What does ‘van canto’ mean?

‘Canto’ descends from the latin verb ‘cantare’ and has the meaning ‘I sing’. Furthermore, in many languages it stands for ’singing’. ‘Van’ just completes the name and has no special meaning.

How did you get the idea of metal a capella?

After the split of Stef’s former band he wanted to do something vocal oriented. He tried some things in his studio and finally decided to record some songs with his friends.

How do you write/arrange the songs?

We first work out a lead melody and chords on piano to fix the song structure. After that we arrange 5 voices and start rehearsing.

Are you casted by a big record company?

Nope. We know each other for many years and have played many gigs together with our former / other metalbands.

Why don’t you use guitars/bass guitars/keyboards?

Because we are an a-capella-band. It’s not because we don’t like guitars/bass guitars/keyboards (most bandmembers also played instruments in other bands). It is because we think it’s amazing what you can do only with your voice. And it’s fun, by the way.

Why do you use drums, an a-capella-band usually doesn’t have a drummer?

Well, we tried some guys imitating a double-bassdrum only with their voices, but they all collapsed after 2 minutes of “Lifetime”.

I think you’re faking! I can clearly hear guitars/solo guitars/bass guitars in song XYZ

Sorry, you’re wrong. We had lots of fun singing through guitar amplifier fullstacks and imitating wahwah-pedals by our voices only. If you think these are real guitars, we are happy, because this shows that we’ve done a good job!

You can’t do this live!

We can. We already did and it was great for the audience and for us. In 99% of the songs you only hear 5 voices and a drummer. In some parts (e.g. solos) we did some overdubs, but not more than a usual band would have done. By the way we count on YOU singing with us, when we perform on stage.

When do you play a gig in my town?

Please check this site regularly. We post our new gigs under „Dates“ as soon as we fix them.

What are your lyrics about. Are you a white metal / christian band?

Our lyrics are about inner strength. We are not a religious band, but it’s not a problem for us if any religious people find something interisting in our lyrics.

You’re making fun of my favourite band with your cover versions!

We’re not making fun of them, it’s a tribute. The bands we cover are our heroes. And to tell the truth: You can’t destroy a real good song, even we can’t. ;-)

Where’s “Stora Rövardansen” from?

It’s from the soundtrack of the child-movie “Ronja, the robber’s daughter” of the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. The Composer is Björn Isfält, who died in 1997. This song has a really great heart and is very intense. We love it and can only advise you to check out the complete soundtrack of Björn Isfält. He did a fabulous job!

You are no metal! You don’t have guitars! You are gay!

Thank you. We’re glad somebody finally told us. By the way, what was the name of your band? When do you play Wacken? ;-)