VELVET THUNDER

…it seems that the stars have aligned for VOLA, and they’ve come up with a storming album – surely one of the best metal albums of 2024.

VOLA are a Scandinavian (and mostly Danish) metal group. They have been around for more than a decade now and this is their fourth album. Early efforts had something of a harsh progressive metal sound and some prog-like meanderings. Keyboards have become more prominent over time, as has an increased emphasis on vocal hook lines, resulting in their very well-received third album Witness. This fourth opus continues that trend, combining metal, electronica and almost pop-like choruses. Add to this a welcome conciseness (the nine tracks last barely forty minutes), and Friend Of A Phantom might be the best VOLA album so far.

The album opener, Cannibal. is a brilliant slice of modern metal. It demands your attention as Asger Mygind launches without restraint into a fierce metal riff. This is followed by an uneasy syncopated vocal section which makes the explosion of the catchy chorus even more striking. To these ears, there’s a strong similarity to recent work by Evergrey, especially the trick of using a wall of sound created by layered guitars in the chorus and with the keys playing the hook line over the top of that. Fans of In Flames will get a surprise when that band’s singer, Anders Fridén, takes over the vocals for the second verse and contributes to the remainder of the song. Apparently, Fridén saw the band on their Witness tour and they became friends. Fridén also generously took the time to fly over to Denmark to sing on the accompanying video.

There are a further couple of tracks which follow a similar template to Cannibal. Break My Lying Tongue is a faster and even more energetic piece, and the high-pitched keyboard theme sounds almost out of a dancefloor track. Paper Wolf also has a dancefloor feel to the opening but that’s soon dispelled by another of Mygind’s crushing riffs. The song peaks in a ridiculously catchy chorus – the sort that Coldplay probably wish they could write! Another strong chorus line can be heard in We Will Not Disband, a slower piece but again dominated by an Evergrey-style chorus.

Other tracks might have not have such instant appeal but are full of quality all the same. Hollow Kid is one such example, where the curious (and slightly menacing) way the guitar follows the vocal line is very original. The gorgeous prog-like swirl of keys that caps the chorus is also impressive. The two quieter pieces – Glass Mannequin and I Don’t Know How We Got Here – are strong tracks, both creating dreamlike atmospheres mostly using just sparse keys and percussion to support Mygind’s voice.  

There’s just one track that disappoints and that’s Bleed Out which attempts the big fat chorus again but doesn’t quite have the quality to pull it off, and its six-minutes duration contrasts a little with the lean and concise material elsewhere. The prog-tinged Tray closes the album. While it has the anthemic chorus style used elsewhere, it’s delivered initially in a much more restrained way before becoming more forceful. At first listen, it can seem a little lightweight, but the song gets under your skin after several spins and merits its place as the closing track.

With Friend Of A Phantom, it seems that the stars have aligned for VOLA, and they’ve come up with a storming album – surely one of the best metal albums of 2024. I don’t know the origins of the band’s name but in Italian, the word ‘vola’ translates to ‘fly’, and if Friend Of A Phantom doesn’t fly up the metal charts then there’s really no musical justice in this world!