Here’s a weird thing: I find that the more I like an artist, the harder it is to review them.
VOLA is one of my favorite bands, and I’ve been following and talking about them for a while, and I’d say I’m pretty knowledgeable about the band and their music. So why did I find it a bit challenging to review Friend Of A Phantom? Perhaps it’s because I feel the need to take extra care when talking about it, because they’re dear to me. Maybe it’s because I don’t want to come accross as a superfan and lose credibility for a review. Or maybe it’s just a bit hard to put some particular feelings into words.
Well then. With this weird reflection out of the way, let’s get back to the actual intro for this review, shall we?
I’ll start with another weird question for you: When does a ‘new’ band stops being new? Is it with a certain number of releases? When they’ve been years on the road? When a band has fully developed its identity?
My personal way to answer this is that it’s when you no longer compare a new release by said artist to other artists; you compare it to themselves. In that lens, I’d say it’s now okay to affirm that VOLA is no longer a newcomer: four albums in, they’re still growing and making moves for the big leagues, and Friend Of A Phantom could very well catapult them to bigger heights. Even if it doesn’t, it’s still a solid addition to a glowing catalogue.
I’ve always found VOLA to be, by far, the best band in their generation of progressive metal. Loads of artists mix progressive metal and djent with pop influences, but no one has achieved perfection in that mix more than the Danish-Swedish quartet. Their debut Inmazes saw them taking the prog world by storm with its incredible amalgamation of Meshuggah-inspired riffing with soothing, beautiful melodies you could expect from Porcupine Tree or Opeth. This particular sound managed to somehow sound dissonant and a perfect blend at the same time: no album before or after Inmazes sounds quite like it – even from VOLA themselves.
Applause From A Distant Crowd saw VOLA taking their listeners to a more introspective, somewhat melancholic voyage, stepping away from the Meshuggah-like riffage in favor of a more traditional progressive metal approach and further exploring their pop, synth, and electronic elements. Inmazes purists may have been disappointed in that new form to VOLA, but I for one believe it’s actually their most mature and well-crafted album to date.
Finally, Witness was VOLA achieving a very solid identity as a band. It takes the foundation its predecessor built upon and upped its energy to the max, delivering one of the most powerful progressive and modern metal albums in recent times while still introducing new elements to their songwriting.
After this incredible run of back to back masterpieces, I was beyond hyped to – *ahem* – witness the next chapter in their career. Would they further evolve their sound? Would they shift gears and do something totally new again? Or would they just release Witness again?
Well, for the first time in their career, I’d say VOLA kinda played it safe with Friend Of A Phantom. It’s not a carbon copy of Witness in any way, but it does miss the sense of novelty you would find with their releases until now. Witness was truly an identity-defining album and it slaps, so taking it as a template and tweaking it a bit is not a bad thing at all. Don’t get me wrong, there’s tons to love about this album, and as a fan of the band, I’m very very happy to be listening to new music. I mean, it’s more of a good thing – more of a GREAT thing, even. It’s just… missing a bit of sauce, perhaps.
The most notable thing about Friend Of A Phantom is that it’s their most accessible record yet. Going further than the pop sensibilities they’ve always had, VOLA fully embrace pop song structures this time around as well – something that was already happening on Witness, to a lesser extent. I’ve always been a fan of how simple and catchy their hooks are, and they’ve doubled down on it this time around, as pretty much every song is designed to be an earworm.
Asger Mygind’s dissonant and proggy riffs take a bit of a backseat in order to let Martin Werner’s keyboards synths get more of a spotlight on Friend Of A Phantom. You’ll still find some dissonant riffs on songs like “Paper Wolf”, but as a whole, the riffage is way more straightforward than it used to be. The synth takeover is most notable on tracks like “Break My Lying Tongue” – which sounds something from the Applause days infused with some extra synth layers, or “We Will Not Disband”, a beautiful, energetic and melodic synth-led rock song that’s VOLA at their very best.
There’s plenty of metal too, don’t worry: “Bleed Out” is great electronic-infused metal track, with super catchy and danceful verses and a pretty great crescendo – a massive highlight and sure to be a mainstay on live sets. “Cannibal” is also on the heavier side, even more so due to a guest growling by In Flames‘ Anders Friden. I do think that it is a bit of an odd choice for a opening track – it features a guest vocalist, so naturally it’s not the band in their purest form. “Hollow Kid” is a very interesting track too, with some Alice In Chains-like verses and cool punchy riffs. These songs also see the return of Asger’s growled vocals – a rare occurance, but one that always elevates the moment. Can’t shake the feeling that these songs could greatly benefit from some Inmazes-style riffage, though.
Fans of their more mellow and introspective music are sure to love “Glass Mannequin”. Led by vocals and synths, it follows in the same vein of tracks like “Green Screen Mother”, arguably VOLA‘s most overlooked and underrated side. I tend to think these tracks bring out the best from Asger’ vocals – both melodically and emotionally. “Tray” also treads a bit on this path, and I am quite fond on how it’s very direct in its structure but still sounds a bit ‘odd’ in its vocal melodies. As a closing track though, I do feel it misses the catharsis that songs like “Inmazes”, “Applause Of A Distant Crowd”, and “Inside Your Fur” deliver oh so well.
After some time with these songs, I’ve come to notice that Friend Of A Phantom is, indeed, a new form to VOLA – it feels much more at home at the modern metal realm than the prog metal realm. They seem to be aiming to reach new people with it and further expand their appeal with it. With bands like Linkin Park being bigger than ever and conquering stadiums worldwide, VOLA could honestly appeal to enough people to be a supporting band for artists in that scale.
I’ve always felt that VOLA have been destined for greatness, with their inspired, accessible and unique take on music, and while Friend Of A Phantom may not be my favorite release from them, it’s still a solid release from a band who are the absolute masters on what they do. It’s sure to be a big step forward in their journey toward new heights, and I’ll be spinning some of these songs in the long run for sure.
