The first incarnation of Vandenberg were active in the early-to-mid 1980s, releasing three albums between 1982 and 1985. Like so many other heavy metal bands of their time, they took their name from their principal member, guitar player Adriaan van den Berg – re-christened Adrian Vandenberg ahead of their international launch.
Their albums are solid and a good representations of where the genre found itself at the time, but in hindsight they have primarily become known as “the band that Adrian Vandenberg played in before joining Whitesnake.” He joined up with David Coverdale for Whitesnake’s most successful years – their “American period” from 1986 to 1998 (minus a few years in the middle when the band was inactive).
After leaving Whitesnake, he spent several years working on painting, becoming especially accomplished as an airbrush artist. Vandenberg (the band) also had a short reunion in 2004, playing a string of shows and releasing a DVD.
Adrian Vandenberg returned to music in 2011 with a solo single. He launched it under his last name, which was the cause of some controversy. Former members from the 1980s Vandenberg band felt that the Vandenberg name belonged to them as a group, not just one member. They insisted that he used his full name or something entirely different. In a bizarre twist, it turned out that the three of them had been planning to continue the Vandenberg band without Adrian’s involvement. It ended with a lawsuit which Adrian won, with the final decision declaring that he has all the rights to the Vandenberg name.
After that, the return of Adrian Vandenberg to the Vandenberg band moniker is one of the least surprising moves in rock’n’roll. The real surprise is really that it took so long. Rather than jump straight back in, he launched Vandenberg’s Moonkings in 2013. The following album was very much in the style Adrian Vandenberg had always played – an updated take on the original Vandenberg band.
In January 2020, Adrian Vandenberg announced that the Vandenberg name would once again be used for an all new line-up featuring vocalist Ronnie Romero (Rainbow/MSG/Lords of Black/Ferrymen), bassist Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, Dio, Whitesnake, Giuffria, Blue Öyster Cult, and too many others to mention), and drummer Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Foreigner, Slash, Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, Glenn Hughes, The Dead Daisies and many others). With all of these being very accomplished musicians from an endless string of classic bands, people in the metal world got very excited quickly. The “super group” label was mentioned, but could they live up to their own collective pedigree?
Calling the resulting album 2020 may have seemed like a good idea when first planned it – a new beginning, the year of rebirth – but also as it turned out the shittiest year in recent history. How could they have known that 2020 would turn into a year that everybody wanted to forget?
Fortunately, the music on offer is far from falling into the same category. 2020 was released on 29 May and consists of ten tracks very much moulded in a classic, melodic 1980s-style metal that is designed to make my inner teenage metalhead weep with nostalgic joy. Metal is not often made in this style any longer, hopelessly passé and outdated as it supposedly is, but this is just a delight.
Opening track Shadows of the Night sounds like they are trying their darnedest to emulate classic Dio. That makes a ton of sense as a musical reference point, and will hold true for a lot of the album. If anyone could pull that off, it’s these guys. Sarzo has even been a member of Dio, and Romero has sung in Rainbow – the band where Dio had his breakthrough. Vandenberg is also very much a guitar player that would have suited that band, in many ways reminding me of Dio guitarist Craig Goldy especially, as well as Vivian Campbell. The fact that they succeed so well is a testament to their quality.
Freight Train continues very much in the same vein, with a punchy mid-tempo groove and melodic chorus. Hell And High Water is another highlight, featuring a riff that at times reminds me of Rainbow’s epic Rising. That’s a very high bar to emulate, and while very few songs are fit to scale those hights it is still a great track, possibly one of the better ones on the album. The band lays down the tracks with great confidence, while Romero gives an incredible vocal performance.
The band show their mellow side on Let It Rain, which features a tender, melodic opening. Just as you suspect they are committing their first power ballad, they break into melodic mid-tempo metal. The layered vocals of Romero dominate and give the song a lovely feel, and this is a lovely example of how you can show your sensitive side without getting all soppy. It goes to show that you can expect great handiwork from veterans.
The album continues as it started. Ride Like the Wind provides nicely moody riffage and is very competently performed. Shout is particularly pleasing with its powerfully percussive drive and very singalong-friendly chorus (the most immediate earworm moment on the album for me). And based on title alone, I expected the band to be fast and furious on Shitstorm, which actually starts on the opposite end with a more mellow intro. Before too long, though, it heads straight into solid, mid-tempo metal riffage with the chorus lighting up that word in full. No complaints! Light Up the Sky shows Adrian provide some 1980s-style fast rhythm playing. It really is cool to hear – they really don’t make albums and songs like this any longer. A lovely throwback.
The biggest hit that the original Vandenberg ever had was Burning Heart, which found its way to #39 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart back in 1983. It was re-recorded by the band for their 2004 reunion, and it was perhaps inevitable that the 2020 version of Vandenberg would do their own version as well, called Burning Heart 2020.
Making a new version of any song is always a bit of an ungrateful prospect, as people will nearly always prefer the original. Still, this is a very faithful version of the song, where the biggest difference (and ultimate decider on which version you prefer) will be Ronnie Romero’s vocal vs. Bert Heerink’s original. Romero is clearly the better vocalist of the two, but I wish he had tried to sing the song without adding grit to his voice. I also prefer the bluesy feel that Heerink gives the song, but Romero has more genuine emotion in his delivery that cannot be dismissed either.
To a lot of listeners this may be a brand new song, and to listeners without prejudice this will no doubt be amongst the best songs on offer. The song is, as always, a sublime and heartfelt ballad that is as competently performed as the rest of the album.
The album ends solidly with Skyfall. This track features an atmospheric intro and has room for several moods as it progress. Featuring verses with solid, moody metal riffs over a particularly wonderful vocal delivery with shades of Ray Gillen (Badlands), the choruses are solid, powerful, and memorable.
The album is produced by Bob Marlette (Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Rob Halford, Quiet Riot, Ozzy) and from what I can hear that is a great match. They speak the same language, and seem to have a common understanding that they are not breaking new ground here. The recipe is tried and true, but at the same time it goes back to older sounds and styles to such an extent that it borders on rediscovery. Metal styles changed drastically as the 1980s became the 1990s, and this album dares to reclaim some of that lost ground. Are people still interested? Well, I certainly am.
The label is sparing no expense at making the album attractive to potential buyers. I picked it up, and happened to get a clamshell box version including four guitar picks, two coasters, stickers and a postcard. The music is the main thing, though, and if you ever took any enjoyment from 1980s heavy metal with great melodic vocals and solid musicianship, you really should give this one a chance.
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