666sharon666 Van Canto of Germany may do something a little different with their take on power metal in that other than the drums their music is entirely A Cappella, but they’ve never done much for me beyond being a novelty act, and one which has now been taken just that bit too far to remain entertaining.

Hero is the band’s second album and although I think this is their best, it too has never been more than a novelty for me. I think this is best explained by saying that it’s the number of the cover songs found on the album which are the most entertaining. They deliver A Cappella takes on Nightwish’s Wishmaster, Blind Guardian’s The Bard’s Song (In the Forest) and Iron Maiden’s Fear of the Dark along with a couple of others and a bunch of original songs. I know all three of the songs I mentioned well, and love the originals, so Van Canto’s versions are somewhat interesting, but that’s where my enjoyment of Hero ends, although I will give a mention to one of their own songs, Speed of Light, as I do quite enjoy this one too.

Hero is okay in small doses but it is at most a passable album which I’ll give a spin to on occasion for that novelty value alone. If I listen to it too much though I start to get irritated by the repetitive so called rakkatakka vocals.