ALBUM REVIEW: A Voyage Through Time – Voyager
An extraordinary experience curated by the fans, performed for the fans, is finally reaching a worldwide release. Progressive metalheads VOYAGER are bringing A Voyage Through Time to physical and digital release, and it’s a journey of a lifetime. The Perth outfit recorded the show back in August 2021 at their hometown’s Magnet House. Only airing it once the following month, the band are now opening the experience to anyone and everyone. Summarising two decades of success within a 16-track fan-voted setlist, this is a show that will send the listener on an adventure through space, time, and all dimensions in the known universe. Prepare for liftoff.
The set begins appropriately with To The Morning Light; taken from the band’s 2003 debut record Element V. It’s a strong opening tune, with vocalist Daniel Estrin welcoming the listener to the titular voyage as the track starts before fully entering the swing of things. As an event that is meant to showcase the band’s collective career, it proves that even after over 20 years of making music, they can still take it back a few steps and bask in their own nostalgia.
As the five-piece play on, the LP plays less as a live recording and more as a metal-laced opera. A story being told through guitar shreds, melodic singing and emotionally gripping growls. There are ups and downs, spins and roundabouts and missing even one beat would throw one off track. Nearing the halfway mark is where they start touching upon their third studio record I Am The Revolution. This is where the drama and tension grows; this is where everyone is in too deep to stop and even take a break. Estrin asks partway during the track, “Do we need more?” – no matter the context for that question, the answer for VOYAGER is always an overwhelming yes.
The set appropriately closes off with Brightstar and Runaway, two of the band’s most recent hits. Taken from their last studio release, 2019’s Colours In The Sun, the cycle is completed and the retrospective is winding down with eyes wide open and ears full of electronic beats and fascinating harmonies.
In more modern times, the Australian collective are known for putting more power pop elements into their work. It’s how it goes with many heavy bands: they will grow, adapt, change, alter – however they wish to label their music from one era to another. VOYAGER have managed to pull this off through the years – Brightstar would never dare appear within Element V. Thank goodness it didn’t, but also thank goodness it appeared when it needed to, when the time was right. They knew what they were doing.
A Voyage Through Time plays as a science fiction tale being told through an escalation of melodies, set in a time where the world was in true turmoil and uncertainty. Looking back on it, it’s more fiction than fact but that should not be forgotten. Being released at a better time for the band and for the world, it can be appreciated for what it is. VOYAGER‘s very own autobiography, from birth through growth to their current point. And there is no end in sight. Here’s to a fantastic voyage.
Rating: 9/10
A Voyage Through Time is out now via Season Of Mist.
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