Track Review: “I’m Here” by Vanitas

In celebration of the release of Sonic Dream Team, Vanitas have chosen to cover “I’m Here” from the Sonic Frontiers soundtrack, paying homage to their love of video games and the JRPG soundtracks that lead them coin the term cinematic DJent. The genre pioneers have been steadily building their momentum with the waterfall release of three singles in 2023 to follow last years self titled EP, surpassing 58k of Spotify and YouTube streams combined while sharing stages with the likes of Monuments, Destrage and Galactic Empire…

It has to be said that there are plenty of sheep out there, crying for your attention and releasing some all too predicable covers in the process. As much as they have their place and as great as the originals they are, does the World really need another Linkin Park or Slipknot cover? Never afraid to cut their own path through the undergrowth, Vanitas are prepared to do things differently, to tread the left hand path of less obvious choices and reap the rewards of doing so. That’s why they covered “The Rumbling” by SiM with Jacob Collins of Recall The Remains, an intriguing choice around their self titled debut EP release which works very well in their chosen style.

For those unfamiliar, the original version of “I’m Here” features Merry Kirk -Holmes of To Octavia (there is also a revisited rendition with Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens fame) and has the air of a Periphery demo about it, something which plays into the hands of Vanitas perfectly. What they have done with it however is astounding because they’ve made it sound bigger, bolder and braver, taking it on and imposing their own style upon it while adding nuance, gear changes and polish which makes all the difference. Vanilla ice cream is great but when you replace artificial favours with Vanilla bean paste… you get the picture. The original has a hummable melody but here soaring vocals from Jade Marissa Grundy give this new rendition a sense of the epic adventure that the game has at its heart, while also turning it into a sing-a-long arena sized anthem. A touch of DJent spice adds weight to the beauty of the piece as does an solitary unclean vocal moment, the technical sweeping solo giving the song a moment of power before a resplendent final verse. The synths have been enhanced to sound richer and warmer, the tasteful Progressive Metal leaning guitars brighter in the mix giving fresh life and vibrancy; so how could you not enjoy this piece of magic? [9/10]