ALBUM REVIEW: Porpora – Vlad In Tears
VLAD IN TEARS are putting out their eighth studio album Porpora, a record described by lead vocalist Kris Vlad as their “most important work so far.” Written in lockdown, a time of uncertainly and hardship for a lot of people, not much more needs to be said about some of the darker aspects of having people isolated from their loved ones and the world. As Vlad explains, “all the topics treated in this album are related to loneliness, sorrow, dark heavy thoughts about death, self-harm, and suicide.”
And he isn’t wrong. But for an album focusing on such topics, you must wonder how it is that they made it sound so beautiful and therapeutic. As the album opens with Wasted Lives you find yourself sitting there going “ooo” as you hear the stunning vocals and guitars put together with a beat and a melody that will have both your foot tapping and your head bopping along. This is a trend that continues throughout the album, each song regardless of it being fast or slow feels empowering. You spend the record with your eyes closed, head back and hand in a fist as you go “ugh yes”. Actually no, you want to scream yes as opposed to whispering it.
VLAD IN TEARS have stated their love for experimenting and trying different sounds, meaning that you can hear a range of influences within the record. Particularly with dark industrial rock, you can hear shades of Gary Numan in Right Now, aspects of MOTIONLESS IN WHITE thrown in throughout the record, as well as other modern rock bands such as BRING ME THE HORIZON, whose track Follow You feels like a particularly keen influence on a song like Down. But the most important thing is that they make it their own. You know it’s VLAD IN TEARS that you’re listening to.
A moment that might come as a little surprise, or not if you’ve been following their social media, is a cover of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill… we can never escape Stranger Things can we? But hey, we love it. No matter how hard you try you’ll find yourself singing along and immersed in their cover which can be viewed as a darker side of the story told in the lyrics. A power move to end on.
A beautiful record with empowering tracks containing dark lyrics, Porpora is certainly an album that you can picture yourself jumping around to at 3am, alone in the kitchen with tears pouring down your cheeks. Simply put, it’s a gorgeous album with stunning vocals and instruments. You feel everything and are hooked the whole time. Beautiful. Just beautiful.
Rating: 9/10
Porpora is set for release on September 16th via Metalville.
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