Vanishing Point - Tangled in dream - 2000
intro
My capacity for surprise has only lasted one minute and forty seconds when listening to the last work of the metal-progressive Australian band Vanishing Point, a sextet formed by Jack Lukic (drums), Joe del Mastro (bass), Silvio Massaro (voice), Chris Porcianko (guitars), Tom Vucur (guitars) and Danny Olding (keyboards). Before listening to the CD I had already heard the name of the band... and I remembered... Vanishing Point were the authors of the second worst version from the whole tribue album to Pink Floyd, destroying without style or shame "On the turning away". Nevertheless, as anyone can make a mistake, we should not be prejudiced in front of this original work.review
But to be sincere, maybe their Pink Floyd's version is the best piece they have made in their career, as this second CD of the band is not in fact characterized by its compositive versatility or instrumental brightness. VP is another of those bands like Edguy, Rhapsody, Stratovarius, Symphony X that traditional heavy metal media classifies as "progressive heavy metal". The pieces, with a standard length between the 2:41 of "Tangled in dream" and the 8:19 of "Never walk away", include a range of cliches such that you can’t avoid being bored in mediocrity during all the listen. Very similar songs –some choruses are exact-, scarce or no presence of keyboards except for intros or instrumental intermissions, failed attempts of not very spontaneous drama, and, mainly, a “forced” interest in playing music such that both lovers of progressive and metalheads like it, which I am convinced they will never achieve. It is the same to listen to "Samsara" (4:15), "Bring on the rain" (6:33), "Two minds one soul" (4:13) (suspiciously similar to “Out in the fields” of Gary Moore)… all of them are in between progressive metal, NWOBHM, and mainstream rock without focusing in any of these styles. "Never walk away" (8:19) or "Father 7" (8:09) try to develop a tense and semi-progressive atmosphere a la Dream Theater. The ballad-half tempo pieces like "The real you" (5:28) or "Tangled in dream" (2:41) also seek to follow the ballad style of bands like Theater or Queensryche, equally without success. In any event if I had to single out any song, it would be "Surreal" (6:03), as at least it includes some flashes of personality. As an extra piece, you have the version of Floyd once again.