VOLA

VOLA first emerged during the lingering death throes of straight-ahead djent, sounding almost entirely detached from everything that had gone before. Indicative of a more general move away from well-worn cliché, towards something more inherently progressive and adventurous, the Danes' "Inmazes" debut was among 2015's most acclaimed records and set a daunting precedent for whatever they were going to attempt next. Fiercely melodic and steeped in the askance hooks and textural lushness of quasi-futuristic '80s pop, but with one foot planted firmly in cutting-edge prog metal territory, VOLA have spent the last decade carefully finessing their open-ended formula, releasing two further full-lengths that brimmed with bright, shiny ideas, while remaining heavy and direct enough to make every florid detour count.

Like its predecessors, "Friend Of A Phantom" thrums and crackles with passionate devotion to the creative process. These are often succinct and refined songs, each with its own immaculate, internal logic, but even the most straightforward, riff-driven moments are rich with intrigue, as VOLA's gift for razor-sharp, catchy melodies becomes one with their wildly cinematic, ferociously original approach to sonic substance. It might be interesting to hear what VOLA sound like with all technology stripped away, but when songs are as dazzling and multi-layered as these, anything less than this perpetual state of high evolved production vastness would seem like a dirty compromise.

"Friend Of A Phantom" shimmers. It gleams like polished chrome. Songs like thunderous opener "Cannibal", which pairs frontman Asger Mygind with IN FLAMES' Anders Fridén to deliriously symbiotic effect, blend lithe, brute force with airy, immersive ambience, with gorgeous melodic hooks that rise above the melee like incense fumes from some divine, intergalactic ceremony.

"Break My Lying Tongue" is an exhilarating drum 'n' bass whirlwind, with a core of hard-as-nails tech-metal and old-school synths set to thrill. For something more restrained, "Glass Mannequin" is a bleak, monochrome ballad that drifts serenely through airless digital landscapes, never quite bursting into the anticipated crescendo. In terms of righteous post-djent abandon, recent single "Paper Wolf" revels in bendy riffs, watery vocoders and a resolutely upbeat, lighters-in-the-air chorus, while the melancholy haze of "I Don't Know How We Got Here" is underscored by a skittering, impatient beat, equal parts organic muscle and electronic sleight-of-hand. Meanwhile, "We Will Not Disband" and "Hollow Kid" harbor several of the strongest riffs that "Friend Of A Phantom" has to offer, but combined with radio-friendly, art-pop sensibilities and a fidgeting, subversive mindset.

VOLA make it all seem entirely spontaneous, as if melodies just happen, and gloriously convoluted arrangements simply unfold in real time. Frequently beautiful and relentlessly absorbing, this is the band's strongest effort to date and one of 2024's most beguiling sonic journeys.