Dear readers, we have the honour to offer you in this article an interview with a historic Progressive Metal band. We welcome Vanden Plas.
Hello, how are you?
ADV: “Ciao! Very well here and I hope you’re well too!“
AK: “Great to meet you Jacopo!“
The band was formed in 1986, how did the project start?
A.K: “Let’s think for a moment – it was just yesterday…;))
We started with almost the same line up as today – founding fathers Andreas Lill, his brother Stephan and me. The bass and keyboard positions changed a few times in the early years – we also had 2 guitarists for a while… Our aim was always to write our own music and present it to the audience. In the beginning you had to cover to get gigs… the orientation of our setlist was harder AOR with very few progressive elements – we only opened this pandorra’s box years later when
we were technically able to do so…“
You are among the first Progressive Metal bands, how did your passion for these sounds start?
A.K: “The passion was there early on but we weren’t able to implement these ideas. Thanks to our involvement in large theater productions with symphony orchestras, you will learn quickly or you will fall by the wayside. Even before Color Temple we composed songs with some progressive elements without knowing exactly what we were doing ;)) …. At some point the journalists opened this drawer and put us in it. Although we were never really influenced musically by dream theater, I can say that from the moment we heard the album Images and Words for the first time – we knew that we could dare to do even more…- So in this respect this band has certainly opened doors and levels for many others in this genre. and so our professional progressive Rock career began.“
The band’s first single was released in 1986 how has your sound evolved since then?
A.K: “I think I have almost answered the career path in the previous question…if you are allowed to take so many different paths in music and can always compete with the greatest, on rock stages or in the theatre – if you remain self-critical and are capable of learning… there remains a lot of musicality – let me put it this way – I think the feeling for hooks has remained ever since. how we package them has become more complex and virtuosic .“
April will see the release of your new album “The Empyrean Equation of the Long Lost Things” how would you
describe this work?
ADV: “It’s an epic journey into all things Vanden Plas. I am very proud of the album because it really gave me the chance to explore all I love about this band. Pretty cool that those things I love as a fan can now be unveiled as a musician in the band!“
Both the music and the lyrics have always been very intense, what themes do the lyrics of the new album deal with?
A.K: “This time, “The Empyrean Equation Of The Long Lost Things” is not a real concept! Rather a chronicle of different stories that deal with the important and essential things in life. The big things that we can’t hold on to – and also the supposedly unimportant little things that we have carelessly forgotten or unhappily lost somewhere along the way … But these are the very things that are necessary for happiness and for the fulfillment of our lives… We lose them somewhere on our journey – gradually in everyday life – or fatefully and suddenly. Some losses hit us abruptly and mercilessly, leaving us defenseless and powerless, others throw us off track inch by inch and almost imperceptibly… However, every absence has one thing in common. It is almost impossible to fill this gap. Some resonances of absence, however, still linger
somewhere deep in our subconscious… and sometimes, almost imperceptibly, we are made aware of them again… when fate seems to shine through the gauze of the universe for a moment.“
You have extracted a single with an official video ‘My Icarian Flight,’ do you have any more planned before the album’s release?
ADV: “Yes, we actually have three singles planned. “My Icarian Flight” being the first and probably also the most accessible of all. Then we have “The Sacrilegious Mind Machine” and “March OF The Saints” that will dig deeper into the prog elements and some will also surprise you. Our hands almost got tangled while recording some of these parts haha! Thank God, we have Andy who’s always balancing the progressive side of things with his melodies and very unique vocal and lyrical approach.“
Many of your fans and our readers are wondering if there will be a chance to hear the new album live, do you have any plans in this regard?
ADV: “Well, this is our plan. As tough as it can be sometimes, especially in today’s industry, we are really willing to bring these songs live and also I cannot wait to have the chance and honour to play the classic VP from the past albums on stage!“
How do you think the way of gigging has changed since the 80s? What has changed for you?
ADV: “I started gigging and touring in the 90’s and already a lot of musicians were telling stories of how the music scene had changed compared to the 80’s or 70’s. I think we have to learn to accept and embrace change in the music. I think the biggest challenge now is that there’s so much more music released on a daily basis compared to any other era of music. Spotify and DSP’s in general have given the opportunity to everyone to release an album but it also has horizontally shifted music releases up to the point of saturating the live market, simply because the number of clubs and tours have stayed the same, cause logistically nothing really has changed, but the number of bands and records who would like to tour or end up touring is incredibly higher than ever. But again, it is up to us to embrace the change and work around and through it.“
What advice would you give to young artists approaching music in a more elaborate genre like yours?
ADV: “Simply to have fun. Trends are so even more flakey nowadays that once you think you’re staying to a magical formula it’s all faded away the morning after. So you’d better have fun, write with an open heart, be authentic and true to themselves, cause if it works than you’re gonna have a winner!“
A.K: “Yes and don’t give up right away… I know so many mega talented guys produce demos that have high quality in sound and technical musicality – already CD quality – then they play 3 times and at some point something doesn’t fit… – many say in the good old 80´s amnd 90´s a lot of things were better – I don’t know…- but it was different – in any case, we never gave up back then, even when we were hit by setbacks…“
I thank Vanden Plas for the interview and wish them all the best for the continuation of their artistic career.
“It was a very pleasure Jacopo…“
Pre-Order “The Empyrean Equation Of The Long Lost Things” here: https://orcd.co/vandenplasteeotllt
Watch the official music video for the track “My Icarian Flight” through the YouTube player below:
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