Ride the Sky

It’s been a good, long while since I’d sat down and gone balls deep into a real power metal act. I dunno…maybe it’s my less than sunny disposition towards metal that’s powerful these days, but I’ve just not been as thrown by the fist-pumping anthems that have been the bread and butter for PM bands since the genre’s inception, outside of the acts I’d been able to thoroughly enjoy. Too many samey bands have been leeching off each other have been tainting the waters of inspiration.

So I hoped I could find some saving grave with this new AT VANCE release…

If I could describe the sound on this given disc, I’d consider this “gateway power metal”. That’s not really a bad thing, really…it has all the prerequisites of what you’d expect from a band of its genre, but it‘s done in such a way that’s much more digestible and palatable, wherein the band has that one specific hook that makes them stand out that much more, akin to straddling that fine line between enjoyability and taking itself way too seriously (the latter being the biggest crime in most power metal acts). Those just getting into the genre nowadays (shame on you, kiddies, for being so late to the party!) could use this band as the front door necessary to get right into the swing of things before going for the older, more hard-to-decipher acts. And even us old-timers can still find something to enjoy with this new disc…the eye-catching cover art (naked angel? Talk about BALLS DEEP…am I RIGHT, people???), powerful guitar riffs/solos, lush keyboard melodies, pitter-pattery drums, and soaring vocals that have a combination of Matt Barlow’s emotional rage and the stratospheric operatics of Dio (R.I.P.). All this comes together and breeze right by in traditional song arrangements and thankfully very short durations (more brownie points to them, as pushing the songs well past the point of no return would’ve made for a bothersome listen), where the likes of the strong opener “Ride the Sky”, the anthemic “Last in Line”, and the sextet Hell of “Salvation Day” evoke a competent band having a jolly good time trying their damnedest to create musical escapism. And that Vivaldi cover is fucking brilliant as well.

In the end I dug this disc. Power metal still has a ways to go until some of its lesser-known acts can push into more "acceptable” formats, but if all you want is to bang your head and pump your fist, you can’t go wrong with this. Recommended.

In spite of a fairly stable lineup collapsing after a series of amazing albums, blending classic 80s influenced heavy metal with a slight bluesy tinge, At Vance seems to have begun to rebuild their ranks. The band hasn’t really tripped up in their musical delivery, though “VII” did want for a little in the vocal department at times, and has stuck to their Rainbow, Uli John Roth, Yngwie Malmsteen and occasional German speed metal roots. Olaf Lenk has remained the principle compositional force, and has consistently fielded vocalists that stick fairly closer to that gravely, almost David Coverdale like sound that Oliver Hartmann brought to the band at its inception.

“Ride The Sky”, which is ironically the same name of a now defunct German power metal band under the influence of ex-Helloween drummer Uli Kusch, which had a somewhat similar sound to this band, is something of a step back to the heyday of the latter Hartmann era of the band. The slightly heavier remakes of hard rock songs are back in “Wishing Well”, which much like the Abba cover from the first album, I actually prefer to the original. And perhaps the most charming and unique aspect of this band, namely their tantalizing remakes of Classical and Baroque masterpieces are back, this time with a solid reinterpretation of Vivaldi’s “Summer 2nd Set”. At this rate, the long dead Italian composer may see his entire “Four Seasons” work realized through the metal medium.

But naturally there is always more to this band than just the covers, and in this department the story is a little closer to a fairly solid attempt at recapturing the magic heard on “Only Human”. The only area where there is any real lag is in the harmonized choruses, which don’t quite match the majesty that Hartmann captures with such ease. Songs such as “Salvation Day” and “Power” are very representative of a humbler approach to harmony, going more towards a Whitesnake character, rather than the epic, almost Avantasia like fanfare heard on the band’s early works. “Ride The Sky” does get a little bit closer to that epic feel during the chorus, and “End Of Days” remembers this band’s glory days of hard hitting speed metal with a catchy melodic tinge, but largely the songwriting character seems to conform itself to the more stripped down nature of “VII”, though the production definitely leans towards the Hartmann era with its dense guitar arrangements.

Yet another good release by a very capable band, one that has consistently outclassed most of the rock oriented power metal bands out there, save perhaps Masterplan. Rick Altzi’s vocals are definitely showing some signs of growth here, Lenk’s production practices have remained consistent, and the flock of new musicians called in to fill the empty slots left from the end of the Mats Leven era are all solid. If you like your power metal with a rougher, more attitude driven vocal character, but still loaded with memorable hooks and wild guitar solos, there’s plenty here to go around.

Originally submitted to (www.metal-observer.com) on March 1, 2010.

In 2007, At Vance became widely known due to a lawsuit involving a copyright violation due to a song on their then release VII. It seems that the suit did not really put much of a stop on the band since it's about two years later, and we now have the band's eighth full length effort, Ride The Sky. For fans of the band, this is another one of their traditional releases with nothing too out of the ordinary on it. This would be fine if some of the tracks on here weren't so traditional in the first place.

It all starts off well within the first few tracks. "Ride The Sky" is a fantastic mid-paced track with some beauty in the music around the bridges to the chorus, as well as the chorus itself. "Last In Line", however, is the real gem of the album having some phenomenal music that really shows the talent that At Vance possesses, having the same kind of beauty to it that "Ride The Sky" had, and one hell of a catchy chorus with a vocal performance that will be lodged in your brain for days. "Wishing Well" stands well on it's own too, coming off more as a Hard Rock ballad with some heavier guitar distortion then anything. But after, and even during, that little set of songs, Ride The Sky starts to go downhill a bit.

While the rest of the album does have some good material, like the classical-based instrumental "Vivaldi - Summer 2nd Set", much of it just gets rather boring and repetative of what you heard at the start of the album, with exception to "Torn - Burning Like Fire" since it did start the album off and really wasn't that great to begin with. After that, the material on here isn't anything really special. "Power" is the only one that really shines through because of how heavy it is, but it's practically the same song and structure as "Ride The Sky" and "Last In Line". Sadly the release doesn't really pick up until "Fallin'", a slower paced anthem-like track that, like "Wishing Well" brings in some Hard Rock elements to the music.

Ride The Sky has the potential to be something good, but much of the album just sounds like other tracks on here, structurally or musically, and will either bore you or give you nostalgia of five to ten minutes earlier. There's a couple good tracks on here, but too many tracks that really aren't that good, and that's the downer. If some of them had a little more attention they would have been great. Had the track "Torn - Burning Like Fire" had more detail to it like the Free cover song "Wishing Well", had "Farewell" had drums that didn't sound too fluid, had "Fallin'" sounded less like the song "Shiver" off Vii at times, perhaps the this album would have been something worth your attention a little more.

Originally posted on December 14th, 2009 at Apoch's Metal Review
www.apochs.net

Beginning their journey at the tail-end of the 20th Century, Germany's At Vance have only now come across my radar with the release of album no. 8, "Ride The Sky", and a few listens in I can understandably see why. Combining all the usual elements of power metal with a classical element (thus finding themselves labelled as 'Neoclassical metal'), this kind of harmless metal is closer to bands like Europe than the murky end of the metal spectrum I tend to get involved with on a daily basis. That is not to say I don't like to dabble in the light from time to time, and while "Ride The Sky" won't be my first choice of listening when such occasions do arise, it is at least a more pleasant listen than most contenders that get thrown up by unsuspecting labels only to be struck right back down by people like me who won't be bought into their claims of "Band X's best album so far!!!".

There are 11 songs on here, most of them falling in the 'competent' range rather 'good', but let's point out the one you should be avoiding in the manner of an accusatory Italian at an intelligence convention - "You And I". Being soppier than a glass of red wine while watching a chick flick on Valentine's Day, it's only conceivable use will be as a 'first dance' song at the wedding of mulleted Germans. That's if isn't deemed too poncy of course, and replaced by a more rollicking Bon Jovi song. Or Van Morrison song.

Thankfully the rest of the album isn't so abhorrent otherwise surviving an album of that crap would've been harder than squeezing out a watermelon. From your nostril. The majority of the album, from the likes of "Last In Line", "Ride The Sky" and "End Of Days" is a recipe of well-played and well-produced power metal retaining a stronger sense of direction than the piles of shit spat out by bands like Mystic Prophecy and Dragonforce in recent times. The potential within the musicians compiling At Vance (3 guys having joined since 2007 accompanying founder guitarist/keyboardist Olaf Lenk) is clear at all moments through the evident professional composition; even in "You And I" it must be added. This technical proficiency is best spotted though in the band's 'cover' of one small part of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" concerto, here titled as "Vivaldi - Summer 2nd Set". I have found myself repeating this interesting and beguiling piece unlike any other track on the album; the manner in which At Vance have 'sampled' a section of the larger piece of work is as clear an indication as any other of how interlinked heavy metal and classical music can be, and evidently are.

Where the medium pace of the album begins to negatively affect the quality of the album early on, it takes until "End Of Days" when the band finally pick up a decent amount of speed in a manner most reminiscent of another classically-influenced band, Stratovarius. However to pick out any 'great' songs is a futile exercise in an album where the keyboards and lead guitar argue over which should play a greater role in pushing the songs along, not for the first time resulting in rhythms that are wholly listenable yet entirely unmemorable, an illness sadly widespread in much of the metal world today.

The niceness of "Ride The Sky" is somewhat the saviour overall; At Vance aren't trying to be the fastest or heaviest and to take them at face value is the name of the game but as an exercise in polite, inoffensive metal they have done well even to get a

Originally written for Rockfreaks.net

At Vance has always stood out in the power metal realm for their use of bluesier vocals inspired more by bands like Deep Purple and Whitesnake than Rob Halford or Bruce Dickinson. Add to this the focused shredding and proggish organ/synths of Olaf Lenk, and a touch of neoclassical influence, and you get a band that consistently releases albums that sound like no other. That said, I have never felt that At Vance has delivered a 'knockout punch' of an album. 'Only Human' and 'The Evil In You' were both pretty close, and like these, 'Ride the Sky' has its share of memorable moments.

The title track opens the album with a mid-paced number reminiscent of later period Riot. Rick Altzi's vocals are dirty and hint at an edge of blues rock, but they do create a nice immediacy which the guitars and keyboards coil themselves about. You can definitely shake a fist to this song, but there are better on the album. " Torn - Burning Like Fire" is slower and choppier with a blue collar fervor, and Altzi delivers some Lande-like angst in the chorus. "Last in Line" is one of the more memorable tunes on the album, with a charging gait that meshes well with the organs. The bridge hooks inject some nice speed metal and the solos show Lenk at his peak form. Other notable tracks include the folksy, anthemic "Salvation Day" and the neoclassic monster "End of Days".

The album has a thin and crisp tone to the guitars which does balance off with the full drums and synths and the rasping throat of Altzi. Lenk produced this himself, and he's got an ear for what makes his band sound right. At Vance, as usual, is unlikely to please the legion of spastic come- latelies who think neoclassical/power metal was invented by Dragonforce and Rhapsody, but the band is talented and tight, and a little different. If you're one of the rare breed who enjoys both bluesy 70s/80s hard rock and metal, in addition to modern power metal, At Vance is one of the only bands standing at the cross section. I'm still waiting for an album that can truly blow me away with its songwriting, but 'Ride the Sky' will suffice, and if you enjoyed any of their past 3-4 works, it is mandatory.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com