At The Back Of Beyond

The Secret

Passing Dead End

The Poem 

Nothing Left

My Dark Side Home         

Wing-shaped Heart

Return To You

Through My Eyes

Flow This Desert

Seven Seas

Melissa Ferlaak – Vocals
Mario Plank – Vocals
Martin Harb – Synthesizer
Wolfgang K. – Guitars
Mike Koren – Bass
Thomas Caser – Drums

preview-review  by Matthew "Newbreed99" Haumschild___                            

release date: May 25^th 2007 (EU) -  June 5th 2007 (US)

Is it just me or does it look just stunning?

        This was another CD on my list that was a long time coming. I had been waiting to hear more on this album now since last year. To be honest, I wanted to hear more of Melissa Ferlaak. Most Visions of Atlantis fans haven’t heard too much from her. However, I seen her more than a few times when she sang for Aesma Daeva, a local band from Minneapolis (http://www.gryphonmetal.ch/NightwishMinneapolis.html , http://www.gryphonmetal.ch/LacunaCoilDFD.html , http://www.gryphonmetal.ch/AesmaDaeva.html ). She isn’t limited to just metal bands, she has done bonefide opera work such as “La Boheme” ect. (soprano) . And believe me, she’s the real deal. Also in 2005, the band went through quite the overhaul where as not only the singer was replaced, but the guitar player and keyboard player were replaced as well! It’s almost a new band at that point. Since I had only heard two or three songs prior to this CD, I am treating this band like a new band although they have three CD’s under their belt. Because when you change those elements, it’s extremely hard to stay consistent with the former sound because literally, half the band was replaced and that half where lead players. It’s like if Metallica got rid of Kirk Hammet and James Hetfield decided he was only going to sing, it wouldn’t be the same band anymore. Although, I will say this: The band’s sound on this CD is consistent if not better than what I have heard so far.

       At The Back Of Beyond can be heard on VOA’s myspace site although the albums version is different than the demo that is listed. Matter of fact, they fixed my only complaint on that song on their myspace site which was the intro. On the album, the intro was a little too long, if it was chopped to where just before the drums came in, it would be perfect. At that point, the song’s beginning would remind me, of all things, of the song, “Embody The Invisible” by In Flames. I’m probably going to be the only one to point that out but if you listen closely and do a comparison, it would sound similar and it would have given the album a slightly different feel to it out from the gates.

         The track is heavy, it’s rocking, it’s power metal with an attitude. I found myself going 75mph in a 55mph zone having this song blasting in my car! The drums sound just perfect for this song! What I like most about this track is that the chorus is very memorable. Ferlaak almost sings it as if it’s a lullaby but the tempo is much faster than that and it works just wonderfully. Mario Plank’s contributions to this track to also sound quite good as well; however I think that the two singers sound completely different from each other. Plank’s singing is smooth and it’s dead on, I have no complaints on it, it just has a completely different tone from Ferlaak’s, it seems like an odd combination, but for this song it works.

        Passing Dead End doesn’t sound like anyone or any other specific song I’ve heard, but had I never heard of this band, I could tell that the band was from Europe. It has a constant kick drum going nearly 75% of the song, it’s nearly monotonous but it works for the song. Also in the track, features more of a duet between Ferlaak and Plank. It’s a mid paced song where if you listen to it enough you sing along to it. The keyboards are all quite noticeable in this song as well and help shape it’s final form. There is also an excellent guitar solo in this song that is well worth listening to. It’s not a song that one could rock out to or anything, but it’s a good song to put on if one was playing video games or something.   

        The Poem is all about Plank’s singing ability. My original assessment still stands. He’s smooth, precise, and he sounds great. In this song however, it sounds like a symphonic-metal band trying to play an 80’s pop song. Not that it sounds bad or anything because it broadens the bands horizons. This song proves to me what the band can do.

        I was a little shocked when I started listening to Nothing Left. The intro sounded like something Entwine would have done. IT starts out fast, then once the singing starts in, it slows down. After about 30 seconds, the chorus kicks in to this catchy keyboard, guitar, and drumbeat that got me banging my head again. The chorus lyrics are also catchy too, or at least the line and how it’s sung, “It’s raining.” This is my second favourite track on the CD and I highly recommend everyone to listen to it.

        Through My Eyes starts off sounding very dark and when the vocals kick in, the combination of both Ferlaak and Plank make it dive deeper in to darkness and it’s just so brilliant! I’ve heard other bands do this same thing only without a male singer like Xandria but VOA made this perfect! I envisioned a downward spiral listening to this track even when it goes slightly upbeat a minute into this song. The guitars are much heavier in this track, possibly because the guitar player is playing mostly in e or e flat (I could be wrong on the note)  for the rhythm parts, which is typical for most metal bands. I really like the arrangements in this song, I thought all the parts were put together just right. It has the right about of everything incorporated in this track.

        Audio quality:

        Although this is just another song that has pro-tools written all over it, I must say that whomever owned the studio where they recorded in, must have made some upgrades because I can feel the low end on this disc. When I had this CD cranked in my home theater, each time the drummer would utilize his kick drum where he’s playing “double bass” I could feel it. Where as other recordings I have where the band was recorded via pro-tools, I couldn’t feel it at all. The mix was nearly perfect, I know this is a common thing for me, but I couldn’t hear the bass guitar at all. I heard more rhythm guitar than I heard bass. Otherwise, everything was perfect. Both singers couldn’t have sounded better, the guitar sound was perfect and the drums…I could hear each one perfectly and it was mixed perfectly although my gut is telling me he used triggers though I can’t prove it without asking. Not that there’s anything wrong with using triggers it’s just less work for the engineer to do which ultimately saves the band money. I could be wrong too.

        Overall, I liked the CD. I was quite surprised actually, I didn’t think I was going to like it this much. I was halfway expecting a Nightwish clone and that wasn’t the case at all. I don’t think this band sounds anything like that band. If I had to compare this band to any other band I would compare them to the likes of Xandria and Epica. I would also like to comment on the CD cover…is it just me or does it look just stunning?

rating: 9/10

Matthew Haumschild   04.05.2007 

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