Vola, a Danish quartet that appeared in the mid-2010s, quickly seduced with their ability to melt the heaviness of djent, pop melodies and electronic textures into a surprisingly fluid whole. Friend of a Phantom, their fourth album, refines that hybrid formula and confirms the band as one of the most endearing of a new progressive generation turned toward accessibility.
The critics (an 81 average across six reviews) hail the band’s melodic sense and the voice of Asger Mygind, airy and melancholic, which softens the roughness of the guitars. They praise the polished production, rich in detail, which lends the record an immediately seductive sonic depth.
Musically, Friend of a Phantom advances by contrasts: syncopated, low-tuned riffs, cottony synthetic washes, near-radio-friendly choruses. Vola pull off that delicate balancing act of making progressive metal welcoming without ever renouncing its rhythmic complexity.
The reverse of that accessibility is a certain predictability: by dint of tending melodic comfort, the record avoids the real shadow zones, and formal daring at times gives way to immediate seduction. One would wish, in places, that the band took more risks.
Verdict: 8/10. An elegant, immediate record confirming Vola in their art of making the progressive as luminous as it is demanding.
