By Jason Walker
I’ve only relatively recently come across Australia’s Voyager. In fact, it was just over a year ago when I went to UK Tech-Fest for the first time last year in July and Voyager were on the bill for it. They’d been added to a Spotify playlist to give you a brief overview of what was on that weekend and I almost immediately took a shine to them with some of the tracks added from their then most recent album, ‘The Ghost Mile’.
Over the course of their discography they’ve put more focus on fusing prog metal/Djent sounds with pop and synths and their latest, ‘Colours In The Sun’ is definitely them really going all in on this sound.
The album kicks straight into heavy synths with ‘Colours’ which helps set the tone right from the outset with colourful synths that initially sound like something you’d get at a club in Ibiza blasting trance. The familiar chunky guitar riffs and Ashley’s groovy drums hit fairly soon after complimented by Danny’s very unique vocal style which sits way out infront on the mix.
The tracks following ‘Colours’ continue the tone of pop-Djent into ‘Severomance’ and onto one of my album favourites, ‘Brightstar’. ‘Brightstar’ was the first single to be released from this album and did a fantastic job of being an indicator of the sort of album they were working on. The music video is pretty awesome too with Danny singing to a background of gigantic satellites in Australia’s outback.
Another standout track is ‘Entropy’ guest starring vocals from Einar Solberg of Leprous, another favourite of mine, again with a fantastic music video to go along with it. This is exactly the sort of track that I hope to one day see performed live just to blow my own voice out trying to match Einar’s ridiculous vocal range. Later in the album you have a another rather dancey track in the form of ‘Reconnected’, while featuring ridiculous groovy chugs over the top of Trance-like synths, is unapologetically a headbanger. In the last act you have three tracks which wrap the album up nicely, in the form of ‘Sign Of The Times’, ‘Water Over The Bridge’ and finally ‘Runaway’.
My favourite of these is most definitely ‘Water Over The Bridge’ as I am an absolute sucker for a Djenty groove and this track absolutely delivers this right from the outset with Simone and Scott hammering out a riff hard enough to give you whiplash. It’s also another fine example of how Alex is a superb bass player with his fantastic sense of when to groove out with a tasty slap riff.
The album finishes with ‘Runaway’ which I really hope becomes a mainstay in their live sets as it’s got a chorus which is primed for a fantastic singalong. It’s incredibly upbeat and heavy on the synths and even has a synth solo in it!
Listening to Voyager now, you wouldn’t think they started out as something closer to a black metal outfit. They’re a treat to see live as well, I can only hope I get to see them live again soon as I’ve listened to this album so much I know the words now!
- ‘Colours In The Sun’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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