VOLA announce new album ‘Witness’

VOLA have announced a new album!

Titled Witness, the upcoming album from the Danish progressive metal band is the eagerly-anticipated follow-up to 2018’s Applause Of A Distant Crowd and is scheduled to be released in May this year, via Mascot Records.

The album was produced by the band and it was mixed and mastered by the Grammy nominated Jacob Hansen [VOLBEAT, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, AMARANTHE]. Each song presents its unique characters, some are fictional, and real events inspire some others. Whilst the band’s last studio outing saw them go deep into the rabbit-hole, exploring society’s distractions from thoughtfulness and examined the way human relationships have evolved. Their new album goes a step further, shining a light on the subject of failed relationships, on a societal scale; the friction between leaders and followers, which is caused by the misuse of power. “If I zoom in,” guitarist/vocalist Asger Mygind says. “The failure is born from unrequited love, grief, manipulative behaviour and insecurity. Connecting it with the album title, one could view the characters portrayed in the lyrics as being witnesses to the dissolution of the bond they have created with people in their lives.”

The album’s themes are entwined into both the cover art and the title as Mygind elaborates; “the cover art of the album largely inspired the title. To me, the image could either portray the close-up of an eye, or a zoomed-out image of something burning. In case of the eye, I imagine that it belongs to someone witnessing an event. Something huge and life changing. In case of burning, it is the viewer of the cover art who becomes the witness. Or maybe this burning is what the eye is looking at. No matter how I look at it, the concept of being a witness seems very present in the artwork.”

Alongside the announcement of the new album, the band have released a new music video for a new song lifted from the upcoming album; Straight Lines. The new song is the second single to be released from the upcoming effort, following on from Head Mounted Sideways, which dropped in November and also appears on the album.

Speaking about the new song, Mygind says, “imagine someone being on the run from the authorities. It is becoming increasingly hard for this person to hide, which “running low on straight lines” can be seen as a metaphor. He/she can’t just choose the direct route but has to be creative to escape. Whether the hunt is real or just in the person’s head should be an open question for the listener.”

Watch the official music video for Straight Lines here: 

Also, you can view both the track list and artwork for the upcoming album below:

Track List: 

1. Straight Lines
2. Head Mounted Sideways
3. 24 Light-Years
4. These Black Claws (ft. Shahmen)
5. Freak
6. Napalm
7. Future Bird
8. Stone Leader Falling Down
9. Inside Your Fur

Witness is set for release on May 21st via Mascot Records. Pre-orders are available now and can be purchased here.

For more information on VOLA like their official page on Facebook.