Spirit of Live

by Gary HillThis live recording proves that Vanden Plas is not just a studio band. The group performs very potent and faithful renditions of songs from all of its albums, but the largest chunk of material is from the latest studio release Far Off Grace. Once again, Vanden Plas shows that, although it does have some strong Dream Theater leanings, the band's sound is all its own. And, it is a great sound rooted in progressive rock with major heavy metal influences. There are seemingly a million bands in that vein, but Vanden Plas is one of the better ones. It is good to get a glimpse of what the band sounds like in live performance.