Album Review : Van Canto - Dawn of the Brave

For those who don't know Van Canto, Van Canto is an a Capella metal band from Germany. Their sound can mostly be described as having a strong Power Metal sound. The have their own compositions and also do covers of metal and pop songs.
 
Dawn of the Brave is Van Canto's fifth studio album, and it was released in February of 2014. I was a huge fan of Van Canto's "Tribe of Force" album and after the release of "Break the Silence" which I found a bit disappointing  I was hoping that "Dawn of the Brave" will bring back the Power and Epic feel that "Tribe of Force" had.
 
Dawn of the Brave consists of 13 tracks in total, 9 of the 13 are Van Canto originals, and the other 4 are Covers. The four covers are The Final Countdown from Europe, Paranoid from Black Sabbath, Into the West from Annie Lennox(From the Lord of the Rings soundtrack) and Holding out for a Hero from Bonnie Tyler.

Three of the four covers do quite well with the whole Van Canto sound, the only cover that didn't work for me was the Bonnie Tyler one. The 80's pop song and Van Canto's distinct a Capella sound just didn't fit well together for me. But all of the covers were quite well done, as all Van Canto songs, considering all the instruments barring the drums are made by using human voices.

Speaking of the Van Canto originals on the Dawn of the Brave album, The first Track "Dawn of the Brave" is more like a short 1 minute intro to the album. My top picks from their own compositions are "The Awakening", "Fight for your Live" and "The Other Ones".

In conclusion "Dawn of the Brave" was for me an improvement over "Break the Silence" and it reminded me why I enjoyed listening to Van Canto. If you are curious as to what the latest Van Canto album sounds like or just curious on a Capella metal. Check out this link for a listen.