VAN CANTO

Van Canto stands for a nice mix of a capella (they are a German sextet) voices mixed with a symphonic metal-sound! The vocals are very diverse and really powerful, supported by a real drum! The songs are well chosen and as they are all talented it isn’t all the time the same one singing, so the variety in the vocals is very wide! Or as one posted after reading this review: it's metal without guitars?!' And that is very innovative!

more info: Charlie Bauerfeind (Blind Guardian, Helloween, Hammerfall) produced the drum recordings. The album was mixed by sound wizard Ronald Prent (Manowar, Rammstein, Within Temptation) at the Wisseloord Studio 2

The album starts with 'Dawn of the Brave', a very good one for an intro: almost completely a capella!

'Fight for your life' has nice guitars & drums! This one is really the full throttle for the sextet of great voices! The symphonic metal is here at its best! A great song!

'To the mountains' gets a more Wagner-minded approach, love the 'ticky dum'-minded lyrical part.

'Bedaboom' has a nice sound à la Haggard, very symphonic and reaching a high!

'The Final Countdown' gets a great version, this song has been played and taken over by a lot of bands, but this version is really a pearl! Just listen to it and hear for yourself!

'Steal Breaker' brings us catchy metal with a high octane male voice! Sounds something for old school metal lovers, well I love it anyway!

'The Awakening' is simply a great song with great voices! I love the chorus & the battle of voices! It's a bit a Haggard minded song (very symphonic, energetic, great drums & rhythmic guitar work). I simply love the sound and one can't stop moving during this song. It must be an absolute hit on stage?!

'The other ones' has a more introverted sound, it almost sounds like a metal-minded ballad. Love the massive chorus and the powerful voices! This song is as strong as 'Nothing else Matters' from Metallica!

'Holding out for a hero' is my favorite one on this album. In a previous life it was a big hit for Bonnie Tyler and I just love their approach! It's strong and melodic metal. The fantasy elements really come to life in this version! Love the drive and the fresh approach of this band!

'Unholy' has a nice Voicemale kinda sound, the main singer has a great voice and love the ads of the other voices! The musical sound is a bit melancholic and very filled with fantasy elements! I can see the song happening in my fantasy! Simply great! You really got sucked into the fight!

'My Utopia' is a very epic song with lot of twists within the song. Love the bombastic sound and the high octane driven vocals! Once again the fantasy and heroic elements in this song come right into your life and feels o so true!

'Into the west', well: do you remember the original song from the Lords of the Ring movie ('Return of the King')? Annie Lennox almost made a tearjerker out of it. Well, this song is much stronger and much richer as the original! The drive is a bit higher and less mellow! Maybe they can postulate for the next Hobbit movie?

'Paranoid' is the last song and it's really a great version of the old school Black Sabbat hit! Once again a great and fresh version!

Repeat function gets used, once again and again and again...

After listening to this jewel I noticed I missed their concert in my hometown, so I hope they do some more touring, soon! I feel they can fit in a festival like Trolls et Légendes in Mons, so I'll keep the organizer informed about it, but it's off course not up to me too book them. Their fantasy world would fit in nicely, just as the powerful music! Thumbs up folks and hope to see you soon!

Click on interview to read about our nice chat.

Filip VAN MUYLEM
14/03/2014