Inmazes Vola

• 1The Same War05:10
• 2Stray The Skies04:13
• 3Starburn06:06
• 4Owls05:52
• 5Your Mind Is A Helpless Dreamer05:22
• 6Emily03:01
• 7Gutter Moon03:55
• 8A Stare Without Eyes04:58
• 9Feed The Creatures05:37
• 10Inmazes07:24
• Total Runtime51:38

Info for Inmazes

„Inmazes“ is the debut album of the Danish quartet Vola. The album is a journey on the road to happiness. An awesome mix of 70's progressive rock, modern electro, industrial, and extreme metal perfected by breathtaking vocals.

Inmazes, an album that will appeal to all those who love music that is adventurous and compelling. After three years of writing, recording and perfecting their craft, VOLA self-released Inmazes digitally in 2015. Prior to this album the band had already released two EP’s. Guitar player and singer Asger Mygind sees a steady development from 2011’s Monsters towards Inmazes: “On Monsters we started experimenting with 7-string guitars and a lot of polymetrics - odd-time signatures over a straight 4/4 beat in our case. And it worked so well on the EP that we wanted to elaborate on this for a full album. But I think we have gotten better at producing our music as a band, which has given way to a tighter and more in-your-face vibe on Inmazes. We are also one person less than on Monsters (guitarist and singer Niels Dreijer Madsen quit the band in 2012), so in my case I’ve had to fill out more space as guitarist and singer, as Niels also played guitar and sang a lot of vocal harmonies.”

After recording a couple of demos the band recorded their EP, Homesick Machinery, in 2008. But that was a different VOLA than it is today. Besides Mygind only keyboard player Martin Werner can be heard on the EP. In the following years the band found its form, with bass player Nicolai Mogensen and drummer Felix Ewert joining in 2011, before the recording of Monsters.

At times futuristic, the music of VOLA has references to tech-prog and pop as well. Further touching on the band’s influences, Mygind states: “I’ve always been a big fan of bands like Opeth and Porcupine Tree, and they write very dynamic songs, so I think the influence to explore dynamics and moods came from that place initially.” Then again, he admits, he is influenced just as much by just the opposite: groove-based, monotonous music. “Some big influences of heavier music are Devin Townsend, Soilwork and Meshuggah. But it doesn’t have to be metal at all as long as it has a spectacular beat, groovy odd-time groupings, an interesting mood or something else along those lines. Massive Attack‘s 100th Window is a big influence. It’s monotonous but it still feels like it’s constantly evolving. Steven Wilson‘s Insurgentes and Ulver’s Shadows Of The Sun both have a darkness that we find very fascinating.”

Lyrically, Inmazes deals with entrapment. Mygind: “The album tries to capture this feeling of being trapped in mental mazes and not being able to fully experience happiness, basically. How is this struggle visualized in your own mind and how do your surroundings react to the behaviour caused by it. Where the EP Monsters deals with strategies on how to escape the negative thought patterns, Inmazes is more about the distance these thoughts can create between people.”

Inmazes was mixed by Asger Mygind himself and mastered by Jens Bogren of Fascination Street Studio. Bogren worked with Opeth, Katatonia, Soilwork, Amon Amarth, Symphony X, Paradise Lost, Devin Townsend, Fates Warning and Arch Enemy, amongst others. Mygind: “I've been a fan of Jens Bogren ever since I heard The Great Cold Distance by Katatonia, which I think is an amazing record with a fantastic production and mix. I like the way he keeps the elements very punchy but still maintains a sort of softness to the overall sonics. He mastered our EP Monsters and we were so fond of the result that we really also wanted him to do Inmazes too. Jens has a signature sound which works great if you want a fat and dynamic mix or master, that is pleasing to the ear.”

Inmazes was received very well by a large number of metal and progrock blogs throughout the world. In the same time VOLA impressed with the cleverly animated videos for the quite positive-sounding rock track Gutter Moon and dreamy Emily, the quietest song on the album. The videos are created by bassist Nicolai Mogensen and his girlfriend, and are clearly in line with the album's artwork, which is based on a watercolour/acrylic drawing by Danish artist Anders Thrane.

Before the end of 2015, the band played high-profile gigs like Euroblast in Germany and ProgPower Europe in the Netherlands. Says Mygind: “We felt very proud. We haven’t played that many shows in total, so to step upon a big stage in a foreign country and experience the incredibly positive energy coming from the crowd, was amazing. We didn’t know what to expect, so it blew us all away.”

Asger Mygind, vocals, guitar
Nicolai Mogensen, bass
Martin Werner, keyboards, programming
Felix Ewert, drums

Mixed by Asger Mygind
Mastered by Jens Bogren

Vola
Vola's music exists in a borderline area of rock, that is as high-flying and melodically fulfilling as it is itchy and heavy. The band forms quirky trails of distorted bass and guitars, entangling synth lines and constantly groove-driven drums that play up against wide vocal harmonies and deep-blue-textured electronica.

The Copenhagen-based quartet grew out of a common interest in eclectic, groove-oriented music which draws inspiration ranging from 70's progressive rock to modern day electronica, industrial and extreme metal. Vola features Asger Mygind on vocals and guitar, Nicolai Mogensen on bass, Martin Werner on keyboards and Felix Ewert on drums.

Inmazes is the title of the debut album by Danish experimental rock band VOLA. The album was released digitally worldwide on the 2nd of February 2015. The album features artwork based on a watercolor/acrylic drawing by Danish artist Anders Thrane and sound mastered by Jens Bogren of Fascination Street Studio.

Vola received rave reviews for their 2011 EP 'Monsters'. Ourstage wrote: 'Sometimes [...] a band comes along that's so good it almost doesn't matter just how metal they are.' while a journalist on Rockfreaks had to conclude: 'I'm having a hard time drawing justified parallels to any other band I know. I guess VOLA are just pretty damn special?'.

This album contains no booklet.