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I hadn't listened to Vanden Plas since discovering Beyond Daylight, but I'm happy to hear that they still produce more than passable music. Granted, my expectations were sub-zero after the predictable opener where they descend into egocentric instrumentalist excess, but things fortunately improved with the compact and enjoyable sophomore effort "My Icarian Flight." It's on "Sanctimonarium," however, that the band truly hit their stride. Here, and on the two other standout tracks, "The Sacrilegious Mind Machine" and "March of the Saints," Vanden Plas churn out riff-heavy, melodic and tasteful songs topped off with distinctive, clear vocals reminiscent of Threshold, DGM and Pagan's Mind.

Vanden Plas mostly resist the temptation of adding pointless plodding and infuriating time shifts everywhere. These characteristics—as with any prog band—are, of course, present, but instead of ruining their songs with useless garbage to score difficulty points, they serve a purpose in the songwriting, creating interesting direction and hooks. With the exception of the namesake and boring ballad "They Call Me God," this album contains some really shrewd and attention-grabbing guitar and instrumental work that is easy to nod along to. Andy Kuntz and his distinctive voice also deserve special mention, as his dynamic performance and well-written, catchy vocal lines are instrumental in keeping things interesting for up to nearly 16 minutes.

All in all, I think this is quite an enjoyable prog metal record, and by far the most interesting one I have heard in some time. There are some glitches and it certainly doesn't break any new ground in the prog metal space, but if you like bands like Threshold and classic Pagan's Mind, you should enjoy this.