Vola are another band I discovered whilst late night Bandcamp surfing. They had just put up digital tracks from their first album (which I devoured eagerly), and when they made the album available as a physical product by making it available on CD, I invested in that as well. The lovely people at Mascot Records also thought the band were amazing as they snapped them up to a deal. This is the third album for the group that we have here today. While they were heavily influenced by the djenty sounds earlier on, they have expanded that sound more and added beauty and melody to the heaviness – and even pop moments – and that makes this band one of the most unique bands around today in the Prog-metal sphere.
The opening track, Straight Lines, has that incredible heaviness and groove that made me fall in love with them – a killer opening track. Head Mounted Sideways is just insanely good, and the low end groove makes your internal organs dance with joy as the vocal pop melody short circuits your brain as it struggles to fit the two together. This is just a monster of a track!!! The beauty of 24 Light Years is next, and the ethereal vocal sits over the very busy drum groove. You feel as though this is the soundtrack to some dystopian space movie until the more normal choppy Prog metal chords kick in. These Black Claws brings to a close this side of awesomeness, and again we are going in an different direction. The riff is so heavy it will crash through your floor, then there is a rap section with a guest spot from rapper Shamen, and then it’s back to riff and groove heaven. Another freaking awesome track.
Over to Side 2 we go with Freak, and band leader Asher Mygind shows the beauty and melody in his songwriting as the heaviness takes a backseat to a more traditional Prog feel. Napalm gets us back to combining the beauty and the melody with a heavy choppy riff and groove, which is a definite signature sound for the band. Future Bird actually reminds me of Steven Wilson with that light ethereal texture to the vocals and the ambient background electronics. Stone Leader Falling Down is an anti-Trump song, at least that’s what I get from the lyrics, and the anger in the music does reflect that. The riff and groove are very choppy, djenty, and heavy. The album closes out with Inside Your Fur and it’s the Vola signature melody that ends proceedings.
I admit to being biased as I love this band, but this is a great record. If you are interested in this type of music, you should definitely BUY THIS RECORD!!!
10/10 from The Grooveman.
