┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + Van Canto - Hero + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Release Date.Feb-12-2012 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │ │║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year.........2009 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........11 ║ │ │║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.vancanto.de ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : Van Canto Rating : You Decide! ║ │ │║ Album : Hero Label : Napalm Records ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Van Canto's "Hero" is a considerable improvement ║ │ │║ over their debut album. For those who came in ║ │ │║ late, the idea here is that we have two lead ║ │ │║ vocalists (one male, one female), three backing ║ │ │║ vocalists (variously simulating lead guitar, ║ │ │║ rhythm guitar and bass) and real drums. Yes, ║ │ │║ that's right, the drums are the only other ║ │ │║ instruments bar the human voice here - although ║ │ │║ I'm at a loss to work out how some of these ║ │ │║ sounds can be made by the human voice. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ The improvement here can be put down to the fact ║ │ │║ that all the band members have moved away from ║ │ │║ the idea of combining acapella arrangements with ║ │ │║ metal attitude and towards a more "fusional" ║ │ │║ style. The acapella sound is still there, but ║ │ │║ the tracks are more clearly "songs" now, rather ║ │ │║ than "compositions". This is accentuated by a ║ │ │║ higher percentage of covers - and from big-name ║ │ │║ acts such as Manowar, Blind Guardian, Deep ║ │ │║ Purple, Iron Maiden and Nightwish, to boot. The ║ │ │║ "guitarists" (as I still intend to refer to ║ │ │║ them) appear more comfortable performing solos ║ │ │║ and riffs - as can be seen in both "Pathfinder" ║ │ │║ and their stunning cover of "Wishmaster", for ║ │ │║ example. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ The two standout covers here are Manowar's ║ │ │║ "Kings of Metal", in which Inga's female vocals ║ │ │║ aren't even heard, and Nightwish's "Wishmaster", ║ │ │║ in which barely a peep is heard from the male ║ │ │║ lead. While it appears odd to congratulate a ║ │ │║ band on essentially playing covers - and I ║ │ │║ certainly hope Van Canto doesn't go down the ║ │ │║ route of being an amusing covers band with the ║ │ │║ odd original - this really does demonstrate the ║ │ │║ strength of the band these days. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ To begin with, both tracks are eminently in ║ │ │║ keeping with the band's over-the-top but still ║ │ │║ tongue-in-cheek style. Hearing the "guitars" ║ │ │║ muttering "Man-o-war" in the background of the ║ │ │║ former cover is amusing enough, and the fact ║ │ │║ that there are four highly talented vocalists to ║ │ │║ deliver the signature "Manowar KILLS" line in ║ │ │║ the chorus sets it up very nicely indeed. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ On "Wishmaster", which is the first cover of ║ │ │║ this iconic song I've ever come across, Inga ║ │ │║ obviously has big shoes to fill, being in the ║ │ │║ Tarja Turunen role. She doesn't equal the ║ │ │║ soprano heroics of the original by any means, ║ │ │║ but the spectacle of the backing vocalists ║ │ │║ growling "squiddly-diddly-diddly-diddly-DUM- ║ │ │║ DUM-DUM" in deadly earnest to simulate the main ║ │ │║ riff points to the aim not being an entirely ║ │ │║ emulative cover anyway. I'd always had a bit of ║ │ │║ difficulty taking Nightwish seriously, for all ║ │ │║ their impressive pedigree, and hearing this take ║ │ │║ on their signature song demonstrates precisely ║ │ │║ why. By stripping away all the backing ║ │ │║ instruments, Van Canto are able to show that ║ │ │║ it's still a great song, but just as silly as a ║ │ │║ lot of other power metal can be. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ It would be remiss not to mention the Blind ║ │ │║ Guardian links here, too. Hansi appears as a ║ │ │║ guest vocalist on "Take to the Sky", and one ║ │ │║ wonders exactly what he thought after all those ║ │ │║ multi-tracked vocal experiments on his band's ║ │ │║ albums. Indeed, the band repays the favour in a ║ │ │║ manner of speaking, by covering "The Bard's ║ │ │║ Song". It's not an essential Blind Guardian ║ │ │║ recording, in my book, but it allows the more ║ │ │║ "traditional" acapella aspects of the band to ║ │ │║ shine through, as each male vocalist takes one ║ │ │║ of Hansi's melody lines. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Overall, this is a real standout of an album. ║ │ │║ Fans of power metal will lap this up, and indeed ║ │ │║ anyone with an open mind and a sense of humour ║ │ │║ will get a lot out of it. For a band that could ║ │ │║ so easily have turned into a bad joke, this is ║ │ │║ all kinds of fun. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Sly lead vocals ║ │ │║ Inga Scharf lead vocals ║ │ │║ Ross Thompson higher rakkatakka vocals ║ │ │║ Stefan Schmidt lower rakkatakka vocals, wahwah ║ │ │║ solo guitars ║ │ │║ Ingo Sterzinger deep dan-dan vocals ║ │ │║ Bastian Emig Drums ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ DISCOGRAPHY ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ A Storm to Come Full-length 2006 ║ │ │║ Hero Full-length 2008 ║ │ │║ Tribe of Force Full-length 2010 ║ │ │║ Break the Silence Full-length 2011 ║ │ │║ A capella metal Compilation 2011 ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 01 - Speed Of Light [04:24] │ │ 02 - Kings Of Metal [03:42] │ │ 03 - Pathfinder [04:46] │ │ 04 - Wishmaster [04:23] │ │ 05 - The Bard┤s Song - In The Forest [03:09] │ │ 06 - Quest For Roar [03:33] │ │ 07 - Stormbringer [03:52] │ │ 08 - Take To The Sky [04:15] │ │ 09 - Fear Of The Dark [07:09] │ │ 10 - Hero [05:22] │ │ 11 - Carry On (Bonus Track) [05:10] │ │ │ │ Total Length : [49:45 minn │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘