Vanish
The Insanity Abstract

Today it is German band Vanish that finds themselves in the crosshairs of my critical gaze; I have been working my ears hard to review this album. The Insanity Abstract is the third album by this band, the first was released over a decade ago and the predecessor was released in 2014. And I think we can conclude that the cover isn’t exactly great, it looks kind of dull but the layout of the booklet is really nice and well made. Then of course, you should never judge a book by its cover and according to press material it is a band that kicks major ass and grabs you by the balls, not an album for girls then. But what about the album, what does it have to offer?

Well, some clever power metal with hints of progressiveness and thrash metal. It is an album with plenty of depth, meaning that you will discover new things each time you listen to the album. And it is very well produced; the sound is very good with power and energy, catchy choruses and strong melodies. Certainly an album with a fresh sound and hence it has some very appealing qualities, and the twelve tracks offer some good variation while still connecting to one another very strongly. The playing time is over an hour but the album doesn’t feel very long and discounting the rather pointless intro I don’t think there is anything that feels too much or like it could have been lost.

The vocals are quite good on this album as well, and there aren’t really any weaknesses on the album – other than the already stated intro that I could have done without. And I think that the ending track is the best one on the album as it ties everything together in a very nice way and rounds up the album really well, a great epilogue one might describe it as. The other tracks are very strong as well but not of the same calibre, but there are many great things to like about this album so I will keep listening even now that I have written this review.

It is a great album and I would highly recommend it to anyone into the progressively flavoured power metal. It may not be one of the absolute highlights of the year but it is a great album nevertheless and I have to admit that it was a rather large positive surprise. And as the label writes, it is an album that will kick some ass – so before you vanish this review you should have a real look at these ass-kicking German metal heroes. They are really good in an insane and abstract way.

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