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VAST - April
2006
01. You're Too Young
02. Sunday I'll Be Gone
03. One More Day
04. I'm Too Good
05. Be With Me [Acoustic version]
06. Tattoo Of Her Name
07. She Visits Me
08. I Am A Vampire
09. Having Part Of You
10. I Can't Say No To You
Industrial Rock / Alternative Metal
2006 - 2Blossom Records - USA
Line-up:
Jon Crosby - Vocals, Guitars, Programming
Michael Austinmoore - Bass
Ben Fenton - Guitar
Dustin Williams - Drums
What the hell is this stuff??
I have to admit that by now, Jon Crosby has totally lost me. I simply have no idea what the hell he is trying to achieve with his weird new way of distributing music. Let me enlighten those who don't know what I'm talking about - 3 years ago, the VAST frontman has decided that instead of releasing one LP at a time, he would flood his fans with alternate takes and re-recordings of old songs in the form of albums made available online first, and then as proper CD releases. Turquoise appeared first, then Crimson, and then the two put together into one 2 disc release. Now, we are given April, yet another collection of seemingly unfinished songs that may or may not eventually end up on a proper VAST release later this year.
Confusing, eh?
Herein lies the problem with an album like April. If it's a collection of rarities, why is it not called a compilation? If it's a proper album, why does it sound so unfinished and inconcise? In the end, there is no better way to listen to these songs than as some sort of sneak preview of the next proper release. If this is the case; however, why am I supposed to pay for this album? It should be made available free of charge on the band's website…
The music on April is actually not that bad. For the most part, it is a significant departure from the band's industrial rock/alternative metal sound. Recorded using mainly acoustic instruments, the music here is quite introspective, calm and beautiful. At the same time, Crosby still uses the same vocal melodies and familiar song structures that he has been using since his debut and by now they are becoming quite overdone. For someone with such an enormous amount of talent, it is a shame that he doesn't expand into more varied terrains.
If you are an absolute diehard and hardcore VAST fan, you might consider buying this release. Otherwise, I'd advise to ignore it. Artists should decide what material to release instead of putting every track they ever recorded onto a confusing number of albums and asking people to pay money for them.
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Written on 05.06.2006 by
jupitreas
With Metal Storm since 2002, jupitreas has been subjecting the masses to his reviews for quite a while now. Privately not actually an asshole, he lives in Warsaw, Poland, where he runs his small graphic and web design business.
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Comments
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| i wouldn't call VAST metal - yea this is a demo version of the real thing that is supposed to come out in September - i really liked this version - all the things that Jon Crosby is capable of will probably show more on the real release - but this is a very stripped down, more personal approach - and this album was recorded in one take from start to finish - i find that impressive - i would have given it at least a 7 |
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Proud Autumn - 06.06.2006 at 01:23
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Wow, I have to agree with MassacreofWords, I didn't think anybody on here listened to VAST. Anyways--
It is a total waste of money, in my opinion, to pay for these work-in-progress things that Jon Crosby seems to think are a good idea. It's like continuously releasing demo albums to the general public. What's the point?
I'll definitely be waiting for the real album to come along, even though I would consider myself a diehard/hardcore VAST fan.
Granted, there is a big difference (sometimes not a positive one) between the debut album and the later two, Music for People and Nude, I think Mr. Crosby is gradually getting more interesting, although I think he's capable of much more than he's putting out. Hopefully, down the road, we'll get to witness it. |
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Either way, I think there are enough heavy guitars on the proper VAST releases for a review of this band's music to appear on this site  It might not strictly be metal, but it is occasionally quite heavy. |
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I know VAST too. I first liked them a lot, but nowadays I rarely listen to it. And I think I'll just wait for the first real album.
I also think his first album (VAST) was much more creative than his second one (Turquoise). |
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