Vanish is a progressive power metal act hailing from Germany that have been at it for more than ten years now, but I must admit that I had never come across or heard about these guys until this third full-length opus of theirs, which is entitled "The Insanity Abstract", showed up in my mailbox one day.

While the record is by and large a mixture of power metal and progressive metal, the band incorporates quite a lot of modern thrash metal elements into their fusion of the aforementioned styles and genres of music. If anything, it adds diversity to the proceedings. There are lots of bombastic parts and epic sections on display here, which is emphasized by the huge-sounding riffs and anthem-like choruses, but the vocals do lack that soaring and otherworldly quality required to truly take everything to the next level, which is to say that many of the songs never really take off and simply lack drama and a climax. They have so much potential, but it feels as if the band falls short of driving the whole thing home, which is frustrating. The keyboard-work is a tad uninspired and leaves something to be desired, but the musicianship as a whole is very good and the band is tight and sounds focused. The production is sharp and hard-hitting albeit slightly clinical and sterile here and there. Having said that, there are a number of songs where things just gel and sound pretty damn good and riveting, namely the melancholy "Lilith Cries" and the memorable "Disbelief (Slipstream Part 3)". The moody album closer "When the Mind Bursts" is another highlight.

"The Insanity Abstract" is a bit of a mixed bag at times, but there is definitely a lot of potential here and it will be interesting to see and hear what Vanish will come up with next.

 

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