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“The Little
Boy’s Heavy Mental Shadow Opera About the Inhabitants of His Diary”
Taken from the Metal-Nose site, Andy Kuntz chose the name “Abydos” for a
special reason. Abydos refers to an Egyptian tomb site in the Valley of
the Kings, where Osiris, God of Eternal Reincarnation, was worshipped.
Again as quoted from the Metal-Nose site, on the one side, Abydos is
seen as the origin of theater but the name was also inspired by the loss
of a dearly beloved of Andy in 2003.
Conversely, this CD is both dark and sometimes melancholic but not to
the point of putting off the listener.
I’ve got to tell you, I really love this CD. I like the music, I like
the way the songs are structured, I like the actual playing and
production, I’m blown away by the depth that oozes from each track. Did
I mention I love this CD?
As some of you will know, Andy Kuntz is the lead singer for a popular
“prog metal” band named Vanden Plas. So you won’t be surprised if I tell
you this CD is clearly written and performed in a prog metal style. That
said what you have here is a musical banquet where Andy let’s his love
for stage performances and operas like Jesus Christ Superstar, Rocky
Horror Picture Show, Evita and even Nostradamus congeal with a powerful
full on metal assault.
You have songs such as “Silence”
that could very well have been a Vanden Plas recording but as the song
progresses it has a more melodic feel which even contains some
electronic musical passages that remind me of the early days of
electronic music.
To bottom line it for you all, this is a progressive ROCK CD that has
mixtures of theater, melancholy, screaming rock guitar, killer double
kick bass and keyboards to die for.
If you have a soft spot for top notch progressive rock in the metallic
vein then this CD is for you. This is truly a solo effort that really
rarely reminds the listener of Andy’s main musical focus, Vanden Plas.
Nope, no “frustrated musician” stuff here. Just excellent progressive
rock and roll. Whoa Nelly, put on my head banging shoes!
Rating: 8.5 of 10
Reviewed By: Stephen Ellis
: : Visit the Artist’s Website : :
: : Discography : :
“The Little Boy’s Heavy Mental Shadow Opera About the Inhabitants of His
Diary” - 2004 |
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