The genre-welding Danish-Swedish quartet VOLA return with their brand-new album, “Witness”, on 21 May, released on Mascot Records. Ahead of this they have revealed the official video for “Straight Lines,” which can be seen below.
“Witness” comes nearly three years after the release of ‘Applause of a Distant Crowd,’ which saw the band go deep into the rabbit-hole, exploring society’s distractions from thoughtfulness and examined the way human relationships have evolved. Their new album goes a step further, shining a light on the subject of failed relationships, on a societal scale—the friction between leaders and followers, which is caused by the misuse of power.
“If I zoom in,” guitarist-singer Asger Mygind says. “The failure is born from unrequited love, grief, manipulative behavior and insecurity. Connecting it with the album title, one could view the characters portrayed in the lyrics as being witnesses to the dissolution of the bond they have created with people in their lives.”
VOLA wrote the songs after they returned from their successful 2019 headline tour across Europe. The tour had a string of sold-out shows along the way. It capped off an incredible two years, which had seen them also tour with Dream Theater, Anathema, Katatonia, Haken, Monuments, as well as show-stealing performances at Euroblast, Ramblin’ Man Fair, Radar Festival, Bloodstock, Damnation Fest, Tech Fest and more.
The album’s themes are entwined into both the cover art and the title as Mygind elaborates; “The cover art of the album largely inspired the title. To me, the image could either portray the close-up of an eye, or a zoomed-out image of something burning. In case of the eye, I imagine that it belongs to someone witnessing an event. Something huge and life changing. In case of burning, it is the viewer of the cover art who becomes the witness. Or maybe this burning is what the eye is looking at. No matter how I look at it, the concept of being a witness seems very present in the artwork.”
“Witness” Track-list
- Straight Lines
- 24 Light-Years
- These Black Claws (feat. SHAHMEN)
- Freak
- Napalm
- Future Bird
- Stone Leader Falling Down
- Inside Your Fur
- Head Mounted Sideways