Artist: Votum
Title: Metafiction
Type: Album
Label: Mystic Productions

It looks like Poland is cornering the market on mystical Progressive music. First Riverside, then Proghma-C and now Votum. Some Prog bands fall over themselves to capture a mood or feelings and in doing so try too hard. “Metafiction” starts in a soft and soapy fashion but that’s quite ok because what dominates is the singer’s clarity of voice, the unity with the instrumental input and the perfect control of timing. Climactic moments are created and the atmosphere develops on “Falling Dreams” until it becomes spine-chilling. If you played this to a friend, they’d probably never believe you were into Metal. In fact, apart from the striking Riverside comparison, it reminded me of Foreigner’s “Waiting for a Girl like You” but more sophisticated. Soft music can make an impact if the timing and quality are right, and here’s evidence of it.

“Glassy Essence” is another smooth track, yet heavy and grooving, and enriched by a discreet but potent instrumental background. At one point it reaches the perfect pitch of emotion without in any way going limp. And so it goes on “Home” is another utterly gripping track with emotion-filled guitar work. The ambiance is perfect. It’s calm but dark, and fused with soft, magical sounds. This is Prog at its absolute best. What I was hearing was the total harmony of moods and sounds, helped on by the crystal clarity of the vocals. Sometimes the words of these epics can be just a blur. On “Metafiction” they are clear and mean something. To mix it up “Faces” is acoustic and more slow and lingering, contrasting with “Stranger than Fiction”, whose pumping rhythm is matched unsurprisingly by the power of the vocals. This track has an intriguing mix of hypnotic rhythm, heaviness and power. I could almost detect a trace of Marc Almond in the vocals. “Indifferent Mast” is soft and mellow. The piano marks out the melancholy and is accompanied by the delicate injection of the guitar work. Others may have allowed it to go drearily on, but not Votum. They know how to allow themselves time to build up a track and make it interesting. The only disappointing aspect of “December 20th” is that it’s the last track. The guitar playing has soul and character. The rhythm is funky. The vocalist proves once again that he is one for the big song. In fact this polished song is one for a swanky club, such is its soul and character. It has a real edge and as usual, it’s sublimely controlled. The guitar work is set in a framework of drama. The atmosphere is electric. That voice adds definition. It’s just brilliant. The best word I can use to describe the pulsating sound of this track and its predecessors is dynamic.

I don’t know what’s in the water in Poland but after listening to “Metafiction” I want some. Votum’s second album is utterly special and comprises 7 magical pieces of Progressive music. It is a work of sheer quality.

http://www.votumband.pl
http://www.myspace.com/votumband
http://www.mystic-production.com

Andrew Doherty

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