ALBUM REVIEW: Fearless In Love – Voyager
Back in 2015, Australia were given an initial guest appearance at Eurovision for the competition’s 60th birthday; eight years down the line and, if this year’s edition turns out to be their last, they’ve bowed out in some style. Prog metal icons VOYAGER gate-crashed the top ten with the 80s inspired, synth-laden bop Promise, in the process gaining a new army of fans and a mesmeric rise in status. However, just what those who were turned onto them through the competition will think of eighth album Fearless In Love – released Friday July 14th via Season Of Mist – is anyone’s guess; moreover, how apprehensive are long-time listeners of the sound and style, given what many know the Perth quintet for?
Enough has already been said about the song that got the band international acclaim – for the record, it’s track seven on the album and still a bona fide rager of a tune – so it’s time to turn one’s attention to the other ten numbers and see whether VOYAGER have managed to balance their expectations for old and new fans alike. Spoiler alert: they have. The Best Intentions, a rather apt title, opens the record and definitely showcases elements of the band’s classic sound, a cleaner version of the guitars a band like TESSERACT are known for, with changing time signatures and more complex passages, yet the vocal harmonies from lead singer/keyboardist Daniel Estrin and bassist Alex Canion are on point and will give those newer fans a reference point against a backdrop of more elaborate song composition. However, they’ve not considered Promise a one-off and returned to an adversity towards more straightforward numbers – towards the end of the album is Daydream, which goes full NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA in terms of its soaring and upbeat chorus, and the twin solos from Simone Daw and Scott Kay are straight out of IRON MAIDEN‘s book of tricks.
The more aggressive Ultraviolet sees Sean Harmanis from MAKE THEM SUFFER chime in with a quick cameo on unclean vocals and The Lamenting falls more into power ballad territory, although is less memorable than other tracks on here; Submarine, on the other hand, makes a much more grandiose statement with its DEVIN TOWNSEND-influenced ending. The prog-metal returns with Twisted, drawing on the influences of DREAM THEATER, and closing track Gren (Fearless In Love) is another tip of the hat to Mr. Townsend, a more reflective number that is a gentler yet no less effective coda. VOYAGER have been incredibly smart; they’ve evolved their sound from 2019’s Colours In The Sun, but not to the extent that many are going to drop them and all future releases, cradling the rest of the discography and wondering what could have been; similarly, they’ve kept it accessible for all those who discovered them via Eurovision and not given them a multi-layered, demanding listen that would end up being dismissed as ‘the album with THAT song‘.
Whether you’re a new convert to VOYAGER or a long-time listener, Fearless In Love has something for you. Neither a total departure from the sound of old, nor an alien experience for everyone coming in, this bouncy, colourful record has got the balance just right. The real test might be the next release, but for now, everything is just peachy.
Rating: 8/10
Fearless In Love is set for release on July 14th via Season Of Mist.
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