VOLA: Witness (ALTERNATIVE METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

You know that feeling, the one you get when you listen to an album that you can't get rid of and that you play over and over again, almost in spite of yourself, as if each time you listen to it, it's even better than the last. Yes, of course, you know that feeling. And you'll agree with me that it doesn't happen every day. For musicians, producing such an album requires first of all a deep knowledge of their music and their style. So let's talk about the style. Like Soen, Voyager or Leprous today, Vola is one of those bands whose music is catalogued as progressive metal without us really knowing why, because it has almost nothing progressive about it. On the other hand, it is recognizable between thousand by its marked mixture of pop and metal. For Vola, it was obvious when listening to "Inmazes" and "Applause Of A Distant Crowd" that this fusion of styles was much more than a trademark and that the objective was to reach the perfect balance between the two universes.

Even if perfection doesn't exist in music or anywhere else, the third album of the Danes, "Witness", comes very close to it. Everything is thought, reflected, weighed and even scripted in the smallest details to make it an addictive album. Its ideal length (44 minutes), its outstanding production (signed Jacob Hansen), its cinematographic atmosphere, the quality of its arrangements, absolutely nothing is left to chance. And as for the compositions, it is simply great art and the synthesis of what Vola knows how to do best: huge riffs ('Straight Lines', 'Head Mounted Sideways'), djent-inspired rhythms ('Napalm') and a constant search for the melody that hits the spot through choruses all more catchy than the others, but also, which is rarer, verses with never sloppy vocal lines and sublimated by the always so bewitching voice of Asger Myging.

If the influence of Meshuggah remains predominant on the heavy component of Vola's music, it is indeed the ghost of the late Porcupine Tree that hovers over the most atmospheric tracks ('Freak'), thanks to Martin Werner's aerial keyboards and Adam Janzi's formidable drum parts (the magnificent '24 Light-Years'). His rhythmic work of a frightening precision participates greatly to make the music of Vola subtly complex.

And as happiness never comes alone, Vola is not satisfied with perfecting its style. The Danes also take the liberty to move away from it by inviting the rap duo Shahmen on what will remain the most amazing nugget of the album, 'These Black Claws', where hip hop rubs shoulders with indus metal in a delightful mix of genres.

With its careful blend of pop and metal, Vola stands out as a singular and definitively different band and offers us with "Witness" a captivating album from beginning to end, so much so that it quickly becomes obsessive. A pure jewel of modern metal. - Official website

VOLA

WITNESS

MASCOT LABEL GROUP

ALTERNATIVE METAL