just for the band, but for the progressive metal genre at large.

I didn’t quite cover everything about the album, but this review is already long enough. I’ll quickly mention “Fireroses Dance” which is a breathtaking ballad, and the bonus Jesus Christ Superstar cover “Gethsemane” at the end which elevates the original immensely with it’s symphonic progressive metal arrangements and is as good as anything else on the album. The remaining songs are solid linear tracks like the first two. If I can sneak in a small complaint, it’s that the chugging riffs in the verses on this album can be repetitive sometimes, but otherwise this is as close to perfection as you can get. Everything came together for the band here from an artistic standpoint. They would try to incorporate even more theater influences in their music later, but in my opinion they never reached the collective height of this album again. This is a hallmark release of the genre, and I’m happy to have been able to write about it.

Recommended tracks: Wish You Were Here, Silently, January Sun, Gethsemane (also all of them)
You may also like: Headspace, Tanagra, Darkwater (bandcamp)

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)