Vanden Plas is a German
progressive metal
Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...
band, based in
Kaiserslautern and founded in the mid-1980s.
History
In 1991, Vanden Plas recorded the song "Keep On Running" as an anthem for the local national league football club
FC Kaiserslautern, and did the same in 1994 with "Das ist für euch" ("This Is for You All"). All of its members have been involved in theatre projects and rock musicals such as ''
Jesus Christ Superstar'', ''
The Rocky Horror Show'', ''
Little Shop of Horrors'', and ''
Evita''.
In 2004, vocalist Andy Kuntz released an ambitious solo project under the name ''Abydos''.
A musical, based on Andy Kuntz's solo project, premiered on 2 February 2006, at the Pfalztheater in Kaiserslautern.
On 31 March 2006, the band released a concept album entitled ''
Christ 0'', loosely based on
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright.
His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...
's book ''
The Count of Monte Cristo''. In April 2008 the album was brought to theatre stages in Germany; the stage production was named ''ChristO - Die Rockoper''.
''
The Seraphic Clockwork'', was released on 4 June 2010 (Europe) and 22 June 2010 (USA).
The latest two releases ''Chronicles of the Immortals – Netherworld (Path One)'' and ''Chronicles of the Immortals – Netherworld II'' are based on ''Die Chronik der Unsterblichen'' by fantasy author
Wolfgang Hohlbein. Both albums are adapted from the theatre play ''Blutnacht''.
The first part was released on 21 February 2014 (Europe) and 24 February 2014 (USA). The second part was released on 6 November 2015.
A new studio album, ''The Ghost Xperiment'', had its original release planned for 2017. After long delays, in February 2019, ''The Ghost Xperiment'' was announced as being a double album. The first album, entitled ''Awakening'', was released in Fall 2019, with the second part, ''Illumination'' being released in 2020. In May 2019, a box Set containing all of the band's studio albums, an EP and a live recording, called ''The Epic Works 1991-2015'' was announced. The collection, released that July, also includes unreleased, bonus, rare, and demo tracks spanning the band's entire career.
Line-up
Current Line-up
*
Andy Kuntz - Vocals
*
Stephan Lill - Guitars
*
Alessandro Del Vecchio - Keyboards
* Torsten Reichert - Bass
*
Andreas Lill - Drums
Former Members
* Günter Werno - Keyboards
Discography
Studio albums
* ''
Colour Temple'' (1994)
* ''
The God Thing
''The God Thing'' is the second full-length studio album by the German progressive metal band Vanden Plas (band), Vanden Plas. It was later re-released in 2004 as a special edition with two bonus tracks.
Track listing
Personnel
*Andy Kuntz � ...
'' (1997)
* ''
Far Off Grace'' (1999)
* ''
Beyond Daylight'' (2002)
* ''
Christ 0'' (2006)
* ''
The Seraphic Clockwork'' (2010)
* ''Chronicles of the Immortals: Netherworld (Path One)'' (2014)
* ''Chronicles of the Immortals: Netherworld II'' (2015)
* ''The Ghost Xperiment: Awakening'' (2019)
* ''The Ghost Xperiment: Illumination'' (2020)
* ''The Empyrean Equation of the Long Lost Things'' (2024)
EPs
*''Accult'' (1996)
Live Albums
*
Spirit of Live (2000)
*
The Seraphic Live Works (2017)
*
Live & Immortal (2022)
References
External links
*
Official website (English)Official website (Brazil)Encyclopaedia Metallum pageVanden Plas on Progboard
Vanden Plas albums reviews and ratings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanden Plas
German progressive metal musical groups
Musical groups established in 1986
Inside Out Music artists