Album Review: Van Canto - Trust In Rust

We use the word 'gimmick' as a pejorative, when we really shouldn't. Gimmicks are easy ways to stand apart, and not necessarily something to be ashamed of. Ghost is the foremost gimmick band out there right now, but does their image and the rotating 'cast' of singers who have fronted them have any impact on the music? Of course not. Music is music, regardless of what else is going on around it. So the fact that Van Canto was able to find an untapped niche should not be considered a point to ding them on. Whether you like what they do or not, chances are if you've heard them you can't forget who they are. That's the whole point.

Van Canto's gimmick, for the uninitiated, is that they are a heavy metal band whose only musician is a drummer. All of the guitars and bass are provided by the singers, who stand in for the instruments. It's the sort of thing that sound like it couldn't possibly work, and yet they have a way of pulling it off (sometimes) in a way that makes you forget what you're listening to. They do not, however, always make great records. While they are great at doing what they do, songwriting is a different skill, one they sometimes struggle with.

The opening track "Back In The Lead", explicitly welcomes us back to the show, and immediately runs into trouble. Some of the lead vocals are mixed too low, muffling them. Plus, the lyrics are in that line where they tell us how they are going to rock us. I've said it for years, and I'll say it for years ahead; if you have to tell me you rock, you don't.

Furthermore, some of the lead vocals are weaker than I remember. One voice, in particular, is so rough around the edges he sounds like he has damaged vocal cords. It's a bit uncomfortable to listen to, given how often he is put to the forefront. It is also harder to overlook the vocals flaws, because the songs themselves don't give us a lot to sink our teeth into other than those vocals. The main melodies to the songs are rather flat and weak, with none of them sticking out as a memorable hook. The imitated riffs don't have a lot to them either, mostly trying to chug like the most generic parts of power metal.

This isn't my first foray into Van Canto's wacky metal world, but I don't remember my past experiences being this disappointing. I don't know if the band is going through a slump, but there's something about this album that is lacking a spark of energy. It is supposed to be a power metal record, but it is a chore to get through. The songs slog their way through, and there isn't anything particularly fun or enjoyable to listening to them. It's quite a disappointing listen, really.

I want to like Van canto, I really do. I find their gimmick entertaining, and I've heard them pull it off before in ways that are startlingly effective. This record, however, is not that. This is them going through the motions, without the songs to back up their gimmick. That word only becomes an insult when it's all a band has to offer. If you have the songs, you're colorful. If you don't, you're tricking us. Sadly, this album is closer to the latter.