VANISHING POINT – Embrace The Silence (Re-issue January 27, 2017)

Recently, it was announced that Tangled In Dream, the 2000 release by Australian melodic/progressive metallers Vanishing Point will be re-issued as Special Edition 2-CD. Now we can also announce that Vanishing Point‘s 2005 album Embrace The Silence will also be re-issued by AFM Records on January 27, 2017. Bonus material? – NO. Simply because this behemoth of melodic metal awesomeness already clocks in at 79 minutes and leaves no space for additional tracks.

The band formed in the early 1990’s with the line-up of guitarist Tommy Vucur, drummer Jack Lukic and bassist Joe Del Mastro, from an earlier band called Eye. Vocalist Silvio Massaro and keyboard player Pep Sammartino joined the band in the mid 90′s and the band changed its name to Vanishing Point. Soon after Andrew Whitehead joined as a guitarist. The band concentrated their efforts on songwriting and recording and their first album, In Thought was recorded in 1996. In 1999 Pep Sammartino amicably left the band to pursue other avenues. He was replaced by Danny Olding.

In the year 2000, the band’s second album Tangled in Dream was released in Australia and internationally and the following eighteen months was a busy period for the band which saw them tour extensively but also saw the resignation of Olding. Leonard Kopilas replaced Olding at this time. It was not until 2005 that Embrace The Silence saw the light of day after record company quarrels and management disagreement.

Late in the year, Joe Del Mastro announced his departure from Vanishing Point. After completing a final round of live shows with the band, he was replaced by Steve Cox.

During 2006, Vanishing Point supported Black Label Society and Gamma Ray on tour but on 7 December Jack Lukic announced his departure due to family commitments and 22 days later Cox also left. He was replaced by Adrian Alimic, of Manic Opera and Christian Nativo took the place of Lukic.

The band’s fourth album The Fourth Season was released on 24 August 2007. 2009 was spent writing and playing shows both locally and interstate where the band was received positively. Unfortunately, the writing process had hit a dead end with some members wanting to pursue different avenues musically which therefore delayed the next album. Eventually, this led to a shift in band membership.

In 2010 co-founding member Tommy Vucur called it a day and left the band. Adrian Alimic and Jake Lowe also departed the band in 2010. In 2011 Simon Best joined the band on bass, followed by Scott Griffith on guitar and in February the recording for the fifth album began. Progress has been slower than the band anticipated with there being personal/family loss as well as Griffith deciding to spend more time on his own band which was receiving interest from prospective record companies overseas.

Eventually, 2014 saw the release of Distant Is The Sun, the most recent of this turbulent band’s catalog.

Embrace The Silence tracklist:
01. “Hollow”
02. “My Virtue”
03. “If Only I”
04. “Live To Live”
05. “Embraced”
06. “Season Of Sundays”
07. “Once A Believer”
08. “Reason”
09. “Breathe”
10. “Somebody Save Me”
11. “Insight”
12. “A Life Less”
13. “As I Reflect”