Place Vendome - Thunder in the Distance

(CD Album Review)

****1/2

Ex-Helloween man releases a great new record!

'Thunder in the Distance' sees the return of Ex-Helloween frontman Michael Kiske with his Melodic Rock band Place Vendome. The line-up has changed slightly since the first two albums from this band's debut 'Place Vendome' and 'Streets of Fire' but the concept has stayed the same. After a stint in a new band Unisonic which took Kiske away from the more Melodic Rock / AOR sound, he decided to return to this project and 'Thunder in the Distance' is the result. Thirteen quality tracks, well written and produced, it will be a must have album for all melodic Rock fans out there.

Opening number 'Talk to Me' starts gently with a beautifully mastered string intro, but soon picks up pace to produce a foot tapping speedy beat. Backing vocals sweep in and out with perfect timing, and the tune builds up to a great catchy chorus that has you singing along in no time. There are only two songs on this album which do give off a slight hint of Helloween in my opinion, and 'Talk to Me' is one of them, reminding me a bit of the 'Pink bubbles go Ape' days. By the second track 'Power of Music', the listener has already been captured by the power chords and the truly amazing vocals and smooth transition, there’s no escape from there! 'Broken Wings' and 'Lost in Paradise' follow the formula perfectly, and again, can’t be faulted on content or quality. Fifth track “It can’t rain Forever” brings a slight change of tempo to the table.

It is one of my personal favourites on this album, as it takes me back to the glory days of 80’s Power Ballads, and would easily fit on to one of those compilation albums that come out every Christmas! It tests the keyboard skills of Gunter Werno brilliantly, and once again the vocals take front stage. As I mentioned earlier, there is one more track which does have a tinge of Helloween to it, and that’s 'Fragile Ground' but If you are a Helloween fan and buy this album on the back of it being associated with Kiske, you may be slightly disappointed? Not because it isn’t a great album in its own right, it just isn’t Helloween. All in all this is a quality Melodic Rock / AOR album which deserves a listen. I for one wouldn’t be disappointed if a copy of this CD appeared in my Christmas Stocking! Dan that is a hint!!!