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If you look past what people call a gimmick, it's a unique experience.-
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| Van Canto: Tribe of Force |
A Cappella, Power Metal
Napalm Records
February 24th, 2010
- Lost Forever - 4:40
- To Sing a Metal Song - 3:24
- One to Ten (Feat. Victor Smolski) - 4:06
- I Am Human - 3:56
- My Voice - 5:30
- Rebellion (Grave Digger Cover feat. Chris Boltendahl) - 4:05
- Last Night of the Kings - 3:52
- Tribe of Kings - 3:52
- Water. Fire. Heaven. Earth. - 3:32
- Master of Puppets (Metallica cover) - 8:23
- Magic Taborea - 3:22
- Hearted (Feat. Tony Kakko) - 4:00
- Frodo's Dream - 3:06
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| Review Information |
Release length: 55:13
Review posted on January 26th, 2010
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| | Overall Score: 7.5/10 |
 
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
A Storm to Come (2006) • Hero (2008) • Tribe of Force (2010) • Tribe of Force (2011)
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| Review |
Van Canto is easily one of the most obscure "Metal" bands out there, as well as one of the most debated. While Tribe Of Forces is the first Van Canto full length to get a domestic U.S. release, it's certainly not their first, but actually their third, and it's clear that any claims of the band being gimmicky have not stopped this group. The term "metal" is used loosely here because Van Canto is not what most people would consider Metal at all due to the instruments utilized on all their releases that makes them stand out among all the other Power Metal acts. It's Power metal, yes, but the band has five vocalists, a drummer, and that's it. Be prepared for a dose of A Cappella Power Metal.
At first listen, Tribe Of Force is enough to make you laugh until you wet yourself thanks to hearing things like "dodo dodo dodo" or "taka taka taka" to symbolize guitars, but once the initial shock of this style passes, you'll realize that this is geniunely brilliant. We've all caught ourselves doing this same thing when our favorite song is stuck in our heads, so why not bring it to a CD and perfect it to the point where it actually makes one catchy as hell Metal release? While the release does start off a little rocky with "Lost Forever", it picks up steam and really kicks in once you hit the very impressive "One to Ten". The original tracks on here are great to listen to, but it's the cover tracks that really stand out and have the most stand out "instruments" of all. "Rebellion", a cover of the song originally composed by Grave Digger is perfectly orchestrated through the band's a cappella abilities, and the cover of the Metallica classic "Master of Puppets" is absolutely impressive and the best track off the entire release, with "One to Ten" coming in next. These tracks are so well done that they may very well cause you to take up this vocal instrument approach instead of those years of guitar lessons.
While there are some heavier tracks on here with faster and deeper "guitars", there are also some heavily folk-inspired slower tracks, such as "Last Night of the Kings", which really showcase the vocal styles of this band better then some of the faster tracks. Aside that, you can really hear some of the band's musical inspirations as well, which, no, is actually not that shocking. The aforementioned "Last Night of the Kings" sounds like one of the slower Blind Guardian tracks near the end of their J.R.R. Tolkien-worship era, and "Water. Fire. Heaven. Earth." clearly has some Nightwish influence in there. These and other influences are all clearly present and mixed up throughout to create songs that sound as if it were created to accompany knights setting off on some sort of conquest. This feeling should be clear by the introduction of the first track, "Lost Forever", as well as "Last Night of the Kings", but if not, then the final track "Frodo's Dream" will cement this into your head, and make you understand why this band is refered to as "Hero" Metal.
But, all praise aside, there are still some tracks on here that leave you wanting a little more. As stated, Tribe of Force does take a track or two to actually kick in. "Lost Forever" and "To Sing a Metal Song" are good, but don't really have anything too special about them to make them anything that memorable to the listener. Aside that, the track "Water. Fire. Heaven. Earth." is another track that could have been left out. It's an excellently crafted track, it just doesn't quite fit the sound the album is presenting, almost as if it were a direct Nightwish cover, but from the Tarja era where the band started to grow in a more commercial sound.
Tribe of Force is a very impressive release by Van Canto. It's about time this band found a home here in the States, and hopefully the reception will be a welcome one. Breathing a rather unique sound into the Metal world with their a cappella renditions of two classic songs and enough originals to satisfy anyone looking for more product for their buck, this is a release that shouldn't be shrugged off so easily. While some of the tracks on here are meerly decent, there's plenty here that will have you returning for more repeat plays in the future. But, depending on how you approach this release, it'll depend on how many plays. If you approach this one as a CD full of gimmicks, and can't look past how the music is created, then chances are after a few spins you'll be tired of this one. But, if you can see the album for what it is, then it'll take a good while before the album starts to get stale at all.
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