Customer Reviews

Cast Away

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the result. Female vocals are opera like Tarja. She doesn't sing in the complete range of Tarja, but she comes close. The male vocals are a little annoying, I am not sure if it's the Austrian accent that kills it or his overall vocal ability. This would be a 5 star band if the male singer was something like say ... Bruce Dickinson. Imagine, a goth rock metal symphonic band with a female AND male opera trained singer. Now that would be nice. If you like Nightwish and Sonata Arctica, for sure check this out. But don't expect the quality you get from those two. If this compares to any past Nightwish album, it's Oceanborn because of the accentuated guitar work. Nightwish is still #1 in my book, but Visions of Atlantis' "Cast Away" deserves a spot in your collection.

I bought Visions of Atlantis' first cd, and although it was good, it didn't thrill me. Then I heard that they changed male vocalists and I bought their new one. I'm glad I did. This cd rocks! There isn't a song I don't like and the girl has a wonderful voice. So does the guy, who is ten times better then the first one, in my opinion. I am a huge fan of Nightwish, and this band is really one of the only ones who comes close, not to compare them or anything. Totally awesome!! Also, Emppu Vuorinen from Nightwish does a guitar solo on Realm Of Fantasy.

"Cast Away" is the second release (2004) from Austrian female-fronted symphonic metal band Visions of Atlantis.

The male vocalist from "Eternal Endless Infinity" (2002) has been replaced, and his successor is only marginally better. There are nine tracks on this album. Five of them are quite good, three are fair, and Winternight, the ballad, drags on interminably and kills the pacing of the album.

While Nightwish is obviously the gold standard to which all female-fronted metal bands are compared (rightly or not), such a comparison is unfair to Visions of Atlantis, as their sound is quite different. Visions of Atlantis's music has a synth and pop feel to it, and they are miles away stylistically from Nighwish's more "epic" music. They are not clones or imitators simply because their sound is too different.

This is a good, but not great, album from a decent, if not amazing, band.

I won't write an essay here. You can easily listen to the samples to decide if you like their sound or not. This is a very talented band with amazing and beautiful melodies. Their vocal melodies, especially, blend very well with the music. The female and male vocals sound almost as if they were made for this band.

I wish people would just stop comparing this band to Nightwish. Visions of Atlantis plays a completely different style. Nightwish is more dynamic and operatic, Visions of Atlantis has a male vocal and resembles more of the Gothenburg style more so than gothic powermetal. You simply cannot compare the two. That is almost like comparing Epica, Evanescence, Nightsky Bequest, Forever Slave and even Jack off Jill and The Donnas and saying they are all the same or "clones." Come on guys, get real. Wake up and smell the difference.

If you love Nightwish like I do and they just don't seem to put out (albums, of course) fast enough to satisfy your cravings for fresh Romantic, Symphonic Metal music, you might want to give Visions of Atlantis a spin.

I don't know if this Austrian sextet purposely tries to sound like Nightwish and I don't care. Their music seems original and almost as good and as far as I'm concerned you can't have too much of a good thing.

Now, I'm not saying Visions of Atlantis is a second coming of Nightwish. It's not. They're good but no Nightwish. At least not yet but they only have two albums under their belt and their latest, Cast Away is pretty good in my estimation.

Cast Away

Like Nightwish, Visions of Atlantis plays a melodious version of Romantic Symphonic Metal on Melodic Symphonic Metal if you will. Most of the songs are medium tempo, ranging from mellow like the ballad "Winternight" to bombastic, like "Realm of Fantasy" and in between. One or two are more like ballads.

Overall the album is a little short at barely forty minutes. Unlike Nightwish, Visions of Atlantis uses a male singer, Mario Plank, for every song except the ballad "Winternight". In that respect at least, they are closer to Lacuna Coil or Evanescence. As a singer Plank isn't anything to brag about. He isn't good nor is he bad. Let's just say he's adequate. Lady singer, Nicole Bogner is better than adequate but not yet in the class of Tarja Turgen or Sharon den Adel. She has a pleasant enough operatic style voice, not unlike Turgen but seems to struggle to hit some of the higher notes.

The obvious class of the album are "Send Me a Light", "Lost" and "State of Suspense". "Send me a Light" is a mostly medium fast, variable paced number with a catchy melody. It starts with Nichole singing the verses and Plank sing/talking the choruses. Not sure what it's about but here's some sample lyrics:
"Send me a light, Out of my night
Lay your arms on me, To set me free, My fear is me
Take my hate away, Let pain astray, Show me this way"

"Lost" is sort of like a rock/symphonic number which is very accessible. Plank seems to be the lead singer here with Nichole singing a prominent but secondary part. The song is very radio friendly and I have read that a video exists of this song. No wonder, this is a song that's hard not to like. On this song it sounds like the shipwrecked singer is having dreams of a lovely woman in the past:
"I see her face in my dreams - like a star shining all across the sea,
I remember this moment - years ago there was only you and me
When I wake up in sadness - I realize my deep wounds never heal
Living only in memories - all is lost, coldness I can feel"

"State of Suspense" starts a little out of character with a electronic beginning but quickly goes back to the symphonic feel. This is a medium paced fairly extravagant song where Plank starts singing the lead but is superseded by Nichole's strong vocals. Another catchy song with a few hooks as well. The lyrics on this song are impressive as well:
"Gravity of thoughts, they pull you down,
Carry you miles away but often it is just one step,
That makes you think of how to escape
Which path to take. Like the red thread that guides you
out of your Labyrinth"

Hey, if they were as good as Nightwish, Cast Away would be a five star album, wouldn't it? I never meant that Visions of Atlantis could take the place of Nightwish or Within Temptation for that matter but these guys show promise and if you just can't get enough, Symphonic Melodic Metal, Visions of Atlantis probably a good quick fix for you.

This release by the austrian band is really a thousand miles ahead than the first one. Is better in every way, good to see and hear young talented people improving with each recording. This one will prepare you for ther masterpiece Trinity. Highly recommended.

Takes some getting used to, but still seems to be lacking in certain areas. I didn't find any one song that I really liked a lot. It isn't bad, but isn't great either.

I'm a fan of symphonic metal and I was trying to find some new music. I've heard about this band before and decided to try it out. It's not terrible, by any means. It does have several good songs, particularly "Lost" and "Pharaoh's Repentance." However, none of the songs are very memorable or unique and this CD is rather expensive for simply a mediocre sound.

I thought that the highlight of the album was the female vocals. The lead female singer has an absolutely gorgeous voice: think Tarja, the ex-Nightwish singer(which is probably why you're looking into buying this CD, anyway). I almost wish Nightwish would enlist this woman to sing for them now that Tarja's gone. The male vocals are a different story, however. I cringe almost every time the male singer has a solo longer than a few seconds. He obviously knows very little about singing and his voice has a very immature, almost wanna-be pop sound to it. The song "Lost" is almost ruined by his prolonged solo at the beginning: only the chorus with the female vocals saves it again.

My biggest problem with the album, however, is how similar the songs all sound. Sure, it's symphonic metal but apparently even symphonic metal can be boring and unvaried at times (I never would have known had I not heard "Cast Away".)

If you're looking for another Nightwish or Within Temptation, I would suggest "Fables and Dreams" by Lunatica over this. The female vocals aren't quite as good as in Visions of Atlantis but they are fairly nice and the songs are far catchier and more unique. Anything by Xandria might be another thing to look into (although their sound is somewhat different). If you crave good male vocals with symphonic metal (which you probably will especially after listening to this album), I can't recommend "Epica" or "The Black Halo" both by Kamelot enough. They are absolutely wonderful.

Honestly, I don't think this was a particularly good use of my money.

This album is surprisingly good. At first I thought I was going to hear yet another in the endless string of "The Gathering" clones (yawn). But I was so wrong. Not only does this band play well, they can actually write songs. I will be listening to this a lot. Just as I was lamenting the somewhat weak voice of the female vocalist, the male voice saves the day. And the two together is greater than the sum of its parts. Make no mistake, this is NOT endless minor keys and 7 minutes songs that make you want to kill yourself (i.e., it sounds nothing like The Gathering). This is good music with real melodies. Refreshing...

This CD is good...a bit above being mediocre.

There are some very good songs on this album: "Winternight", "Lost", "Realm of Fantasy", "Send Me a Light", and "Pharaoh's Repentance". The songs are very melodic and symphonic and the lead vocalists (I forget their names) go very well togther.

The down sides of this LP:
Occassionally, the front-woman can be a bit pitchy. Although, it isnt too often. Also, a lot of their songs sounds very similar to what has already been done before a million times- the symphonic sound with female vocals.

Still, though, they do have a few attributes that make them stand out from everyone else. They have a male vocalist that sings on almost every song. His voice is -for the most part- smooth yet has an almost rough feel to it at times. He isn't the best singer in the world, though, and needs a tiny bit of work. Also, the band's overall take on melodic and symphonic sounds varies a little from other bands. There's a few different elements and sounds that stand out a bit.

Overall, this is a very hard CD to review. I wouldn't say it deserves 4 stars, but it doesnt deserve three either. Three and three quaters seems a little speck too low, but that's what I'm going with. If you are a fan of Nightwish or bands similar to Nightwish, then I'd recommend this album. They are not Nightwish clones- their music has a bit more of a different feel and they spice it up a little bit more than Nightwish...but they do share some similarities. So, check it out if you are a fan of female operatic and male fronted symphonic metal.