Voyager: Fearless in Love

Voyager are one of Australia’s leading heavy exports. Their latest album, Fearless In Love, is their eighth album overall and their second release on the well-respected Seasons of Mist label. The release of the new album follows a whirlwind six months for the band, having recently obtained mass exposure after a notable performance at the Eurovision Song Contest finals (something the band had been seeking to achieve since Australia was granted a place in the European competition). Money can’t buy the sort of exposure that Eurovision provides to an relatively independent act like Voyager, and whilst Metal isn’t the typical Eurovision fodder, Voyager aren’t a typical metal band. I’d expect the band’s Eurovision exposure will propel the Fearless in Love from a strong album in niche prog circles to more mainstream markets.

Formed in 1999, Voyager started out as what was essentially a progressive/power metal band. However, over the last decade the band has solidified both their line-up and sound to a point that they are now owning a different corner of the progressive metal spectrum. Voyagers’ unique sound consists of Djenty, nuanced complexity in the riffing, a heavy dose of retro synths, and pop-style sensibility in the vocals. Despite the modern sound employed on their later works, the focus on melody is the common thread through their entire discography-crafting songs around memorable hooks delivered by Danny Esterin’s world class vocals is the band’s modus operandi.

I’m a big fan Voyager and this new album too. It’s a high quality release full of well crafted tracks that hit a number of sweet spots in the Voyager sound. You get the best of the heavy, the melancholic, and the upbeat aspects to what Voyager do, all in one quality package. The two Eurovision tracks, Dreamer (2022’s Australia Decides Entry song) and Promise (Australia’s 2023 Eurovision entry), are somewhat conspicuous in their tight 3 minute run time and pseudo-dance-track-drum-beats, but it must be said they blend into the rest of the album quite seamlessly. The band have winners across every line-the vocals are a standout, the guitar work is super tasty and well arranged, and the rhythm section is virtuosic without being overtly elaborate- they anchor the sound exceptionally well with a deceptive, nuanced complexity. My favourite tracks are The Best Intentions, Prince of Fire, The Lamenting & Gren (Fearless in Love). In fact, Prince of Fire is probably the most well rounded encapsulation of Voyager and their sound in 2023- Retro Synth tones, Vocal hooks, Heavy Riffs, Uplifting melodic bridge- it really is a great track. I’ve seen Devin Townsend’s Accelerated Evolution album referenced to describe the band’s sound on this release, and it’s worth reiterating. Bass guitarist Alex Canion does some very ‘Devin-style’ vocals at times (the end of Promise and Submarine are notable examples), which support this comparison, in addition to the ambient synths & heavy melodic guitar riffing.

Voyager are on a roll. Their last 4 albums have been particularly high calibre and the recent exposure on Eurovision will hold them in good stead to make some serious impact with this album (and the associated touring cycle). Fearless in Love hits the mark for me in every mood- subsequently his is the sort of album that will be in high rotation for a long time to come. Easily one of the best albums of the year to date.

Track Listing
1. The Best Intentions
2. Prince of Fire
3. Ultraviolet (ft. Sean Harmanis of Make Them Suffer)
4. Dreamer
5. The Lamenting
6. Submarine
7. Promise
8. Twisted
9. Daydream
10. Listen
11. Gren (Fearless in Love)

Added: July 25th 2023
Reviewer: Chris Reid
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 905
Language: english

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