It was on Finnish metal radio show Metalliliitto when I heard Vanishing Point for the first time. "Oh, melodic and not very heavy metal", I thought. Coming from other side of the globe, they came to Finland in November 2001. As live the band was heavy and their guitar sound reminded me of Greece's Septic Flesh! Really. So, after the show, I bought the band's both albums for a reasonable price.

Well, the music or the sound has nothing to do with Septic Flesh. Vanishing Point might be metal, but it surely is from the more beautiful spectrum. Half of them is prog rock. Very emotional and textured all the way through. Wonderful melodies are sometimes very soft, but the band are usually able to sidestep too candy rock music (read: "Toto"). This shows the band's ability to really show their emotions through the music, I think. There is heavier guitar in many songs and also double bass drum. Most of the songs are between great and good, but there's a few average ones. The album is a bit long on one sitting. Vanishing Point sound Vanishing Point. Musically this might not be anything new, but vocalist Silvio Massaro's calm yet able voice lifts this above many similar bands' music. His mid-register is great joy to listen to and his ability to express emotions is breath-taking. Lyrically, this is real life stuff and more philosophical pondering.

Musically Vanishing Point's melodic prog metal is mature, but never flashy. Wonderful acoustic guitars on 'The Real You' are magnificent and good change for electric guitars. 'Two Minds One Soul's heavier and more powerful deliverance is also my favourite here. Yes, sometimes it's time to bang yer head, too! Sometimes this gets too "Toto", a side of prog rock I can't stand! One thing that bothers me a bit is drumming. Throughout the album, there's some clumsy parts. And throughout the album, synchronization is inaccurate. I hear this also on the band's debut album 'In Thought' (1997). Sound-wise this is good, it doesn't amaze me or disgust me.

Vanishing Point do not progress music into any new direction with this, but as a prog metal album this is a good and mature take. However, there's no extreme musical or instrumentation tricks here. It is all surprisingly straight, but I guess it is the thing which grabs me. These songs will stick one's mind easily, but still there's enough to discover. Comes with a short film of the band's European tour and a Pink Floyd cover (with some double kick drum!). Nice, I mean, musically this might be too nice and warm for many a metal head.

Rating: 7½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
06/26/2003 12:59