Review 635 : Vokonis – Odyssey – English

Vokonis’ universe expands.

Created as Creedsmen Arise in Sweden, the band changes its name in 2015. In 2019, Peter Ottoson (drums, Let Them Hang) joins Simon Ohlsson (vocals/guitar) and Jonte Johansson (bass/vocals) who face the departure of the band’s original drummer. Odyssey, their fourth album, is born from a collaboration with Per Wiberg (keyboards, Spiritual Beggars, ex-Opeth, formerly live for Candlemass).

The swedes called Magnus Lindberg (Cult of Luna) for the mastering of this very special album. Their basis anchored into Stoner/Doom gets enriched by a touch of seizing Progressive Metal that gives an additional flavour to their thick groove, like we can hear on Rebellion, a catchy song. Intensity slowly increases with those riffs inspired by the style’s pioneers, sometimes embellished by howlings, then Odyssey, the eponymous song, mesmerizes us. Airy keyboards, a heady rhythmic, and above all, vocals make us travel through riffs. The song is long, and allows the band to develop more technical parts, then Blackened Wings comes to offer a dark rage. The song is more vivid, more energetic, but is still connected with the band’s catchy basis. Leads easily fly, while letting some interesting technicality to the rhythmic.
Azure continues to make us move forward into this seizing blackness contrasted by a softer and more airy sound. The two parts of the band’s personality express themselves, coming from a heavy and greasy fury to a soft and soaring chorus while keeping heady tones. The song drops us on the hooking Hollow Waters, an accessible but very intense song. Harmonics easily melt to the rhythmic, offering more soaring and piercing influences, sometimes picking to Post-Metal or Shoegaze before Through The Depths, the last composition. Way longer than any other track, it gives the band the possibility to let every instrument express itself around a very Prog basis. The song is quite luminous at the beginning, then it will gets darker with some screams, and finally let place to a long instrumental part on which musicians let us see their capacities before the final.

Vokonis broadens its universe without getting far from it. Their collaboration with Per Wiberg makes Odyssey a unique album while staying into the band’s logic. I really want to see this on stage as soon as possible.

85/100

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