Cast Away

Following the release of their debut album Eternal Endless Infinity in November of 2002, Austrian symphonic power metal sextet Visions of Atlantis went through several major changes the following year. Both vocalist Christian Stani and keyboardist Chris Kamper stepped down from the band, being replaced by Mario Plank and Miro Holly, respectively. But perhaps most notably, in December 2003 Visions of Atlantis signed a record deal with the major heavy metal record label Napalm Records, which came with the benefit of worldwide distribution of their music, opening the band up to a wider, more receptive audience. Now having access to a bigger budget, a better studio and better equipment, the band got to work on writing and recording the follow up to their sweepingly romantic, yet ultimately unrefined debut album. And on November 29, 2004, Visions of Atlantis emerged victorious, unleashing Cast Away onto the world. A shining symphonic power metal masterwork that proved to be a thunderous album that made listeners and critics everywhere go... "it's fine, I guess".

Look, I am fully aware that there is a lot of things to hate about Vision of Atlantis's sophomore studio effort -- I get it. But what can I say? I like it. Actually, seven or so years ago I was one of the naysayers and agreed with a lot of the criticism lobbed against Cast Away; that it's uneventful, that the production is laughably dated, that the vocal delivery is not ideal for this genre of music, that it's "almost kitsch" (at least according to a Metal Hammer review at the time). Look, I get it -- I actually think that all of these critiques are still one hundred percent valid, but I don't know, it just works for me. I'm not saying that it's a "symphonic metal masterpiece" like Napalm Records does in the description of the music video for the album's lead single "Lost" but try to understand where I'm coming from. Cast Away is a densely textured keyboard driven album with catchy vocals and mesmerizing melodies that make me want to sing along with it. It is the musical equivalent of hard candy -- pretty to look at and saccharine sweet, but as a fan of female fronted metal of the late-nineties and early-2000s, I eat that shit up.

If there is one singular piece of criticism that defines Cast Away it would be that the band played it way too safe. It feels like the band is holding themselves back, and hence the album can sound a bit "samey". All the music is mid-paced and bubbly and leans too heavily on its pop tendencies: the production is squeaky clean and prioritizes accessibility over any drive or aggression, and the song structures are simple and predictable. Regardless of this fact, all the songs feel complete and self-contained; there are quite a few guitar solos sprinkled liberally throughout the album and all the passages flow together nicely. Besides, what the band lacks in surprises they more than make up for in hooks. All of this just means that the songs are more streamlined, and thusly aren't given the same amount of time to grow and unfold like on the band's debut. But this in itself is what garnered a lot of criticism at the time of Cast Away's release, people felt as though this album erased a lot of the band's pre-established identity. But in the band's defense, with a new line up the band's identity did change.

On Eternal Endless Infinity all music was (vaguely) credited to have been written by Visions of Atlantis, and all lyrics were written by then-keyboardist Chris Kamper. This, along with the fact that the keyboards were such an integral element to the very sonic fabric of that album makes me think that more of the previous work was written by Kamper than it wasn't, and that Eternal Endless Infinity was more his vision than anyone else's. Cast Away has no such ambiguity: all the music was written by guitarist Werner Fiedler, Kamper's replacement Miro Holly, and producer Peter O. Moritz and all the lyrics were written by Holly and new vocalist Mario Plank. If you haven't noticed, most of this album was written by people who had nothing to do with the band's past efforts. Imagine describing Vision of Atlantis' sound to a song writer -- that they're a band that plays an ethereal form of symphonic power metal that leans more toward warm and whimsical than dark and brooding, peppered with some electronic sounds and effects, fronted by both male and female voices -- and then telling them to write you a song that could pass as the band's own material. What you would get is a distillation of what they understand that sound to be, while also adding their own flare to it. Is Visions of Atlantis still chasing after that Nightwish fame? Of course, Cast Away feels like their less ambitious attempt at writing Century Child, right down to the ethereal keyboard tones -- hell, Emppu Vuorinen himself performed one of the guitar solos on this album. But despite this, I honestly think the Fiedler and Holly made for a strong songwriting team. They've crafted some of the catchiest material in all of symphonic metal-dom that doesn't shy away from simplicity, while also reveling in its own opulence.

They also seem very comfortable within the limits pre-determined by their aesthetic theme. They capture the fluidity of the ocean, the pull and push of the tides in a way that (despite the title Cast Away) feels majestic and empowering. They also exude the shimmeriness that comes with a historical fantasy setting like that of Atlantis, which (even though it feels a tad anachronistic and too European) they've achieved through a heavy reliance on artificial brass instrumentation. Despite how comical I find Peter O. Moritz being credited for "keyboard and orchestral arrangements" even though there is not a single orchestral instrument on this record, I find that the synthetic, buzzy horns and strings make for a pretty effective delivery, all things considered. And as a quick aside, I've heard rerecorded versions of songs off of Cast Away and have found those with considerably less cheesy production to be far less charming or enjoyable. The sweeping passages that focus on this instrumentation feel grandiose and regal, like a scene in a film where the main characters are in overwhelming awe, weather that be witnessing real life dinosaurs, pirates descending upon the protagonists' ship, or discovering the thriving peoples of a lost civilization, the music is grand, heavily major-keyed, and incredibly uplifting.

Something that I have noticed from my time on the internet is that people have a tendency to compare Visions of Atlantis (and specifically Cast Away) to Evanescence. This isn't the most ludicrous idea ever, on paper the two bands do have a lot in common. Hell, this album was mastered at the same Stirling Sound Studio that Fallen was mastered in, but I find Evanescence to be too dark to make an adequate comparison. But that's not the real reason why the two are compared, now is it? No, of course not. It all has to do with the female-male co-vocalist delivery, and more specifically the inclusion of Mario Plank on this album hitting too close to nu metal for comfort, which I don't think is entirely fair. Paul McCoy of 12 Stones who guested on "Bring Me to Life" is a much better singer than Mario Plank. Okay, I'm only kind of kidding, but I don't think Plank sounds that similar to Paul McCoy, or more appropriately Fred Durst or any of his ilk. I'm not saying that people are wrong to dislike Plank's performance on Cast Away, I too think he is the weaker of the two leads but for real reasons like... Jesus Christ, he pulls more chest voice than I've ever heard in a professional. Most singers try to have a pretty good grasp on at least three octaves of range, I would say that he struggles with expanding past one. That's not to say that he does an offensive job, he makes do with the ability he has -- he's not one for strong belting, but his parts add some rocking groove and balance out some of the fluff.

The late Nicole Bogner is the real star on this album. As the resident soprano, a lot of the band's success probably rested on her shoulders, and I think that she delivers on every aspect. Her voice has matured since the band's first outing, though on Eternal... I found her timbre charming, I also found it to be just shy of good. Though displaying incredible range, she often came off as shrill and unrefined. Between then and Cast Away she definitely came into her own as a singer, her timbre is very rich and smooth, and she doesn't struggle with accuracy as she did when she was younger. I will say however, that as Plank is the limiting factor on this album as the songs are more appropriately geared towards his range (or lack thereof), so much so that Bogner comes off as slightly underutilized. She doesn't get the chance to "spread her wings" as she definitely isn't working at full capacity. Which is a shame, but she does sell what she is singing quite effectively. Unfortunately, as this was her last work with the band we never got to hear her progress farther into her singing career, and after struggling with terminal illness she sadly passed in January of 2012.

But aside from all of this, what do I take away from Cast Away? What is this album's legacy? Honestly, it depends what circles you run in. If you're more routed in more traditional heavy metal, this won't float your boat; for some fans of the band or genre, this is an underappreciated gem among the early-2000s female fronted gothic/symphonic metal boom that is the final work of a great singer, but for most it's an unremembered relic that sleeps beneath the waves of time. To me, it's a fun and enjoyable album that maybe tries too hard to be a little bit of everything to everyone -- believe it or not, there is variation on this album, and though I focus on the more ambient, and softer parts of this record it's not as flaccid as I make it out to be. The last three songs especially are of note. "State of Suspense" ups the urgency and (well) suspense, "Lemuria" is the song that most closely resembles the band's heavier early work, and the emotive closer "Last Shut of Your Eyes" is big and heavy, and is a perfect way to close the album. The big single "Lost" is probably one of the weaker songs, as energetic as it is, I was of "cartoon-watching-age" around 2003, and it makes me think of a Pokemon theme song too much for me to give myself completely to it. Cast Away isn't an album that's going to blow anyone's mind, it's never going to be among people's "top albums of all time", or "most influential listening experiences". It's an album that is extremely sentimental, soft and fantastical. It doesn't make too many waves, but shouldn't be cast away without a second thought or listen, either.