Background:
Voidchaser are a band that hail from Vancouver in Canada and Stockholm Sweden. They are a 5 piece made up of Chad Bernatchez (vocals, rhythm guitar), Jici LG (bass), Jimmy Montbriand (lead guitar), Colin MacAndrew (drums) and Mathieu Fiset (keyboards). The outfit released an album last year called Solace and this EP is a continuation of that. They say the story is all about “survival, a celebration of human connection, and a reflection on the duality of strength and vulnerability.” Heavy stuff. Musically they are 100% unapologetic prog metal.
The EP contains only 3 songs and lasts nearly 20 minutes. The 3 songs all have different vibes going on and go from thunderously heavy and technical to gentle balladry. There are a number of guests on the album supplying extra vocals along with violin/cello, saxophone and 2 instruments I admit to having to look up on Google including an oud (similar to a lute, short neck, no frets) and a bansuri (a bamboo flute). All this adds dimension to their music, along with atmosphere and character. There are also a mix of clean and harsh vocals with quite a few moments of sweet vocal harmonies. It almost goes without saying the musicianship is excellent as one would expect from a band creating progressive style music.
Changing Sounds And Moods:
The EP picks up apparently from where the album left off (I will say that you don’t need to have heard the album to appreciate the EP, although if someone wants to know the whole story then perhaps checking out the album might be a good thing) on the song “Time” features some or all of the band Universal Effects from Quebec Canada. I like the opening, the whooshing style effect I imagine indicates travel through time and space. It is a tad doomy to start with but it goes from there into more progressive territory pretty quickly. It takes a minute and a half before we hear the first voices and they are clean with a quick snippet of harsh. Then things change and harsh takes control. There are plenty of keyboards underpinning the whole thing as the drums pound away.
Being prog things continue to change into a very melodic guitar solo before the clean vocals come in and we switch between the 2 making it a very lovely listen. Reflective as well as quite haunting. The short key solo that follows is more flashy, fast and furious. The melodic elements of this are strong and impressive. The outro is very sad-sounding synths (not in a bad way, just the emotion being portrayed of sadness at leaving). The harsh vocals come from Gabriel Antoine Vallée from the band I mentioned earlier.
With Added Instruments:
“Dogma” is the longest song at 9 minutes. It kicks in hard and fast with what sounds like a good use of an organ. The riffage is strong for large parts of the track and again there is a mix of vocals. The sax solo from Laurent Barbier on this is superb. Almost otherworldly. The melody is picked up later and improvised on by the guitar in a solo which just raises the track even more. The melody just keeps soaring into the air. Although the sax is more prevalent, you can hear the addition of the other more acoustic instruments (I think it is the oud that is playing at the start of the soloing section with the saxophone). I know it is a cliché but I did feel like I was taken on a journey (of emotions) here.
The vocals between the solos are so passionate yet almost pleading-like with inherent sadness running through them. The last piece called “Trust” features Jim Grey from the band Caligula’s Horse and is the shortest track at just under 4 minutes. Jim supplies some of the most powerful throaty harsh vocals to counterpoint the clean vocal harmonies that finish the song and album. The first half of the song is metal as fuck and the second half almost goes pop (especially with the vocals) before it heavies for the end.
Melody And Emotion:
I do listen to a lot of progressive metal (I am a fan of the genre) but I do feel at times that some of it lacks either melody or emotion. This EP doesn’t. There is plenty of both on display. They have spent time (not referencing track 1 here) writing songs that actually say something and touch on human feelings and responses. It might be couched in a story arc but it shines through. I very much enjoyed this EP and it has made me keen to check out the album which is I suppose a job well done by the band. Recommended for folks who enjoy artists such as Devin Townsend, Haken, Dream Theater, Between the Buried and Me and Opeth amongst others.
EP is out Friday, March 7…
Purchase/Pre-Order Via: BANDCAMP
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Check out my other articles and reviews here: Tom.
