Only Human [IMPORT]

At Vance

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Original Release Date: May 28, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Hellion
• ASIN: B00005YTJN
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,012,045 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Where did they come from?, July 31, 2002

By	Dr Nick "Dr Nick" (Sheffield, S Yorks United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Only Human (Audio CD)

A man in a shop told me to check these guys out. And I'm SO glad I did.

These boys have been around for some time, but this is apparently their best and best produced release.

How to describe them...neoclassical rock/metal, with commercial leanings, I guess. The vocalist is from the R J Dio school, the guitarist does a pretty good impression of Yngwie, although he's not quite a total clone, the keys are of similar extraction, bass and drums solid, with flashes of brilliance.

And the all-important songs. Well, they can certainly pen a decent tune. Big choruses abound, in particular the title track. And each song has a decent melody line to keep the listener interested, before the band go off into an instrumental work-out. The tempos vary from full-on double bass drum thrashers (aka Stratovarius), to power ballads, with some good ol' stompers thrown in, and a couple of instrumentals (The 4 seasons??!!!)

My version also has a cover of I Surrender, which I think is pretty good, especially the extended outro. In fact it reminds me of when I saw Yngwie in 1989 with J L Turner on vocals, and they did it too.

I gather there are at least 3 different versions of this CD, I certainly recommened this one.

5.0 out of 5 stars At Vance at their best...more than Human!, March 23, 2007

By	Lorenzo Cambiaghi "Icedguardian" (Monza, Milan Italy) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Only Human (Audio CD)

Take a cauldron forged in the purest steel of Germany and put it to boil; then add some "Rainbow" epic style, then some Malmsteen "Marching out" era, a part of Stratovarius "episode" period, a lot of classical music (Great the rendering of the Spring from Vivaldi's Four Seasons) and then let them boil for about an hour or more and you'll get in the end one of the best product in power metal of the year 2k2, At Vance!
In this cd Olaf Lenk and co. create great atmospheres, groovy songs and reinterpretate the "word" spread once by Rainbow covering their "I Surrender" (as a bonus track). After the opening song "Time has come" we find one of the masterpieces of the cd, the "Only Human" song; great power metal influenced by Stratovarius with a catch refrain that take path directly in your ears and in your head and it will never leave you easily! Then we have the granitic "Fly to the rainbow" where the shadow of His Majesty Yngwie Johann Malmsteen appears between the notes and solos of this song, really well played and felt by the group. "Take me away" is a little hymn for all the headbangers, mostly the youngsters, while it took in minds the older ones the great eighties movement. Something particular ,even not so extravagant, "Witches Dance" presents us with an incredible taste for the early 80's and something "ancestral" feelings I cannot really describe...
Great the artwork done by Luis Royo who really fit the groove, the inner strenght of this cd...Let's take a chance to these guys!

5.0 out of 5 stars "KEEP THE FLAME FOREVER IN YOUR HEART", January 19, 2007

By	rocksnstars (Tolland, CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Only Human (Audio CD)

That recommendation comes from Hold Your fire (track 5), and this music will surely help you do exactly that! Very, very good basic power metal with decent lyrics, rocking instrumentals and a powerful vocalist. Listening to The Metal Opera, I found the Pope's voice, Oliver Hartmann, particularly interesting so did a little investigation to see what other works he might be involved in. From his discography I chose this CD and am quite pleased with the results. I have been listening repeatedly to all the tracks (64 minutes worth) and that is my general requirement for five stars, so that is what it gets. Track 6 is their version of Spring, which shows just how close Metal and Mozart can be. (I know Vivaldi did The Four Seasons, but metal and Mozart sounds better than metal and Vivaldi.) Please see my profile for a brief discussion of my rating philosophy.