THIS WEEK I’M LISTENING TO...VOLA – Friend Of A Phantom (Mascot Records)

Three years on from their breakthrough album – May 2021’s ‘Witness’ – Danish-Swedish progressive metallers Vola are back in the racks with a follow-up that can do nothing but further enhance their reputation. Their fourth studio release ‘Friend Of A Phantom’ is nothing short of genius, blending the very best of the likes of (for a point of comparison) Leprous and Riverside and adding a massive injection of inherent talent and compositional skills to produce a unique and exceptionally thought-provoking brace of songs.

Leading the charge in terms of incredibly clever yet beautifully understated arrangements come ‘The Glass Mannequin’ – seemingly a simple refrain and a plaintive delivery from guitarist / vocalist Asger Mygind – and ‘I Don’t Know How We Got Here’. Yet one of the band’s many tricks is to incorporate a lot of ideas in a short space of time, and as well as subtlety and introspection they also bring an awesome arsenal of heavy firepower to the table. Opening track ‘Cannibal’ with its guest appearance from In Flames’ Anders Fridén is as heavy as a bag of shovels, and the main riff to ‘Break My Lying Tongue’ comes over as almost a Eurovision bop, although one overlaid with a substantial dose of attitude. Personal current favourite ‘Paper Wolf’ boasts an awesome bass sound, while ‘Bleed out’ and ‘We Will Not Disband’ are huge in both scope and ambition.

There’s so much on offer on ‘Friend Of A Phantom’ that it’s impossible not to be captivated by what the band – completed by keyboard player Martin Werner, bassist Nicolai Mogensen and drummer Adam Janzi – have created here. Add in enigmatic closer ‘Tray’ and you’ve got pretty much the perfect album.

Video clips:

‘Cannibal’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-5xyCwH0mk
‘Paper Wolf’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFv2tt8dNo0
‘Break My Lying Tongue’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFIX12o3tao

John Tucker October 2024