At Vance - No Escape (1999) [Japanese Edition]

In the late 1990s there was an explosion of new Power Metal acts that burst onto the scene. The names most associated with that explosion are Hammerfall, Freedom Call, Iron Savior, Mob Rules and Nocturnal Rites. Often overshadowed by these more successful acts in terms of notoriety, but obviously not in terms of skill and ability, is the German Power Metal band “At Vance”. All one need do is look at the album cover, containing the barbed wire shaped like a treble clef, to understand that there is something very different going on here. Unlike their contemporaries, this band chooses a much more technical and older set of influences, the same that inspired the original master of Shred in the 1980s Yngwie Malmsteen.

Guitarist and principle composer Olaf Lenk is clearly the master of this finely tuned metal machine, ripping out some amazing guitar riffs and solos that challenge the more Judas Priest and Helloween influenced acts with a more Neo-Classical approach to Power Metal. Also noteworthy is the rather brilliant production job that he did completely on his own. Every album following and including this one contain amazing remakes of compositions from such maestros as Chopin, Vivaldi, and Beethoven. All of these highlight not only Olaf’s ability as a player, but also his genius at arranging these orchestral works for a five piece band.

“Summer” from Vivaldi’s 4 seasons is one of the highlights of this album, carrying all the power and drama of the original arrangement, but also containing all the necessary changes to make it fit into the power metal genre, a genre that has been highly influenced by this music. “No Speak” is a brief instrumental that contains some amazing guitar shred lines, and underscores how heavily composers like Vivaldi have influenced the power metal genre in its newer compositional efforts.

However, though Olaf is clearly the powerful mind behind this rather brilliant outfit, Oliver Hartmann’s vocals also deserve special notice as they provide the necessary bridge between At Vance’s Neo-Classical sound and the 80s traditional metal that has also heavily influenced the power metal genre. Much like his work on Avantasia (which he is better known for), his voice is at its best in the heavily hymn-like rockers such as “Power and Glory” and “All for One, One for All”, the latter of which was composed by Hartmann. Both of these songs are great to sing along with and feature Hartmann’s dirty, yet highly polished and powerful vocal range.

“Flying High” and the title track are both heavily Malmsteen influenced faster tracks that remind of such amazing tracks as “Fury” and “Rising Force”. Amazing guitar solos and drum work on both of these, in addition to a top notch vocal performance. “Die in your Arms” and “Money, Money” contain similar Malmsteen influences, but are much slower in tempo and have more down to earth lyrics. “Lost in Love” is our token ballad on here, complete with some nice piano work and a more reserved vocal performance featuring Hartmann’s mellower mid-range. “Seven Seas” is a slower and more 80s metal inspired track, its main riff sounds like it could have been on Dio’s early to mid-80s material.

This is Power Metal with both intrigue and class. Olaf Lenk clearly takes his cues from some highly respected musical influences of the past, and has thus provided us with an album that is entirely impossible to overrate. For the style that it falls under, it is a model of how to balance emulating great music and also having a clearly new identity simultaneously. I can say with full confidence that I actually think that At Vance is better than Hammerfall, though obviously they have not been quite as successful. If you like your Power Metal fast, furious, and loaded with amazing guitar and vocal work, get this album today.

by hells_unicorn, metal-archives.com