Van Camp – Vol II

Van Camp
Vol II
Label: Gio Smet Records
Out: March 1^st, 2025\
Playing time: 39:59
(with Bonus-Tracks: 01:04:40)

Shorty aka Paul Van Camp is a founding member, songwriter, producer, lead guitarist and lead singer of the Belgian Metal band Killer, which has released eight studio albums to date. The band still exists. Since 1980 in different line-ups. Shorty is the only remaining original member. In 1987, he released the solo album ‘Too Wild To Tame’ under the name Van Camp. And that remained a one-off. He revived the project last year. And in March 2025, the follow-up ‘Vol II’ will hit record shops and online platforms.

‘Now Or Never’ starts with a short keyboard and synth intro. But then the drums start booming and Paul Van Camp shows off his skills on the guitar strings. You can’t even hear how fast the strings are being played. Hectic riffing and drums underlay the vocals. However, things become more melodic during the refrain. The master is not satisfied with a single guitar solo. First an insanely fast one, later a melodic and calm one. But both very filigree. ‘Dark Days’ is then quieter, a great Metal anthem. It reminds me a little of Dio or Black Sabbath in the Dio era. ‘Saints And Sinner’ starts with plucked acoustic guitar. But shortly afterwards, a heavily distorted guitar can be heard. Calm and very rhythmic. Another solo confirms that Shorty is an exceptional guitarist. On the power ballad ‘Heaven’s Gate’, Paul literally makes the guitar sing. And in the true sense of the word. In this instrumental piece, the guitar takes over the vocal part. You just have to close your eyes and enjoy! ‘Rocky Road’ then bangs out of the speakers again. Despite all the heaviness, it’s very melodic. ‘My Way’ sounds a little doomy again. The calm vocals are accompanied by equally calm riffs. By the way, guitar solos are repeatedly played in a completely unexcited manner. The song ‘No Limit’ also has a strong Epic Doom flavour at first. Here Shorty once again demonstrates his extraordinary guitar skills. At first you think you are listening to an instrumental. But from about the middle, the tempo picks up. It gets rockier and the vocals kick in. The regular part of the album ends with the anthem ‘The Last Goodbye’. Rhythmic riffs dominate. My absolute favourite on this album. According to the press release, what follows are bonus tracks. But what bonus tracks! Many a band, many an artist would like to have songs of this quality on their album. ‘Back Home’ is Melodic Hard Rock at its best. ‘Odds And Evens’ is in no way inferior to this. The notes Paul conjures up on his guitar here are simply magnificent. An instrumental song that never gets boring despite its length of more than seven minutes. Thanks to the many melodic and rhythmic changes, it clearly leans towards Progressive Metal. In the second half, it sounds very melodic and the tempo is slowed down a little. ‘Uchronia’ is another very melodic but instrumental anthem, with a blues touch added later on. At the very end, musical world literature is heaved into the Metal universe. Symphonies No. 5 and No. 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven are reinterpreted. I could well imagine that Ludwig van Beethoven would have made his compositions sound something like this or similar in the present day.

Every time I listen to ‘Vol II’, I am once again speechless. What Paul Van Camp has delivered on this album is the very finest Heavy Metal. He is a true master on the guitar. But he also played the other instruments very well. And everything is performed so easily and lightly, almost casually. He is a great Heavy Metal artist. And he clearly demonstrates this for more than one hour.

Lineup:

Paul “Shorty” Van Camp – Vocals, All Instruments

Track list:

• Now Or Never
• Dark Days
• Saints And Sinners
• Heaven’s Gate
• Rocky Road
• My Way
• No Limit
• The Last Goodbye
• Back Home (bonus on CD and digital)
• Odds And Evens (bonus on CD and digital)
• Uchronia (bonus on CD and digital)
• 5th  & 9th Symphony Beethoven (bonus on CD and digital)