Anyway, Van Canto has done a tremendous job in being relevant, despite their gimmicky style. "Trust In Rust" is album number seven for a band that has only existed for twelve years, so you cannot complain about their work ethic. This group of seven certainly have a ton of passion for their body of work, giving it all for those "dandan" and "rakkatakka" sounds that makes up for the lack of guitar and bass. Despite the quality and passion, it still feels a little awkward to hear this instead of something of the more electrical kind.
Now, I understand that a bunch of voices cannot perfectly replicate the rich sound that a perfect symbiosis between a bass and a guitar can create, but Van Canto sounds flatter in "Trust In Rust" than what they usually do. The production seems to restrict the band in what they can present, making both the drums and the rhythm vocals a little quieter than what they need to be, not giving that much needed kick start to the power in their sound. Maybe some of that blame could be to the song writing, but it is still pretty basic Van Canto stuff after all, so it should not be such a notable difference, yet it is.
And when I say basic, I really mean basic. There are very few songs in here that I can remember from the top of my head, with most of the tracks either being weaker replicas of previous material, or just straight up forgettable. "Desert Snake" is one of few tracks that stands out, with its heavier aura it captures the attention of the listener quite good, and newcomer Hagen Hirschmann gets to shine with some Accept like vocals (unfortunately it is one of few times he do shine on this first attempt, he has some work to do for the next album). Not letting her be shunned aside that easily, Inga Scharf takes the charge several times in songs like "Javelin" and "Infinity" where she shows both beauty and power in her delivery. I also like the only true a capella song in here "Heading Home" (in other words, no drums) that closes the record in a very nice and calming way.
Then we have the covers, which I thought Van Canto had ditched since their last album was the first without (it was also their first concept record, it was fine imo). The first cover is of AC/DC's "Hells Bells", which Van Canto puts sort of a "Lord of The Rings" spin on, which is a really nice idea, except that Hagen tries a little too hard to become the next Brian Johnson. The second cover is of "Ride The Sky" by Helloween, and they do a great job in covering it. I just have one question though, what the hell is Kai Hansen doing there? Yes, THE Kai Hansen is helping out in this cover, but you can barely hear him because Inga over power him throughout the song, and he does not get his own section anywhere, ultimately making his inclusion completely pointless. Van Canto has done this before in their career, covering a song with the original singer, and those covers work great with those singers, so how did they mess this one up? Just baffling to me.
It feels like "Trust In Rust" lacks that confidence that some of the earlier albums had, a confidence that said "We do not care if you think this is dumb, we are giving it our all anyway". This album is a little more quiet, a little hesitant in showing off its chops, and that is a problem when we are dealing with a band that is pretty naked in its sound already. Not even the opening track, "Back In The Lead", feels strong and confident, despite it trying to be a dynamic blast of a start. It is overall a pretty bland experience that cannot reach the level of fun goofiness that the band has shown before. Be sure of this, this particular rust is not to be trusted.
Songs worthy of recognition: Heading Home, Javelin, Infinity
Rating: 5/10 Desert Snakes
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