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.
Quicksilver
Vanden Plas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And finding trails on sand drifts formed of bones
A broken footstep filled with twilight
Can you find a way
Under Pathway finders lamplight
Talk to me - And say that we are leaving
Find a way - To the eternal town of ghosts
Neonizing a town with their darklight
A lovecrafted vision
Of Shadowking's paradise
A city of wasted souls
Among the palace of the flies
Stay with me tonight holy parasite
Climb into the time - Searching heaven
I hear the revelation cry
Searching Jesus - Finding neverland
Sinking in your arms quicksilver moon
Hold me evermore
"The Seraphic Clockwork" tells the truth
In the psalms of Judas
On my way - I'm here to find you
On my way - And this feels like coming home
Fireflies shine so faint and fragile
Neonizing a town with their nonlight
These sacred poetics
Are darkminded auguries
Let the circle of tanakh
Revolve the old quixotic gear
I'm afraid to live not afraid to die
Now it's in my hands - saving heaven
I hear the premonition cry
"Finding Jesus" in a paper world
This serpent delta hides an island
Where ghosts have built a paperdome
Out of original predictions
Over the years they turned to stone
And soldiers gamble for a garment
They want to crucify His son
Inside of a manual "The Judas Revelation"
I read a prophecy that my yesterday will come
Stay with me tonight holy parasite
Wasted things to find here in aion
I hear the revelation cry
Searching Jesus - Finding neverland
The song "Quicksilver" by Vanden Plas appears to be a philosophical reflection on the human pursuit of understanding and the search for something beyond this world. The lyrics speak of a journey through desolate, bone-filled landscapes, and the discovery of a city of wasted souls. The title "Quicksilver" alludes to the elusive nature of truth and understanding. The first stanza suggests a deep yearning for comprehension, depicted as searching for meaning in "it all." The broken footstep filled with twilight symbolizes the struggle to find one's way in the darkness of life. The search is further emphasized in the lines "Can you find a way / Under Pathway finders lamplight / Talk to me - And say that we are leaving / Find a way - To the eternal town of ghosts" which imply a sense of urgency to depart the physical world and attain something more.
The second stanza evokes the image of fireflies, faintly glowing in the darkness of a town. The description of a "lovecrafted vision / Of Shadowking's paradise" suggests an idealized and unattainable place. The city of wasted souls, voices a sense of alienation from the rest of humanity. The desire for something deeper is further emphasized by the lines "Stay with me tonight holy parasite / Climb into the time - Searching heaven / I hear the revelation cry / Searching Jesus - Finding neverland." The search for meaning seems to culminate in an epiphany with the lines, "Sinking in your arms quicksilver moon / Hold me evermore / "The Seraphic Clockwork" tells the truth / In the psalms of Judas," where Judas is not portrayed as a betrayer but as a messenger of truth. The lyrics also allude to the idea that humans can never truly comprehend the divine or even themselves completely.
Line by Line Meaning
We're searching for the meaning of it all
We're on a quest to understand the essence of life
And finding trails on sand drifts formed of bones
We're discovering clues in the form of bones scattered across sandy paths
A broken footstep filled with twilight
We see a broken step surrounded by darkness and uncertainty
Can you find a way
Can you help us navigate through this journey?
Under Pathway finders lamplight
Guided by the light of the Pathway finder's lamp
Talk to me - And say that we are leaving
Communicate with me and affirm that we're departing
Find a way - To the eternal town of ghosts
Help us discover a path to the infinite ghost town
Fireflies shine so faint and fragile
The fireflies emit a delicate and feeble light
Neonizing a town with their darklight
Their eerie radiance gives the town a neon glow
A lovecrafted vision
A vision meticulously crafted with love and care
Of Shadowking's paradise
A paradise created by the Shadowking
A city of wasted souls
A metropolis filled with souls who've lost their way
Among the palace of the flies
Amidst the flies' palace of death and decay
Stay with me tonight holy parasite
Stay by my side tonight, dear holy parasite
Climb into the time - Searching heaven
Together let's journey through time as we search for heaven
I hear the revelation cry
I hear a cry of revelation
Searching Jesus - Finding neverland
Seeking Jesus while also seeking a magical place called neverland
Sinking in your arms quicksilver moon
Drifting away in your embrace like quicksilver in the moonlight
Hold me evermore
Keep holding me forever
"The Seraphic Clockwork" tells the truth
The Seraphic Clockwork reveals the truth
In the psalms of Judas
The truth is hidden within the psalms written by Judas
On my way - I'm here to find you
I'm on my way to find you
And this feels like coming home
Being with you feels like returning home
These sacred poetics
These divine words
Are darkminded auguries
They foretell ominous events
Let the circle of tanakh
Allow the cycle of Tanakh to continue
Revolve the old quixotic gear
Make the antique gears spin once again
I'm afraid to live not afraid to die
I'm not afraid of dying, but I'm apprehensive about living
Now it's in my hands - saving heaven
It's now my responsibility to protect heaven
I hear the premonition cry
I hear a vigilant warning
"Finding Jesus" in a paper world
Seeking Jesus in a metaphorical world made of paper
This serpent delta hides an island
This region with serpent-like bends conceals an entire island
Where ghosts have built a paperdome
The island, constructed from paper by ghosts, resembles a dome
Out of original predictions
Built from predictions made initially
Over the years they turned to stone
With the passage of time, the predictions hardened into stone
And soldiers gamble for a garment
Soldiers are fighting over a garment
They want to crucify His son
And they want to put Jesus Christ on the cross once more
Inside of a manual "The Judas Revelation"
All of this is described in The Judas Revelation manual
I read a prophecy that my yesterday will come
I once read a prediction about my past, which has come true
Wasted things to find here in aion
So many lost things to discover in this mortal world
I hear the revelation cry
I hear a cry of revelation
Searching Jesus - Finding neverland
Looking for Jesus while also searching for the mystical place called neverland
Contributed by Gavin E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.