Reviews: VOLA, Beardfish, Slower, Volume (Reviews By Matt Bladen & Rich Piva)

VOLA - Friend Of A Phantom (Mascot Records) [Matt Bladen]

Sound the horns as Denmark/Sweden’s VOLA return with their latest opus Friend Of A Phantom, continuing the path they have been forging since 2006, they have come from djent/tech metal beginnings and slowly but surely evolved into a more refined and expansive musical beast. 

Really it was 2018’s Applause From A Distant Crowd that spearheaded this conversion into arena ready machine, whereas that album was overall lighter than their debut Inmaze, Witness brought their two sides together and won critical praise leading to a relentless session of touring where many venues were sold out or upgraded as VOLA’s recognition increased.

So they are now back with fourth studio album Friend Of A Phantom, another record where the light/shade of VOLA’s song-writing is explored, heavy rhythmic patterns and atmospheric passages collide in harmonic union with arena-ready choruses and swirling/oscillating electronics on tracks such as Break My Lying Tongue where the poppy propulsion dives into a heavy crush at the end, the aggression focussed into catharsis on the soaring We Will Not Disband.

Asger Mygind’s emotive vocals a defining part of the VOLA experience, here sounding more accepting of things than they did on the melancholic Witness, in fact Friend Of A Phantom is an overall much more upbeat sounding album but introspection and thoughtfulness are major influences lyrically so there is a beautiful underlying tinge of sadness to the brighter track but it’s right upfront on the haunting Glass Mannequin.

Mygind’s guitars shift between techy metal grooves and post metal ambiance, on the former Nicolai Mogensen’s bass underlining how heavy they can be on Hollow Kid, while when they swell into spatial realms on the latter Martin Werner’s keys are more pronounced though always important, Adam Janzi’s drumming to is an anchor point to all of the tempo and style shifts these songs contain (I Don’t Know How We Got Here).

I have been following the band from the Applause From A Distant Crowd tour, I do find that their heavier style songs always go down better so the fact that they haven’t abandoned this early influence of bands such as Meshuggah but rather merged their two polar hemispheres together is probably why they are a band that are so popular with their fan base.

Be it the riffy Cannibal which features Anders Fridén of In Flames on vocals, the grooving Paper Wolf or the closing purge of Tray, VOLA keep their creative engine running hot with their fourth album, adding new textures but never completely forgetting their beginnings. 9/10

Beardfish - Songs For Beating Hearts (Inside Out Music) [Matt Bladen]

Beardfish are back, you can't really blame anyone for the near nine year hiatus, Rikard Sjöblom (vocals/guitar/keys) has been and integral part of Big Big Train for those years so the fish has been sleeping. Thankfully the beards are once again lustrous and the guppys are whizzing around the tank for some more traditional prog rock loveliness. For those that don't know Beardfish are a Swedish prog rock band formed in 2001, having released 8 previous albums their last was in 2015 before they imposed a hiatus in 2016.

Now they're back with new album Songs For Beating Hearts, Rikard Sjöblomagain joined by band co-founders David Zackrisson (guitars), Magnus Östgren (drums) and bassist Robert Hansen who joined the band in 2002. So it's the 'classic' line up and the return of their classic sound. A sound inspired very heavily by Genesis and Yes, as well as fellow Swedes Kaipa and The Flower Kings, the album composed of 5 songs one of which is a 20 minute suite.

It's this one Out In The Open that contains the most Yes influences, from the fleet fingered bass lines, the analogue synths, acoustically laced guitars and strong vocal harmonies, the entire song is a homage to the UK prog legends, but also will remind anyone who forgot how brilliant Beardfish are as a band. Heavily leaning on the sounds of Yes but with their own individuality that resides in these tracks that collectively unify the four men through love, loss, friendship and finality. 

The establishing theme of Ecotone continues through the main part of the album, the string-driven Beating Hearts and the romantic In The Autumn, which features some additional female vocals from Amanda Örtenhag, until Ecotone (Reprise) puts it to bed before the 8 minute southern gothic finale Torrential Downpour. The reunion no one expected, produces and album anyone who knows the band will absolutely love. Welcome back Beardfish. 9/10

Slower - Rage And Ruin (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Rich Piva]

I am so happy that Slower was not a one-off project. In case you missed it, Slower is a stoner/doom supergroup that does Slayer covers all doomed up with haunting female vocals. The first record from January of this year was excellent, and the second is just as good or maybe even better. For Rage And Ruin the band for all six tracks consists of Amy Tung-Barrysmith from Year Of The Cobra on vocals and bass, Esben Willems from Monolord on drums, and the legend and hardest working man in rock (along with Tony Reed) Bob Balch (Fu Manchu, Big Scenic Nowhere/Yawning Balch) on guitar.

So why is this one maybe even better? Slower originals combined with Slayer covers! Let’s start with the originals. Hellfire is spooky and heavy doom lead by Balch’s riffs but headlined by Tung-Barrysmith’s layered vocals. The riff is pure Slayer worship and fits perfectly with the Slower vibe. Gates Of Hell is more Slayer worship riff -wise, but is also some amazing traditional doom that could hang with anyone doing it these days. I hear some early Trouble in Balch’s guitar work which works perfectly with the vocals. A more Sabbath-like riff greats us with the equally cool and equally doomy Sins Of The Dead. There is a sparseness to this track that really works to its advantage. 

Soft and creepy keys greet us on the closing title track along with more layered vocals until the riff kicks in and the seven minute closer consumes you. My favourite track on the record. As for the Slayer covers, their version of Chemical Warfare rules. The shredder classic is slowed down, doomed up, and even has a bit of a psych feel to it, with Tung-Barrysmith’s vocals transforming it into an evil siren song. Balch’s chug and solo rule too. So great. Haunting The Chapel works wonderfully too, as the Slayer classic becomes almost unrecognizable in only the best possible way.

There were definitely hints that more Slower stuff was coming but I did not expect an album made up of mostly originals. While I love the Slayer covers, at some point that was going to run its course, but combining their interpretations with original material is the perfect recipe for this group of talented individuals. Rage In Ruin is the perfect second offering from Slower. 9/10

Volume - Joy Of Navigation: A Trip Through The Eternal Unknown (Golden Robot/Kozmik Artifactz) [Rich Piva]

Yeah right, like I’m not going to like an album from a band made up of guys who were in Monster Magnet, Nebula, Queens of the Stone Age, Mondo Generator, and a bunch of other cool bands and that calls out Monster Magnet’s 25...Tab as a reference point. It will come as no surprise that I love the frantic, scattered, and amazing heavy ass psych that Volume brings on their new EP, Joy Of Navigation (A Trip Through The Eternal Unknown). The band has been a rotating cast of players, all of them awesome, and all of them bringing a rawness to the heavy psych that I am constantly craving in a world of overproduction.

Right off the bat you know this is going to rule when the sitar starts up on the opener, Mercury Pull, which is nine minutes of pure heavy psych awesome. I get MM Cyclops Revolution vibes from this one which, well, you know. The dual guitar work of Patrick Brink and Ed Mundell is killer and Brink’s sing-talk vocals is just perfect for this song. The second track, Joy Of Navigation, gives me more early Monster Magnet vibes but one of the more straight ahead rockers than a long freak out. To me it sounds like everyone is having an amazing time playing in Volume with this song being the prime example as the band just seems to go off. 

Heavy Sunshine has all the same greatness of the first two tracks, but I need to call out the work of Mike Amster on drums here as he is a complete beast. The Golden Age is the tamest song on the record, but tame does not mean less awesome. Acoustic guitars drive this one with Brink doing his most straight ahead singing. The guitar work and especially solo by Mundell is ridiculous. The shiniest gem out of the batch is Spacebaby, which sounds just like you would think a song call that from these guys would sound. I love the vocals on this one and like the other songs on Joy the band just goes off, especially Abraham Parker on bass. So great.

If you like heavy psych, early Monster Magnet, things that are awesome, and bands having fun making killer music, listen to the new Volume record. My only complaint with Joy is that is short at under 30 minutes, and I always want more Volume, but hey, in this case you can listen to it twice in one sitting. 9/10