Genre : Djent, Progressive metal
Released : May 21st, 2021
Label : Mascot Records
FFO : Meshuggah, Periphery, Haken
On this new album, VOLA have departed from the experimental, fragile and dare I say "poppy" sound of their previous record "Applause Of A Distant Crowd" in favour of a more aggressive and "straightforward" djent sound while still retaining some of the elements that made AOADC unique and interesting, especially when it comes to the synth composition, vocal melodies and the way both of those are produced.
In a subgenre that has become saturated with acts that add little to no novelty to the main tropes of the style, every VOLA release feels like a breath of fresh air and despite opting for a beefier sound, "Witness" follows in that trail.
The drumming is phenomenal throughout, often adding interesting ornamentations to the lush synth work that compliments the hard hitting guitar parts.
The standout is perhaps the track "These Black Claws" that sees modern hip-hop and prog metal join forces in a surprisingly convincing result that sounds like the odd child of Korn, Soen and Vildhjarta.
It is clear that "Witness" was inspired by various musical influences and perfectly balances the "classic" prog metal sound (the very contemporary-era BTBAM sounding "Freak") and energy of djent, sometimes very lightly channeling the menacing sadness of thall ("Head Mounted Sideways", "Stone Leader Falling Down").
Overall this is one of the most memorable, interesting and pleasing prog metal albums I've heard this year so far despite it not being as experimental as what the band's previous record could have foreshadowed, yet the balance between the band's unique voice in the prog sphere and the "meat and potatoes" djent approach works wonders in my opinion.