Dave's Notes are reviews of CD's and Games.  They are solely the view of Dave.

Vanden Plas

Bands that sound and play like Dream Theater are popping up everywhere nowadays, so if you stand out in the crowd you will succeed.  Vanden Plas does just that, stand out.  Progressive Metal with a bit more edge to it.  The guitars are mixed louder than the keyboards and the drumming doesn't sound like a machine gun all the time.  The vocalist reminds me of Journey or Rush style singing with a touch of Kansas.  By the way, Vanden Plas pulls off a killer rendition of "Point of Know Return" by Kansas as a bonus track for the U.S. release.