Customer Reviews

Heading for a Storm

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

 

 

This is not as good as their first record but it is a must have because of Adrian's history and their professionalism. He graduated with a degree in art history which inlfuenced him to pursue classical training. These are very talented musicians who each carry their weight in the band. The vocalist is real sharp, reminiscent of Lou Gramm. He re-recorded "Burning Heart" with Vandenberg in 2004 and he sounds almost exactly as he did 22 years before. How many vocalists can boast that? The quality of their music surpassed the mainstream hard rock of the day. It is truly a shame that Adrian Vandenberg did not perform on either their 1987 LP or on 1989's Slip Of the Tongue including the bonus tracks that were released on subsequent records. His very first studio recording with Whitesnake was 1994's Restless Heart. And by that time, the members who were in the band in the 1980's, which is the decade Whitesnake is most known for, were all gone. I had the pleasure of seeing him live twice which convinced me he is worthy of being on stage with Whitensnake. He can play with the best of them. He is one of the most talented guitarists in the world. His approach to the guitar is different than some of the other "famous" and revered guitarists. The guitar(s) you hear on the 1987 LP, as it is most famously known as, were co-written and performed by John Sykes. You may remenber his long, wavy beautiful blonde locks as he fronted and played guitar for the band, Blue Murder. And BTW, Manic Eden is probably a band you may not easily recognize by name but you will recognize the members: Tommy Aldridge(drums, Whitesnake), Rudy Sarzo(bass, Whitesnake), Adrian Vandenberg(guitar, Whitesnake), and Ron Young(vocals, Little Caesar). Their debut CD was released in 1994.

Vandenberg, led by Dutch guitarist Adrian Vandenberg, produced three albums in the early 80's. Heading for a Storm, their second release, is their most dynamic, and well-balanced effort.

Similar to a band like Dokken, Vandenberg's brand of metal is more melodic, with lots of runs and fills, sprinkled in between spunky chords. The guitar tone is clear and bright. Particularly on his solos, Adrian Vandenberg's guitar cuts cleanly and sharply through the mix. With influences from classical music, the man has some impressive skills, somewhat reminiscent of Michael Schenker. His unique creative solos, display technical ability, yet always seem appropriate to the song. Unlike many, he rarely plays to excess, maintaining control and a sense of melody throughout.

The quality of the songs is excellent, and there isn't a dud among the nine tracks. The band is probably at their best on the up tempo songs like This is War, Rock On, Time Will Tell, and Friday Night. Adrian's guitar is extremely active, constantly keeping things interesting. Vocalist Bert Heerink performs admirably on moody ballads, as well as hard rockers. While he doesn't have the range or the emotion, of a Don Dokken, or Joe Lynn Turner, his singing style fits in well with Vandenberg's different musical approaches.

Fans of melodic 80's metal, should check out perhaps the second most famous rock guitarist to come from the Netherlands, after Eddie Van Halen. While not a rock guitar icon, Adrian Vandenberg is a flashy and talented guitarist. The music is energetic, fun, and very listenable. The only downside is that the album is less than 40 minutes long.

As has been said elsewhere, Vandenberg perhaps had too much talent for their own good. They could play anything and everything they wanted so why not add a little of their own signature to the genre of 80's hard rock? The bad bits first eh?

This is very much an 80's hair metal album. The tunes are fairly lightweight and the lyrics are fairly silly.

The good bits are that this album hangs together well as a testament to the skills of Adrian Vandenberg - who I believe designed all the darn cool cover art for the bands albums.

Tracks like Friday Night and Welcome to the Club breeze along wonderfully, even if their collective IQ is up there with CC Devilles pet budgie. Hard to knock a track like Heading for a Storm though. This has some threat and dynamics to it. The whole this is produced well too.

Whitesnake fans may also like this as a curio, and certainly, despite it's age (original release 1983) the production and musicianship has aged very very well. The genre is taken a few hits in the meantime though

Adrian is one of the founding fathers of the neo-classical movement. He plays beautifully and his sense of melody and technique are always well balanced. This CD is great to listen to and excellent learning tool for aspiring guitarists.

"Welcome to the club" and "Heading for a storm" are my favorite rock tracks. "Different Worlds" is a beautiful ballad with a great acoustic interlude and melodic solo/outro.

Thanks Adrian & Co. for such wonderful music!

Originally released in 1983, Heading for a Storm was the second album from Vandenberg, the band formed by Dutch guitar wizard Adrian Vandenberg before he helped make Whitesnake a platinum success. The early Vandenberg sound walked the line between melodic rock and heavy metal, and was clearly influenced by bands like The Scorpions and MSG.

Heading for a Storm is a fun album that, despite its relatively brief running time, manages to showcase the best and worst elements of the `80s rock sound. It's both hard-hitting as well as catchy and accessible. Vandenberg is a fantastic guitar player, and he knows when it's appropriate to serve up an insane solo as well as when a more subtle melody is required. The vocals, courtesy of Bert Heerink, are solid, if a bit thin at times, and the lyrics can get a bit silly. Then again, if you're listening to a Vandenberg album in the first place you ought to be OK with a bunch of songs about rocking hard in the night. Throw in some fire and chains and it's a Dokken album. Highlights are the single "Friday Night" and the title track, but the whole album is quite solid.

It's probably not an essential album, but if you're a fan of guitar-driven melodic rock, especially the early `80s variety, there's a lot to love about the Vandenberg albums. If you're a fan of bands like Tobruk, Shogun, Rail, Loudness, early Europe, and especially MSG, you'll definitely want to check out Vandenberg. The Best of collection is probably enough for casual fans, but if you like what you hear, come back around to Heading for a Storm.

Edition Notes: Wounded Bird reissued Heading for a Storm (along with the rest of the Vandenberg catalog) in 2002. It's a typical Wounded Bird reissue - no remastering, no bonus material and almost non-existent liner notes. The reissue is already out of print though, which is usually a sign that a better reissue (fingers crossed for a Rock Candy upgrade) may be on the way.

My bad rating isn't for the music , which rocks - it's for the piss poor mastering ! This sounds WORSE than my old CD's - if you buy this get it for the great music but DON'T buy to get a disc that sounds better than your old ones .

Adrian Vandenbergs second offer is a solid hard-rocking effort as was the band's self-titled debut.

This begins with the rockin' "Friday Night" - an ode to beginning weekend celebrations away from work. All office workers in 9-5 jobs should relate to this one well.

The next two songs "Welcome To The Club" and "Time Will Tell" are OK to good songs - not outstanding but good. The ballad "Different Worlds" is AWESOME - acoustic and electric guitars are used. Lyrically this laments a lost love with "we should not be apart, just listen to your heart, different worlds keep us apart." That song is one of Vandenbergs best, and is a fine display of the classical guitar that has inspired Adrian Vandenberg's play.

Give "The Flying Dutchman's" three solo records a serious listen - he can play with the best of 'em.

This is not as good as their first record but it is a must have because of Adrian's history and their professionalism. He graduated with a degree in art history which influenced him to pursue classical training. These are very talented musicians who each carry their weight in the band. The vocalist is real sharp, reminiscent of Lou Gramm. He re-recorded "Burning Heart" with Vandenberg in 2004 and he sounds almost exactly as he did 22 years before. How many vocalists can boast that? The quality of their music surpassed the mainstream hard rock of the day. It is truly a shame that Adrian Vandenberg did not perform on either their 1987 LP or on 1989's Slip Of the Tongue including the bonus tracks that were released on subsequent records. His very first studio recording with Whitesnake was 1994's Restless Heart. And by that time, the members who were in the band in the 1980's, which is the decade Whitesnake is most known for, were all gone. I had the pleasure of seeing him live twice which convinced me he is worthy of being on stage with Whitensnake. He can play with the best of them. He is one of the most talented guitarists in the world. His approach to the guitar is different than some of the other "famous" and revered guitarists. The guitar(s) you hear on the 1987 LP, as it is most famously known as, were co-written and performed by John Sykes. You may remenber his long, wavy beautiful blonde locks as he fronted and played guitar for the band, Blue Murder. And BTW, Manic Eden is probably a band you may not easily recognize by name but you will recognize the members: Tommy Aldridge(drums, Whitesnake), Rudy Sarzo(bass, Whitesnake), Adrian Vandenberg(guitar, Whitesnake), and Ron Young(vocals, Little Caesar). Their debut CD was released in 1994.

Vandenberg is a very talented musician, and excellent guitarist, I've noticed that he has done some work with Whitesnake, on their 1987LP "Whitesnake", that had a couple of "chart-busting" toons. He's also done work with various other artists. The band Vandenberg were really good, the drum work, the bass work, and keyboards were great. The singing and the lyrics were mediocre.