{"id":18083,"date":"2014-02-18T00:00:47","date_gmt":"2014-02-18T00:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=18083"},"modified":"2014-03-18T22:27:28","modified_gmt":"2014-03-18T22:27:28","slug":"album-review-vanishing-point-distant-is-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-vanishing-point-distant-is-the-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"VANISHING POINT – Distant Is The Sun (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

VANISHING POINT
Distant Is The Sun<\/strong><\/span>
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\nAFM (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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I must admit to sitting on the fence when it comes to overtly modern metal that is saturated with polished melody. Vanishing Point are one of those talented bands tinged with gothic aplomb who deal in grandiose dynamics, soaring choruses and energetic arrangements. These Aussie rockers have been reasonably prolific over the last decade or so with Distant Is The Sun<\/em> being their fourth opus this side of 2000, although their debut composition emerged back in 1997. <\/p>\n

Vanishing Point do like to take their time between albums, however, and this methodical process of writing and recording comes to the fore on each of their releases \u2013 it\u2019s actually been almost seven years since their last offering, 2007\u2019s The Fourth Season<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The line-up has changed since the last record, with Simon Best replacing Adrian Alimic on bass and guitarist James Maier stepping in for Tom Vucur. Thankfully, the changes haven\u2019t affected the sound of the band, with Silvio Massaro still responsible for those spiralling vocals, Christian Nativo still clattering the skins and Chris Porcianko shredding the axe.<\/p>\n

Distant Is The Sun<\/em> is a meaty opus which delivers 14 tracks. For those of you unaware of the band, well, upon first listen you may start to think that this is a glossy platter released by some European band, so it may come as a surprise when you discover they are from Australia. Even so, the quintet has what it takes to create epic-sounding metal which is often distributed in relatively harmless fashion, but features ascending melodies and heroic structures. <\/p>\n

Within the framework of their sound Vanishing Point aren\u2019t afraid to experiment, often relying on synths to dapple the icy guitars and ascending harmonies. After the short introduction (\u2018Beyond Redemption\u2019), \u2018King Of Empty Promises\u2019 gets the opus under way with jabbing percussion and excellent craftsmanship with the twin guitar attack, which leads us to the wails of the chorus. It\u2019s typically epic in its stature, before engaging us with a chunky gallop. <\/p>\n

This takes us to the title track, which is one of the album\u2019s meatiest moments \u2013 even with the sprinkle of synths. It is here where Silvio Massaro\u2019s vocals really do come to the fore. His warrior-esque tones are inspiring \u2013 indeed, they are throughout \u2013 but with this track and the soaring \u2018Let The River Run\u2019, Vanishing Point manages to separate themselves from the countless hordes of other acts plying their trade in similar fashion. <\/p>\n

All of the songs on offer are catchy throughout and often boast some truly mesmerising musicianship \u2013 especially on the racing \u2018Circle Of Fire\u2019 and the chugging \u2018When Truth Lies\u2019, which melts together gothic orchestration and cold steel guitars.<\/p>\n

Vanishing Point are more effective at combining keyboards with heavier elements than, say, Rhapsody Of Fire who could be accused of being rather tepid in their percussion at times. Although I\u2019d like to hear Vanishing Point opt for a more stripped down approach at times, the synths rarely annoy and simply allow the brooding aspects of the songs to breath. Again, I refer to the darker strains of \u2018King Of Empty Promises\u2019, which effortlessly combines mood, weight and glorious melody.<\/p>\n

Distant Is The Sun<\/em> exudes more technical swagger than the previous opus. The progressive elements which the band exhibit means that Vanishing Point circa 2014 are a far more formidable machine that should still please the older fans but no doubt bring in new fans along the way, especially as they play those open air festivals where their sound will most certainly thrive.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VANISHING POINTDistant Is The Sun AFM (2014)Rating: 8\/10 I must admit to sitting on the fence when it comes to overtly modern metal that is saturated with polished melody. Vanishing Point are one of those talented bands tinged with gothic aplomb who deal in grandiose dynamics, soaring choruses and energetic arrangements. These Aussie rockers have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1136],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-vanishing-point"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18083"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18085,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18083\/revisions\/18085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}