8 years. That’s how long it took between the brilliant second metal epic of VRANI VOLOSA ‘Heresy/Ерес’ and their brand new album ‘Amongst The Loneliest Of Waves’. The pause is trivially filled by the life itself and craft beer. The fact that matters is that VRANI VOLOSA are back again and they sound as they ever did – brutally good and totally like themselves.
There are not many cases when you can guess a band just by the sound of the songs. VRANI VOLOSA, however, are one of the good examples. From the first demo ‘Vedi’ (2004), to the last notes of ‘Agalina’ – the closing track of ‘Amongst the Loneliest Of Waves’, every played and recorded tune bears the unmistakable seal of the Burgas-based band. From the epic and rawer, influenced by the black metallic sound 15 years ago, up to today’s epic metal, pulsating with salt-sea winds, heavy metal, power, and even a pinch of psyche rock, Vrani Volosa are instantly recognized.
“We deliberately searched for a more old-school sound for this album,” Hristo says. And yes, if you play the album as a background and not loud enough, you will hear on the front line vocals and drums and stepped back guitars. Things, however, come quite right if you play the disc on large loudspeakers at home or blast it in the car or on headphones. And frankly, it’s hard not to turn the volume right while listening to the 11 songs.
With ‘Heresy / Eres’ VRANI VOLOSA abandoned the black metal and switched to epic metal sound, closer to heroes such as Bathory and Primordial. But without the harsh vocals. Same direction continues with ‘Amongst The Lonelyest Of Waves’ – epic, metal, varying in arrangements, with clean vocals, slow and medium tempo, acoustic guitars, playful, almost folk passages. The only exception to Itso’s singing is the death metal roar in the chorus of ‘Calm Sea’ – a slow and beautiful epopee devoted to the sea thalasso – also the longest song in the album with its 11 minutes.
The album is a perfectly balanced collection of songs thundering with the typical for the burning heart of Vrani Volosa fire. The epic and extended ‘Calm Sea’, the acoustic tranquil beauty of ‘A Slave and Sometimes a King’, the rhythm ‘In The Blast of the Wind’ – the only piece on Bulgarian in the CD, almost heavy metal power in ‘Into the Eye of the Storm’, the heavily influenced by the pagan metal of the North the Island ‘Perennial’ – if you are already a fan of VRANI VOLOSA ‘Among the Lonelyest Of Waves’, it is a worthy reward for the long wait. Last but not least is the wonderful design of the digibook of the album, done by Nicholas Petras. The other good news is that the band is already working on new tracks and its fourth album, and this one will be released from her brand new and own label Red Sunrise Records as well.