It’s
been a few months since the release of the single “Save Me” but Van Halst
have finally released their Gothic-y debut album “World of Make Believe” and if you were a fan of the original single
you won’t be surprised to like the rest of the album. The album surprised me a
little more than I expected it to, which is great of course and who knows, you
may really like it.
Yes, Van Halst are fronted by a female and
if you’re one of those “females don’t belong in metal” “female fronted bands
suck” kind of people you can fuck off now, thanks. So to kick off the album we
have “The End,” yup weird song to
open with. Instrumentally this song is just straight up Heavy Metal just like “Save
Me” was, the part that surprised me was the consistency in Kami Van Halst’s harsh vocals through the chorus in between the
gang vocals. Even though they were included in “Save Me” a bit as well, they’re more prominent here for sure. The
second part to shock me was the breakdown, considering the average breakdown
like this are more prominent in the Metalcore/Deathcore scene and generally
very predictable when they’re coming it was interesting for this one to just
sort of pop up even if only for a few bars.
“Save Me” was the first and only single
released from the album, starting off with a hit at religion this song is very
much about the lack of “need” for the supposed “higher power.” This song sounds
like a really heavy Evanescence
song, the riffs are fairly standard for the most part as is the presentation of
the vocals except for in one section where the instrumentals are heavier and
the vocals are presented in a more speedy fashion. “Save Me” is a fairly standard Heavy Metal song but kicks the shit
out of what the “popular” standard Metal songs are these days.
A bit
later in the album you’ll find the groovier “Put Him Down,” this song starts off sounding like something you’d
see a woman singing on a stage in a bar in a 50s era movie. Slower, groovier
pacing than anything else on the album Kami
Van Halst’s ability to sing like a show performer of the 50s era sort really
puts your imagination on the run. With very obvious Blues inspiration into the
lead guitar, even the guitar solo sounds like something straight out of an Eric Clapton album, the slower pace to
the rhythm guitar underneath creates a nice contrast in styles.
On top
of all this you have ballad style songs, Heavy Metal and piano oriented songs,
this is a band that wrote something to make everyone happy. “World of Make Believe” is a well
rounded album that was worth the wait, even if it was months away. For an idea
for anyone who isn’t close minded and instantly shuts out any band female
fronted, the more Metal songs on the album Kami
Van Halst kind of sound like Elena
Seigman who is the woman that sings on the Call of Duty: Zombies songs in
the first 2 Black Ops games, just so you know. Excellent release, excellent
bands and I personally look forward to seeing them rock out at the Hard Rock
Cafe in Toronto!
90/100
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