Far off Grace

Artist: Vanden Plas
Label: Inside Out U.S.
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 727701200224
EAN: 0727701200224
ASIN: B00002EPRN

Release Date: 1999-11-16

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Tracks:

I Can See
Far Off Grace
Into The Sun
Where Is The Man
Iodic Rain
I Don't Miss You
Inside Of Your Head
Fields Of Hope
I'm In You
Kiss Of Death

Customer Reviews:

Check out Spirit of Live .......2005-06-14

Many reviewers have criticized the album for the lack of production and "poor" vocal performance. Well, it is not totally unfounded.

I do not have any other VD studio albums and the only album that I heard before FOG is their live album Spirit of Live (SOL).

SOL is a great album for those new to VD. It contains 5 or 6 songs from FOG. The sound is much thicker and the vocals much more powerful. I much prefer the live version of the songs. Also, the songs flow more easily on SOL.

Still I give this album 4 stars for great guitars, good compositions and for being a heavy prog album.

In-between.......2005-02-09

Vanden Plas musically rivals Symphony X. The main difference between the two, however, is the singer. Symphony X's Russel Allen enhances the songs. He sings tunefully and doesn't overshadow the true melodic guitar and keyboard lines. In Vanden Plas, though, the vocalist (I don't know his name...) tends to overpower the melody line and isn't that tuneful in doing it. Maybe V.P. needs to borrow Russel Allen :) Then, they would truly be in the same league as Dream Theater and Symphony X.

Excellent album.......2003-08-06

Vanden Plas may be classified as a little bit prog, a whole lotta metal. They are more complex than heavy metal, but not quite as complex as excellent prog metal bands like Dream Theater and Symphony X. The singer sounds very 80's metal style, which isn't a bad thing. The strength of this band is guitarist, Stefan Lil. He has great taste and feel in his solos, and his rhythms really give the songs power. Excellent songs include "I Can See", "Far Off Grace", "Iodic Rain", & "Inside Your Head". If you like powerful metal with a slight hint of prog, Vanden Plas will not dissappoint. I have all their albums and I have yet to be dissappointed.

Great music, lacking production and mix........2002-11-20

German metal masters Vanden Plas had me from the opening notes of their previous release THE GOD THING, easily one of the best progressive-metal albums ever recorded (see my review). So I approached FAR OFF GRACE with anxious anticipation. I initially enjoyed the album more than I do now. Over time most of the tunes do not wear very well and that is due more to the recording itself than the song structures. Admittedly, some of the tunes are weak (I Don't Miss You, Fields of Hope), and some have complained about the singer (I'm guessing they have not heard his excellent performance on THE GOD THING). That aside, my problem is more with the mix than anything else; the drums have nowhere near the power and punch of the previous album (which had arguably the BEST drum sound of ANY album I've ever heard-and that's a lot). They sound too weak, too 'tinny'. The sound is also relatively confined; the drums to not take up the full aural spectrum, they do not envelop you as they did on TGT. The guitars sound ok, but *some* of the crunch has been removed from the mid and lower ranges resulting in a less-than-exciting sound. The bass is also not as thick as I would have expected. Everything-even the vocals-seem stripped of the power they had in the past. With THE GOD THING Vanden Plas proved that they were a big-time contender in the power/prog arena, and it's a shame to hear them partially robbed of their most enduring quality: a BIG FAT sound.

This is NOT to say that the album doesn't have its' moments. Take the chorus and quiet middle section of the title track for example. Wow! It's awesome to hear. Likewise, the slow drudge of "Where Is The Man" accentuated by the drummers kick drums is really nice. "Iodic Rain" is the albums best track, beginning with a full blow-out fretfest for the first ten or fifteen seconds a la Dream Theater or Liquid Tension Experiment. It is a truly great song with a gut-punch chorus. It's one of those one's that's hard to get out of your head. Which brings me to the other stand out of the album, "Inside of Your Mind", a tune that really brings to mind (ha, ha) shades of OPERATION MINDCRIME by Queensryche-in both lyrics and style.

My suggestion would be to listen to this before buying it -if possible- or make your own VP mix disc with their best stuff. A good hard rock album, but not the place to start.

Generous at best.......2002-03-12

I read with interest the other reviews on this site and, being a huge DT fan, decided to take the plunge. And what a plunge! The music, as in the playing, itself isn't that bad (and comprises both the stars I am prepared to award), but....and this is a double "but" underlined and in bold italics.....the singer is just so awful it completely negates any positive experience. Believe me I tried to get through it as most music in this genre takes a while to grow, still after 3or 4 listen I find it just grates.

Avoid!

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