Album Review: Visions Of Atlantis - Wanderers

I know what PR entails, but there's a point at which is becomes to ridiculous I'm ready to dock an album points before I ever hear a note. It's one thing to be proud of the music you've made, but it's something entirely different to go about making absurd claims everyone knows is nothing but a way of ginning up a bit of buzz. And yes, I know the bands themselves aren't responsible for the copy-writing of press releases. So I wonder if they also feel weird when the label says about their record, "this will be the most intense and profound Symphonic Metal album that the world has seen in the last 15 years." There's a 99% chance it isn't true, and it sets expectations just a wee bit high. If I've heard just one symphonic record better, doesn't that mean this isn't living up to its own promises? Sounds like a bad PR strategy to me.

But that has nothing to do with Visions Of Atlantis, or this album, in all honesty. I've talked many times about how symphonic metal often misses the point, from a compositional standpoint, which makes it a genre I'm not a big fan of. Visions Of Atlantis aren't immune to this issue, but they manage to overcome it far better than most. There is certainly an issue where the the symphonic bits aren't integral to the song's composition. Many of those elements can be removed without the song being changed at all. If you're asking me, I would call that dressed-up metal, and not truly symphonic.

However, all issues can be forgiven if the songs are good enough. Most symphonic bands I come across aren't up to that task, but Visions Of Atlantis are. Clementine Delauney and Michele Guaitoli work well as a unit, giving the album a nice dynamic as a collection of duets, and delivering solid hooks from top to bottom. There isn't any of the flat melodic construction that classical singers often bring to the mix. These songs work as symphonic, but would be good as just a standard melodic metal album as well. There's the old adage about a good song being a good song regardless of the arrangement, and that's true here. These songs aren't reliant on the ear candy to be appealing.

My favorite track on the album is "Nothing Lasts Forever", which uses strings to give the song a dramatic, Broadway-esque atmosphere that truly highlights the vocal abilities of both singers. They never sound better than when they are given a little more room in the mix, and while I'm a sucker for ballads anyway, this one is excellent. It alone makes this the best symphonic album I've heard this year.

As for the rest of the record, we got plenty of songs that hit on light, beautiful metal leading into big, soaring melodies. They do begin to blend into one another a bit by the end of the record, but when that is repeated solid material, it isn't anything to complain about. No, "The Siren & The Sailor" isn't as strong as "Heroes Of The Dawn", and the record is a bit front-loaded, but it might be a good idea to deliver the best stuff up front, rather than test our patience getting to the highlights.

So let's just get this part out of the way; no, "Wanderers" is not the best symphonic album of the last fifteen years. Having anyone say that was stupid. However, the album is very strong for the genre, and is easily the best symphonic album I've run across this year. For that reason alone, I'd call it a resounding success.