In the world of metal, it is unusual for a band go through their entire career with an unchanged line-up and until the recent departure of keyboardist Günter Werno and the arrival of his replacement Alessandro Del Vecchio, Vanden Plas has been the exception to the rule. Now, determined to continue with their technical but entertaining brand of melodic progressive metal, the band are due to release their new album, The Empyrean Equation of the Long Lost Things on 19th April 2024.
With a cryptic title suggesting a search for a divine formula to understand things lost to memory, The Empyrean Equation of the Long Lost Things does not shirk in intriguing or challenging the listener from the outset, opening with the almost entirely instrumental, eight-minute title track. Del Vecchio announces his presence immediately with a glorious gossamer light piano introduction that is soon joined by Stephan Lill’s signature guitar. Orchestral accents then dance amongst the duo until after a minute and a half, the demanding main riff kicks in. The title track traverses a vast number of different musical passages and styles serving as an overture to the rest of the album. Just as a motif or rhythm takes hold and it seems to be finding a natural progression with which the listener begins to settle, occasionally, the band change tack as if different sections of music have been pasted together. However, The Empyrean Equation of the Long Lost Things is an amazing exemplification of the technical prowess of the band. The second of two exhilarating solos by Lill threatens to break through the stratosphere and the track is such a statement of the band’s self-confidence that the eight minutes rushes by.
My Icarian Flight (the second of just six songs) again begins with a short introduction from Del Vecchio, whose playing across the entire album is adventurous and enthralling. Vocalist Andy Kuntz explains what Del Vecchio has brought to the band: "I’ve admired Alessandro since our collaboration for his outstanding Frontiers Allstars project, where numerous renowned rock musicians participated. Though Alessandro couldn't partake in the songwriting for this album due to time constraints, his playing has already enriched the songs and sound with various nuances. The new artistic dynamic is palpable in this production." My Icarian Flight, in the main, is more straightforward in its approach to song structure than the title track but nevertheless manages to feel equally panoramic. A central section which traverses different time signatures; some groove driven bass from Torstein Reichert and some old school organ sounds from Del Vecchio leads to another towering solo from Stephan Lill and a concluding section, in parts, redolent of Queensrÿche’s Operation: Mindcrime. Now in his early 60s, Kuntz’s vocals circle and soar with ageless power and dexterity as he tells a tale of tragic heroism, a willingness to face consequences, and poignant acceptance of the cost of ambition. I’m your burning saviour / Starting my Icarian flight to you / Like an aviator to the sun / To burn / To my mother  / I’m feeling your silent fear  / Sometimes it’s better to burn than see your loved ones disappear.
Sanctomonarium, the first of two epic tracks on the album, is packed with references to existential and spiritual enquiry. Grappling with themes of life, death, the divine and the search for meaning, Vanden Plas brings an elaborate grace to the dark lyrics. I am not in the spirit to take you with me / And I don’t want to scare you to death / I’ll sing you an ayre of the saintly transition  / Please let me go instead of thee / And drink the wine of immortality / You ask for the reason my friend / It’s just the erosion of time that surrounds me / My sombre street serenade tells of what I’m so afraid. During its ten minutes, Sanctomonarium brilliantly highlights just how comfortable Vanden Plas are with the complex interplay between their instruments. Rampant waves of keyboard transform effortlessly into electrifyingly rapid guitar solos via cannon blasts of percussion and monumental bass. All of this builds towards a Herculean, climatic conclusion complete with a few operatic flourishes (think Dark Chest of Wonders by Nightwish). The Sacrilegious Mind Machine adopts a more genre-fluid methodology, cleverly amalgamating the melodic and metallic influences of the band. Progressive metal rhythmic patterns adorn the track but are interspersed with a range of elements, conjuring a deeper level of interest for the listener. At different moments, melancholic guitar wrings intense levels of emotion from every note, choruses drench the track with layered melody and the duo of Andreas Lill (read my interview with him here) and Torstein Reichert show why they have made such a formidable partnership for almost thirty-five years.
Penultimate track They Call Me God initially brings the tempo and the dynamics down several levels as Vanden Plas unveil a more typical hard rock ballad and the most traditionally influenced melodic song on the album. However, while some listeners might point to the lack of technicality compared to other songs on the album, it does allow the band a chance to embrace different characteristics of their sound which others will enjoy. Additionally, the song is interesting from a lyrical perspective, investigating the power and destructive properties of melancholy and a nihilistic world view where hope and meaning are lost and what remains is emptiness and despair. I came to flood all the lands / To take your worthless belongings / That might have helped you to bring this to a meaningful end  / Your insignificant things / Can reawaken the long-forgotten kings / Like in a sun of morphine / They’re shining through this cathedral of your broken dreams / All sense of living is gone / One final canary song down the mines of oblivion.
Epic in sound, scale and narrative, the sixteen-minute behemoth March of the Saints ends the album with Vanden Plas utilising  every skill they have drawn upon during the previous five songs. As the most progressive track on the album, each member of the band takes the opportunity to use every weapon in his arsenal. Drummer Andreas Lill employs military beats, hurricanic fills and imposing floor tom blasts while his brother visits every fret on his guitar. Just as he opened the album, Del Vecchio finishes it with elegant piano. Such is the synchronicity between the two bookends that when listening to this album during review, it looped round to start again and the first moments felt like a natural continuation, perhaps indicating the cyclical nature of life.
With The Empyrean Equation of the Long Lost Things, Vanden Plas have produced a wonderfully constructed and beautifully played album. By its very nature, it is expansive, cinematic and epic; however, the care to the sumptuous arrangements and inviting production is such that the band have found the perfect equilibrium between their melodic, progressive and metallic elements and an enticing balance of keyboard or guitar led moments. Â In short, for any fan of this type of music, this is essential Vanden Plas.
The Empyrean Equation of the Long Lost Things is released on 19th April 2024 on Frontiers Music.
Vanden Plas online