Since the late Eighties, when the band first got together, Vanden Plas never lost sight of their ambitious goal: expressive music with emotional depth and a melancholy prog metal corset. Starting off with their debut album Colour Temple (1994), the band continued to gather an ever-increasing following with their versatile, intuitive and always unbridled lust for playing. Two years later, in 1997, Vanden Plas brought out their epic bombast successor The God Thing, which was praised by renowned magazines like Metal Hammer, Rock Hard, Burrn!, Aardschock and Flash. A six week tour with Dream Theater followed, like a sort of knighthood conferred on the highest level. The group went on to bring out the unplugged EP AcCult, on which the fascinating aspects of their compositions came to fruition in all their purity. Each Vanden Plas release shows the great musical diversity of the five band members, who have all repeatedly been involved in theatre projects and rock musicals like 'Jesus Christ Superstar', 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show', 'Little Shop of Horrors' or 'Evita'. In September 1999, Vanden Plas returned to the limelight with Far Off Grace, which had been recorded by Pink Cream 69 bassist/producer Dennis Ward at the House Of Audio. The band presented themselves in an even more compact and determined style, remaining melodic and innovative at the same time.
Spring 2000 saw Vanden Plas recording a concert in front of enthusiastic fans at the Elysée Montmartre in Paris, releasing the cuts on their Spirit of Live album, which also featured a duet by vocalist Andy Kuntz and Don Dokken on the Dokken cover 'Kiss Of Death', and a breathtaking duel between guitarist Stephan Lill and his French colleague Patrick Rondat - over 73 minutes of intense live atmosphere which speak of the band's unbridled enthusiasm for their music. The same enthusiasm comes across on Beyond Daylight, combined with a determination to link past, present and future.
They have since released three more albums (Christ 0, The Seraphic Clockwork and Chronicles of the Immortals - Netherworld (Path 1)).
The band's line-up is formed by Andy Kuntz (vocals), Stephan Lill (guitars), Andreas Lill (drums), Günter Werno (keyboards) and Torsten Reichert (bass).
Side-projects include:
Abydos, a rock opera by Andy Kuntz and Andreas Lill among others.
Missa Mercuria, a metal opera by Stephan Lill, Günter Werno and DC Cooper (DC Cooper, Silent Force among others), among others, released in 2003.
Consortium Project III - Terra Incognita (The Undiscovered World). Featuring Stephan Lill on guitar, this project of Elegy vocalist Ian Parry was released in 2003.
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Note that "Vanden Plas" are different to "The Vanden Plas" which is a British electronic act.
Anytime
Vanden Plas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From a hundred ten
Miles in a shade
And the rain keeps failing down
On a summer night parade
I'm asking
Who is gonna do this
Little girl o' mine
When she needed me to stay
I'm praying
Anytime and any day
I said lady
You gave your light away
Anytime and any day
The tears will fall
For my lady
He's a lonesome renegade
Nobody understands
But addicted from the lust
To take little girls
Again and again
Doctor can you tell me
Why you set him free
So he was there
When she needed me to stay
I'm praying
Anytime and any day
I said lady
You gave your light away
Anytime and any day
The tears will fall
For my lady
Who is gonna hold you
There in heaven
Who will wash away
All the tears
Who is there to tell you
When you're seven
Singing you a song
For your birthday
Do you love your mummy
And your daddy
Do you feel the hole
In our hearts
I know sometimes
My own love executes me
Someday I will drown
In my own tears
I'm praying
Anytime and any day
I said lady
You gave your light away
Anytime and any day
The tears will fall
For my lady
The lyrics to Vanden Plas's song "Anytime" tell a story about a man who is reflecting on his failure to be there for his loved ones, particularly a little girl who needed him to stay. He laments the fact that he was absent when she needed him most, and is praying for redemption and a chance to make things right. The lyrics also touch on the themes of addiction, abuse, and loss, as the singer speaks of a lonesome renegade who is addicted to taking advantage of young girls. The song concludes with the singer asking who will be there for his loved ones in heaven, and expressing his remorse that he may have caused them pain during his lifetime.
The lyrics to "Anytime" are emotional and thought-provoking, as they deal with heavy themes such as neglect, abuse, and loss. The song is a reminder of the importance of being there for the ones we love, and the devastating consequences that can occur when we fail to do so. Through powerful imagery and haunting lyrics, Vanden Plas has created a song that is both beautiful and heartbreaking, and that will stay with listeners long after it is over.
Line by Line Meaning
I see the storm is coming
I can sense that something bad is approaching
From a hundred ten
It's coming from a long way off
Miles in a shade
It's far away, but still visible
And the rain keeps falling down
It's raining heavily
On a summer night parade
Despite it being summer, it's raining during the parade
I'm asking
I want to know
Who is gonna do this
Who is going to handle this situation?
Little girl o' mine
My little girl
I'm not there
I'm not present
When she needed me to stay
I wasn't there when my little girl needed me
I'm praying
I'm hoping and wishing
Anytime and any day
Whenever it may be, always
I said lady
I'm speaking to a woman
You gave your light away
You gave yourself away, you were taken advantage of
The tears will fall
I will cry
For my lady
For the woman I care about
He's a lonesome renegade
He's a lonely outlaw
Nobody understands
No one can relate to him
But addicted from the lust
He's addicted to his desires
To take little girls
He preys on young girls
Again and again
He does it repeatedly
Doctor can you tell me
Can you explain to me, doctor?
Why you set him free
Why did you release him from custody?
So he was there
He was there instead of me
When she needed me to stay
When my little girl needed my support, he was there
Who is gonna hold you
Who will comfort you
There in heaven
In the afterlife
Who will wash away
Who will cleanse
All the tears
All the pain and sadness
Who is there to tell you
Who will communicate with you
When you're seven
When you're young
Singing you a song
Singing a melody
For your birthday
To celebrate your special day
Do you love your mummy
Do you have love for your mother
And your daddy
And your father
Do you feel the hole
Can you sense the emptiness
In our hearts
In our emotional being
I know sometimes
I'm aware that
My own love executes me
My own love causes me pain
Someday I will drown
Someday I will be overwhelmed
In my own tears
In my own sadness
Contributed by Levi T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.