Reviewed - 03/05/06
Cast Away
[Napalm Records]
Since Nightwish and Lacuna Coil have had breakthrough years, there have been groups that have tried to emulate their sound. One of those groups is Austria’s Visions of Atlantis. Like Lacuna Coil, they employ a male and female vocalist, with the singing duties about half and half. Combined with the operatic styling of Nightwish, one would hope for something new and refreshing. With Cast Away, the results are mixed.
Cast Away is Visions of Atlantis’ second album and their first with male vocalist Mario Plank. His vocals are not too spectacular, but they are admirably consistent throughout the album. His counterpart, Nicole Bogner, can be good on some occasions, but it is when she tries to hit the high notes that things don’t go so well. As a whole, the vocal parts are good in that they are distinct and do not end up as one big mess. In terms of music, the synthesizers sometimes get in the way of enjoying the music because in some cases, it drowns out the guitars. Other than that flaw, the rest of the music is fairly pedestrian.
In listening to the tracks, most of them seemed to play it too safe, with “Realm of Fantasy,” “Last Shut of Your Eyes,” and “Winternight” all going over the top in terms of delivery. “Winternight” is the ballad on the album and most of the problems with Bogner’s vocals are evident on this song. In “State of Suspense,” the narration in the song sounds weak and out of place. Most of the tracks are listenable, but don’t really offer anything that hasn’t been done before.
As someone who regularly listens to symphonic power metal on a regular basis, I could make a case for Cast Away. As a reviewer, I can’t really recommend this as one of the first albums to get people acquainted into the genre. Pedestrian songwriting and inconsistent female vocals are some of the reasons why I would think of it as an unfinished product. Here’s hoping that Visions of Atlantis tries to go out on a limb with its songwriting. It’ll also be interesting how the next album will be, given that there will be a new female vocalist.
[Napalm Records]
Since Nightwish and Lacuna Coil have had breakthrough years, there have been groups that have tried to emulate their sound. One of those groups is Austria’s Visions of Atlantis. Like Lacuna Coil, they employ a male and female vocalist, with the singing duties about half and half. Combined with the operatic styling of Nightwish, one would hope for something new and refreshing. With Cast Away, the results are mixed.
Cast Away is Visions of Atlantis’ second album and their first with male vocalist Mario Plank. His vocals are not too spectacular, but they are admirably consistent throughout the album. His counterpart, Nicole Bogner, can be good on some occasions, but it is when she tries to hit the high notes that things don’t go so well. As a whole, the vocal parts are good in that they are distinct and do not end up as one big mess. In terms of music, the synthesizers sometimes get in the way of enjoying the music because in some cases, it drowns out the guitars. Other than that flaw, the rest of the music is fairly pedestrian.
In listening to the tracks, most of them seemed to play it too safe, with “Realm of Fantasy,” “Last Shut of Your Eyes,” and “Winternight” all going over the top in terms of delivery. “Winternight” is the ballad on the album and most of the problems with Bogner’s vocals are evident on this song. In “State of Suspense,” the narration in the song sounds weak and out of place. Most of the tracks are listenable, but don’t really offer anything that hasn’t been done before.
As someone who regularly listens to symphonic power metal on a regular basis, I could make a case for Cast Away. As a reviewer, I can’t really recommend this as one of the first albums to get people acquainted into the genre. Pedestrian songwriting and inconsistent female vocals are some of the reasons why I would think of it as an unfinished product. Here’s hoping that Visions of Atlantis tries to go out on a limb with its songwriting. It’ll also be interesting how the next album will be, given that there will be a new female vocalist.
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Tracklist:
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| Rating: 6/10 | |
| Release Date: 2005 | |
| Length: 40:46 | |
| Review By: Peter Santellan | |
| Total Reviews: (1) | |
| Band's Website: Go Here | |
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