Quo Vadis - _Passage in Time_
(Skyscraper, 2001)
by: Brian Meloon (7 out of 10)
Montreal's Quo Vadis should be familiar to longtime CoC readers, as we've
covered all of their releases so far: their 1995 self-titled demo [CoC
#3], _Forever..._ [CoC #18] and _Day Into Night_ [CoC #49], and done two interviews with them [CoC #4, #18]. This album is mostly to satiate their fans while they write and record a new album. It features one unreleased song from the _DIN_ sessions ("As One"), two re-recorded / re-mixed songs ("Vital Signs", from their demo, and "Hunter/Killer", from _DIN_), two live tracks ("Dysgenics" and "Point of No Return - Mute Requiem", both from _DIN_), a video for "Dysgenics", and four of the five songs from their demo. It was the songs from their demo which were the most interesting for me. It's not that the songs were particularly enjoyable (though I'm sure I would've loved them eight years ago), but it's interesting to see how far they've come in that time. The key elements of their melodic thrash/death metal sound were in place even back then, but during the intervening years, the band have improved their songwriting and execution (as well as their production!). The other tracks don't really do much for me. "As One" and "Vital Signs 2000" aren't particularly outstanding tracks, and while I remember "Hunter/Killer", I can't immediately pinpoint what's different in the remix. The live tracks are pretty good quality, but obviously don't capture the full experience of the live performance. Still, they show that the band don't need studio tricks to make them sound tight and impressive. Lastly, the video isn't very interesting either. It's shot in black and white, and features mainly footage of the band playing the song in a small room. Unfortunately, the video and audio aren't synchronized, save for a few parts where you can see Arie lip-syncing the lyrics. This means the video is little more than a glorified slide-show, and doesn't really warrant repeated viewings. Overall, this is a useful album for Quo Vadis fans to have, but those interested in checking out the band's technical take on melodic death metal should start by picking up _Day Into Night_.
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