Artist: VANDEN PLAS
Album: CHRONICLES OF THE IMMORTALS - NETHERWORLD VINYL (2LP)

Year: 2014/ 2015
EAN/UPS: 4046661336412
Media type: LP

Welcome to a new dimension in the Vanden Plas universe! With their new work, “Chronicles of the Immortals – Netherworld,” the spectacular German progressive metal band has again shown artistic growth, continuing a pattern of development from album to album that we have grown accustomed to.

In this case, the developmental step was a bit bigger than usual, due to the story behind the birth of “Chronicles of the Immortals – Netherworld.” Wolfgang Hohlbein, who with 43 million books sold worldwide is not only Germany’s biggest selling author but also a fan of VANDEN PLAS, suggested their creative collaboration: a rock opera for the stage based on his series “The Chronicle of the Immortals.” The result: “Bloodnight” (“Blutnacht”). The libretto was written by VANDEN PLAS singer Andy Kuntz, together with Hohlbein and his manager Dieter Winkler, himself a respected author. The VANDEN PLAS team of Stephan Lill/ Gьnter Werno/Andy Kuntz composed 19 songs for the stage production.

“Bloodnight,” with Kuntz in the lead role and the VANDEN PLAS musicians in the orchestra pit, celebrated a stunning premiere on the stage of the Pfalztheater in Kaiserslautern in 2012. 25 sold-out performances in the 2012 and 2013 seasons with standing ovations that never seemed to end speak for themselves. Overwhelmed by this success, Hohlbein responded by writing another novel; the story of “Bloodnight.”

The next step for the band was to turn the successful theatre piece into an equally successful VANDEN PLAS album. “Chronicles of the Immortals - Netherworld - Path 1” has 10 tracks comprising the first act of “Bloodnight.” “Path 2,” the second half of the album, is scheduled to bring the story to a conclusion in early 2015. Kuntz, in agreement with Hohlbein, adapted the stage version to fit an album format. On it he appears as the storyteller, so that unlike the stage production_he is not only the main character Andrej Delany but also embodies the roles of the other protagonists. In this way the story line is richer and more easily understood by the listener for whom the powerful visions from the stage production are not available.


SIDE A:

01 Vision 1ne
02 Vision 2wo * The Black Knight *
03 Vision 3hree * Godmaker *

SIDE B:

04 Vision 4our * Misery Affection Preluse *
05 Vision 5ive * A Ghosts Requiem *
06 Vision 6ix * New Vampyre *

SIDE C:

07 Vision 7ven * The King And The Children Of Lost World *
08 Vision 8ight * Misery Affection *

SIDE D:

09 Vision 9ine * Soul Alliance *
10 Vision 10n * Inside *


LINE-UP:

Andy Kuntz (Vocals)
Stephan Lill (Guitar)
Gunter Werno (Keyboard)
Torsten Reichert (Bass)
Andreas Lill (Drums)