vanhalst01029squareVan Halst is a fierce, empowering force of hard rock fused with metal. Although their name draws the image of a European band, this ensemble hails from Edmonton, Alberta. The project, which began as a solo artist for whom the band is named after — Kami Van Halst, has since become a full group producing socially conscious, lyrical tracks that focus on disenfranchised and marginalized populations.

—AllHeavyMetal.net

*This album review by Liz Scanlon was originally published on AllHeavyMetal.net – Discover new bands, listen to music and rock on!*

Van Halst! It is really easy to start liking their ‘World of Make Believe’ album. Sometimes, songs and albums can take more than one, two or even three listens to finally start appreciating what your ears are receiving. With Van Halst, my love for their music was quite immediate. Insta-love as the younger generation would call it and I’m not ashamed! If you’re going to look for Van Halst on Youtube and come across their title song- World of Make Believe- you’ll probably think- yeah, decent! What struck a chord with me straight away was the tone of vocals. Sometimes, you can just hear that instant match in between the instrumental and vocals and I hoped the rest of the album was going to be as good… Heh, the rest of the album was even better!

To keep a certain structure to all the things I want to point out about ‘World of Make Believe’ I am going to break this album review down to sections of instrumental, vocals, lyrics and the general feel.

Instrumental: The album starts off packing a punch and gradually slows to softer tones but make no mistake here- the instrumental power will carry on throughout the album. To my ears the instrumental delivered great crisp sounds with lovely tones of bass and drums which…. See full review… 

One of my favorite songs from the album:

Even if you’re not a fan heavier music, below is another video which includes lyrics. It’s slower, doesn’t have screams and addresses rape. I do suggest you check this out.