We all know Vanden Plas and like their amazing progressive metal music. Well, we must welcome now the side project of Stephan Lill and Andy Kuntz, guitarist and vocalist of Vanden Plas respectively. All My Shadows, where Stephan Lill and Andy Kuntz cooperate with Andreal Lill (drums), Markus Teske (keyboards) and Franky R. (bass), is a hard rock music act – or at least, that’s what the band members say. Yes, they wanted to play music, influenced by 80s AOR and FM/arena hard rock, however, the result of All My Shadows is well-done, impressive and to the point … progressive metal! The album sounds almost exactly like Vanden Plas! It could be their new album. It is surely less progressive and more straightforward than Vanden Plas, yet, the result is almost identical! Because we have here the melodies and the arrangements of Vanden Plas, the vocals of Kuntz and the guitars of Lill, almost every ingredient of Vanden Plas music! Nevertheless, that’s not bad for me – at all! “Eerie Monsters” is a great, awesome album of melodic progressive metal, a special present for all the fans of sophisticated, delicate heavy metal. There is no filler here, it is a quality good album full of nice melodies, heavy riffs, incredible keyboards and a crystal production, which boosts the final result. More than satisfactory, “Eerie Monsters’ is perfect for the fans of Vanden Plas, a record where melodies meet virtuosity and simplicity meets technique. Listen to to this LP, and you won’t be disappointed!
♦ 7,5
Dimitris Zacharopoulos
