Album & EP Reviews

Victoria K – Live Isolation Concert

Live Isolation Concert DVD Cover Art

Victoria K – Live Isolation Concert
Rockshots Records
Release Date: 29/01/2021
Running Time: 36:00
Review by Simon Black
7/10

This pandemic has been a nightmare for bands who had big debuts planned for 2021. So, you build an underground following, you become a ‘thing’ in your local Melbourne area (in the state of Victoria, natch), you get your long-awaited debut out…and then the world goes to hell in a hand basket. I feel for these guys, as the uphill journey got three times harder, so I am really appreciative of the fact that with the odds stacked against them and a debut record that hasn’t had the benefit of any touring and juicy support slots to get them pushed the band have forged ahead and done a lockdown gig, which is now available on DVD and CD. Frustratingly, all we have been given from the visual side is a short montage of clips from the DVD, so my comments are really based on the music release.

Musically, Victoria K are Symphonic Metal in the Within Temptation snorting Evanescence mould, but mix things up with the addition of some good old extreme grunts from guest vocalist Sheri Vengeance, and the songs, where both of them are given full reign to play off of each other, work really well. I reviewed the “Essentia” album last year and felt that it was a bit let down by production woes and some very average guitar work and given that the material played here is exactly the same (albeit in a different sequence), I was curious to see how this would come off live. The answer is ‘much better’. Actually changing the sequence helps, as another challenge I had with “Essentia” is that the musical tone was fairly samey on record, which is avoided here by a better running order, the presence of the extra pair of lungs and the interplay between the two front women.

And all this despite the fact that the sound mix is very rough and ready, as the two vocalists really have the opportunity to shine. Fortunately, there’s enough live clips to make it clear that the production quality doesn’t matter so much, because they clearly had a blinder playing this, the atmosphere generated is electric and although the guitars are (like the studio record) a bit too far back in the mix the net effect works well because the vocalists utterly hold your attention. The band aren’t big enough to really afford a major production for this performance, but they somehow make this work.

‘Freaks’ (Taken From ‘Live Isolation Concert’)

TRACKLISTING:
01. The Haunting
02. Mist Filled Sky
03. Forsaken
04. Humanity
05. Surreal
06. Freaks
07. Shroud of Solitude
08. Lacuna
09. Freedom Uncharted
10. Matrix

LINE-UP:
Victoria K – Vocals
Sheri Vengeance – Extreme Vocals (Black Like Vengeance, ex. Ne Obliviscaris)
Julia Mammone – Guitar (Enlight)
Martin Kawaler – Bass (Black Like Vengeance, ex Ten Thousand)
James Davies – Drums

LINKS:

Victoria K Promo Pic

Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Simon Black and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

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