:: Vanishing Point - The Fourth Season

Vanishing Point

As much as I have enjoyed Melbourne based progressive/power metal act Vanishing Point’s first two albums (1997’s ‘In Thought’ and 2000’s ‘Tangled In Dream’), I was somewhat disappointed with their third effort ‘Embrace The Silence’ in 2005. Part of the problem was the fact that the album was a marathon to get through (thirteen tracks that ran for just under a whopping eighty minutes), and the fact that after five years, the band hadn’t progressed as much as I hoped. So with the release of their fourth full-length effort ‘The Fourth Season’ in as little as two years since their last effort, I wasn’t holding out for an all out classic. But to my absolute surprise, ‘The Fourth Season’ marks the return of a stronger, diversified and refined Vanishing Point.

The opening track ‘Embodiment’ is very much traditional Vanishing Point in nature, and on a cursory listen not too different from what you would normally expect from the band. But if you dig a little deeper, you can sense some subtle changes. The biggest change from last time around is the emphasis on choruses. Vocalist Silvio Massaro has always had a great voice, but there’s something about the construction of the choruses on this album that really make them stand out. The other notable change is the fact that the band actually get to the point. The trimming down of the track to a tidy four minutes means that there’s none of the unnecessary extras added just for the sake of it. The song quickly gets down to business, and quite frankly sounds stronger for it.
The slower paced ‘Surrender’ is an absolute stunner with Massaro’s memorable high noted performance on the choruses, while the fast paced and progressive edged songs such as ‘Hope Among The Heartless’, ‘Behind The Open Door’, the Evergrey influenced ‘I Within I’ and ‘Wake Me’ are all definite stand outs.

Although I would still like to see the band stretch out a little more in the progressive direction over the power metal side of things, there’s little to complain about overall with ‘The Fourth Season’. The changes might be minimal, but from the opening drive of ‘Embodiment’, right through to dramatic closer ‘A Day Of Difference’, Vanishing Point has well and truly delivered on their fourth outing.