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Visions of Atlantis > Cast Away > Reviews
Visions of Atlantis - Cast Away

One with the waves... Ocean Soul - 83%

FOrbIDen, February 7th, 2019
Written based on this version: 2004, CD, Napalm Records (Enhanced)

Following the release of their debut album Eternal Endless Infinity in November of 2002, Austrian symphonic power metal sextet Visions of Atlantis went through several major changes the following year. Both vocalist Christian Stani and keyboardist Chris Kamper stepped down from the band, being replaced by Mario Plank and Miro Holly, respectively. But perhaps most notably, in December 2003 Visions of Atlantis signed a record deal with the major heavy metal record label Napalm Records, which came with the benefit of worldwide distribution of their music, opening the band up to a wider, more receptive audience. Now having access to a bigger budget, a better studio and better equipment, the band got to work on writing and recording the follow up to their sweepingly romantic, yet ultimately unrefined debut album. And on November 29, 2004, Visions of Atlantis emerged victorious, unleashing Cast Away onto the world. A shining symphonic power metal masterwork that proved to be a thunderous album that made listeners and critics everywhere go... "it's fine, I guess".

Look, I am fully aware that there is a lot of things to hate about Vision of Atlantis's sophomore studio effort -- I get it. But what can I say? I like it. Actually, seven or so years ago I was one of the naysayers and agreed with a lot of the criticism lobbed against Cast Away; that it's uneventful, that the production is laughably dated, that the vocal delivery is not ideal for this genre of music, that it's "almost kitsch" (at least according to a Metal Hammer review at the time). Look, I get it -- I actually think that all of these critiques are still one hundred percent valid, but I don't know, it just works for me. I'm not saying that it's a "symphonic metal masterpiece" like Napalm Records does in the description of the music video for the album's lead single "Lost" but try to understand where I'm coming from. Cast Away is a densely textured keyboard driven album with catchy vocals and mesmerizing melodies that make me want to sing along with it. It is the musical equivalent of hard candy -- pretty to look at and saccharine sweet, but as a fan of female fronted metal of the late-nineties and early-2000s, I eat that shit up.

If there is one singular piece of criticism that defines Cast Away it would be that the band played it way too safe. It feels like the band is holding themselves back, and hence the album can sound a bit "samey". All the music is mid-paced and bubbly and leans too heavily on its pop tendencies: the production is squeaky clean and prioritizes accessibility over any drive or aggression, and the song structures are simple and predictable. Regardless of this fact, all the songs feel complete and self-contained; there are quite a few guitar solos sprinkled liberally throughout the album and all the passages flow together nicely. Besides, what the band lacks in surprises they more than make up for in hooks. All of this just means that the songs are more streamlined, and thusly aren't given the same amount of time to grow and unfold like on the band's debut. But this in itself is what garnered a lot of criticism at the time of Cast Away's release, people felt as though this album erased a lot of the band's pre-established identity. But in the band's defense, with a new line up the band's identity did change.

On Eternal Endless Infinity all music was (vaguely) credited to have been written by Visions of Atlantis, and all lyrics were written by then-keyboardist Chris Kamper. This, along with the fact that the keyboards were such an integral element to the very sonic fabric of that album makes me think that more of the previous work was written by Kamper than it wasn't, and that Eternal Endless Infinity was more his vision than anyone else's. Cast Away has no such ambiguity: all the music was written by guitarist Werner Fiedler, Kamper's replacement Miro Holly, and producer Peter O. Moritz and all the lyrics were written by Holly and new vocalist Mario Plank. If you haven't noticed, most of this album was written by people who had nothing to do with the band's past efforts. Imagine describing Vision of Atlantis' sound to a song writer -- that they're a band that plays an ethereal form of symphonic power metal that leans more toward warm and whimsical than dark and brooding, peppered with some electronic sounds and effects, fronted by both male and female voices -- and then telling them to write you a song that could pass as the band's own material. What you would get is a distillation of what they understand that sound to be, while also adding their own flare to it. Is Visions of Atlantis still chasing after that Nightwish fame? Of course, Cast Away feels like their less ambitious attempt at writing Century Child, right down to the ethereal keyboard tones -- hell, Emppu Vuorinen himself performed one of the guitar solos on this album. But despite this, I honestly think the Fiedler and Holly made for a strong songwriting team. They've crafted some of the catchiest material in all of symphonic metal-dom that doesn't shy away from simplicity, while also reveling in its own opulence.

They also seem very comfortable within the limits pre-determined by their aesthetic theme. They capture the fluidity of the ocean, the pull and push of the tides in a way that (despite the title Cast Away) feels majestic and empowering. They also exude the shimmeriness that comes with a historical fantasy setting like that of Atlantis, which (even though it feels a tad anachronistic and too European) they've achieved through a heavy reliance on artificial brass instrumentation. Despite how comical I find Peter O. Moritz being credited for "keyboard and orchestral arrangements" even though there is not a single orchestral instrument on this record, I find that the synthetic, buzzy horns and strings make for a pretty effective delivery, all things considered. And as a quick aside, I've heard rerecorded versions of songs off of Cast Away and have found those with considerably less cheesy production to be far less charming or enjoyable. The sweeping passages that focus on this instrumentation feel grandiose and regal, like a scene in a film where the main characters are in overwhelming awe, weather that be witnessing real life dinosaurs, pirates descending upon the protagonists' ship, or discovering the thriving peoples of a lost civilization, the music is grand, heavily major-keyed, and incredibly uplifting.

Something that I have noticed from my time on the internet is that people have a tendency to compare Visions of Atlantis (and specifically Cast Away) to Evanescence. This isn't the most ludicrous idea ever, on paper the two bands do have a lot in common. Hell, this album was mastered at the same Stirling Sound Studio that Fallen was mastered in, but I find Evanescence to be too dark to make an adequate comparison. But that's not the real reason why the two are compared, now is it? No, of course not. It all has to do with the female-male co-vocalist delivery, and more specifically the inclusion of Mario Plank on this album hitting too close to nu metal for comfort, which I don't think is entirely fair. Paul McCoy of 12 Stones who guested on "Bring Me to Life" is a much better singer than Mario Plank. Okay, I'm only kind of kidding, but I don't think Plank sounds that similar to Paul McCoy, or more appropriately Fred Durst or any of his ilk. I'm not saying that people are wrong to dislike Plank's performance on Cast Away, I too think he is the weaker of the two leads but for real reasons like... Jesus Christ, he pulls more chest voice than I've ever heard in a professional. Most singers try to have a pretty good grasp on at least three octaves of range, I would say that he struggles with expanding past one. That's not to say that he does an offensive job, he makes do with the ability he has -- he's not one for strong belting, but his parts add some rocking groove and balance out some of the fluff.

The late Nicole Bogner is the real star on this album. As the resident soprano, a lot of the band's success probably rested on her shoulders, and I think that she delivers on every aspect. Her voice has matured since the band's first outing, though on Eternal... I found her timbre charming, I also found it to be just shy of good. Though displaying incredible range, she often came off as shrill and unrefined. Between then and Cast Away she definitely came into her own as a singer, her timbre is very rich and smooth, and she doesn't struggle with accuracy as she did when she was younger. I will say however, that as Plank is the limiting factor on this album as the songs are more appropriately geared towards his range (or lack thereof), so much so that Bogner comes off as slightly underutilized. She doesn't get the chance to "spread her wings" as she definitely isn't working at full capacity. Which is a shame, but she does sell what she is singing quite effectively. Unfortunately, as this was her last work with the band we never got to hear her progress farther into her singing career, and after struggling with terminal illness she sadly passed in January of 2012.

But aside from all of this, what do I take away from Cast Away? What is this album's legacy? Honestly, it depends what circles you run in. If you're more routed in more traditional heavy metal, this won't float your boat; for some fans of the band or genre, this is an underappreciated gem among the early-2000s female fronted gothic/symphonic metal boom that is the final work of a great singer, but for most it's an unremembered relic that sleeps beneath the waves of time. To me, it's a fun and enjoyable album that maybe tries too hard to be a little bit of everything to everyone -- believe it or not, there is variation on this album, and though I focus on the more ambient, and softer parts of this record it's not as flaccid as I make it out to be. The last three songs especially are of note. "State of Suspense" ups the urgency and (well) suspense, "Lemuria" is the song that most closely resembles the band's heavier early work, and the emotive closer "Last Shut of Your Eyes" is big and heavy, and is a perfect way to close the album. The big single "Lost" is probably one of the weaker songs, as energetic as it is, I was of "cartoon-watching-age" around 2003, and it makes me think of a Pokemon theme song too much for me to give myself completely to it. Cast Away isn't an album that's going to blow anyone's mind, it's never going to be among people's "top albums of all time", or "most influential listening experiences". It's an album that is extremely sentimental, soft and fantastical. It doesn't make too many waves, but shouldn't be cast away without a second thought or listen, either.

Sunken treasures from ages past. - 77%

hells_unicorn, July 16th, 2018
Written based on this version: 2004, CD, Napalm Records (Enhanced)

Given the recent onslaught of Nightwish-oriented, symphonic-tinged, female-fronted metal making the rounds in the past several years, some might be wont to suggest that we are seeing the beginning of a second wave of such bands. Naturally this would imply that the original wave that paralleled the general power metal revival of the late 90s (typified in the likes of post-Gothic scene bands like After Forever, Nightwish and Within Temptation) had come to an end at some point between the early and late 2000s. Whenever attempting to attribute patterns to a fairly unpredictable phenomenon such as trends in musical expression, there are naturally a few caveats that need to be thrown in for the whole thing to make sense, and in this particular scene's case it would be the somewhat lower tier bands that may well constitute their own wave following the immediate success of the aforementioned bands; particularly such noted Central European acts as Edenbridge, Lunatica and the somewhat less celebrated but equally prolific Visions Of Atlantis. Particularly by the 2003-2005 period, these bands seemed to take over the torch as the earlier bands either fractured, folded tent, or modified their style to a significant degree as to be only nominally associated with metal stylistically.

It is in this context that Visions Of Atlantis' sophomore effort, Cast Away, finds itself as it feels a bit more prone to hold on to their style's power metal roots, all the while showcasing a greater pop/rock sensibility that was likewise seen to an even greater extent in Within Temptation's The Silent Force. The format here is heavily informed by the keyboards, bringing out an electronically tinged aesthetic that is along similar lines to the latter days of Timo Tolkki's tenure in Stratovarius and the later Revolution Renaissance debut, but also heavily steeped in an atmospheric, orchestral backdrop that is fairly reminiscent of Nightwish, though the overall production value is not as high fidelity. Combined with an operatic vocal performance out of Nicole Bogner that could pass for a 2nd rate Tarja Turunen and an ultra-clean, pop sounding vocal display out of then newcomer Mario Plank that would fit in with the typical 2nd male vocal slot on an early Sirenia release, the overall sound here is a bit on the lighter side of the power metal equation. This is only further exacerbated by the generally minimalist and chug-oriented character of the guitar work provided by Werner Fiedler, which is where a lot of past comparisons of this album to Evanescence were likely rooted.

For whatever these songs tend to lack in blazing speed or flashy riff work, there is an infectious charm that permeates most of this album in spite of its generally safe and mid-paced character. Keyboard-drenched anthems like "Send Me A Light" and "Pharaoh's Repentance" are not wholly without elements of intrigue, as the bass work of Mike Koren manages to punch through the array of keyboard and clean vocal interchanges and provides a few flashy twists here and there, while the guitar work ventures a bit out of the support zone during obligatory guitar solo segments, though the keyboard work proves to be a bit more technically apt in this department. Things take on a bit more overt of a triumphant power metal tone on "Realm Of Fantasy" with a tad hint of 80s arena rock trappings in the keyboard work, while the fast-paced and flashy character of "Lemuria" and "State Of Suspense" sees something a little closer to Rhapsody Of Fire territory emerge between the nods to Nightwish. However, the most memorable offering was the one that was treated to its own music video, namely the rocking and super catchy "Lost", which is a pretty clear nod to classic Stratovarius anthems like "Hunting High And Low" and "I Walk To My Own Song", painted over with an operatic gloss but generally sticking to the same formula.

When looking at 2004 and this album's stylistic proclivities in retrospect, it isn't surprising that there was a fair degree of hate lobbed at it given the saturation of the mainstream market with comparable material thanks to the ascendancy of Evanescence's Fallen, which undoubtedly played a roll in the subsequent success of Nightwish's Once and Within Temptation's The Silent Force.Though this isn't quite a full on tag-along affair in relation to said bands, there are enough similarities for an association to be made, though this is clearly a bit closer in overall approach to the less Gothic-infused character of Edenbridge. Aside from the hype surrounding female-fronted, keyboard-happy metal at the time, this isn't really an album that would elicit much controversy save with anyone who is already hostile to the very concept of the guitars either sharing the spotlight with or taking a backseat to the keyboards, but rather a generally consistent and somewhat generic affirmation of what works. Anyone look for outright symphonic bombast and high-operatic drama would be best served by checking out the recent work of Xandria and Elvellon, whereas this album's current audience is closer to the humbler, restrained feel of recent outings by Echoterra and Mastercastle.