Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The pursuit of happiness can be all too consuming and too many believe it lays in the hands of consumerism and the ogre of money, it is a vicious cycle which denies those who have the power of expression at their hands to feel slighted by life and understand that it all comes down to how you navigate the maze, how you avoid the beast in the labyrinth that wants to devour every dream you have.
Happiness is in the hands of those who make the most of their time, not those who shower the world with cash and in the open palms of Asger Mygind, Martin Werner, Nicolai Morgensen and Felix Ewart, the foursome who make up Vola, happiness is such that it is spread with joy and determined progressive metal heart throughout the album Inmazes.
Defining happiness is a minefield, one person’s joy in even the minimal of experiences is another’s reason to grouch, the journey experience by both might be the same but the vision of life is more tainted, more spoiled, because they have allowed the sincerity of the guiding voice to be lost, the maze having found a way to inject fear and a sense of loss into their lives. It is not something that can be aimed at Vola, the maze they occupy is clearly signposted; this way lays quality and progression.
It is not just the act of the Progressive that the album sits tidily within, it offers shelter to the sounds of electronica and metal, it is like sitting in the early days of Queensryche and wallowing in the brilliance to come. The imagery in such songs as The Same War, Your Mind Is A Helpless Dreamer, Gutter Moon and Feed The Creatures the maze is opened, the way of personal expression guaranteed to lead to aural adventure and the experiment worthy of sitting in an aspect of the future, one that on the evidence of this album, will be fulfilling and cool.
If you are going to be trapped in a maze with a monster, if you are going to hear the sound of the hooves and feel the snort of breath on the nape of your neck, then it better to be with the one that helps you escape than the one that will bring you down and devour the happiness.
Vola’s Inmazes is released on September 16th via Mascot Records.
Ian D. Hall