Voyager – Fearless In Love
Season Of Mist
Release Date: 14/07/2023
Running Time: 44:32
Review by Richard Oliver
8/10
In my line of rock and metal reviewing, it is very rare that I can say that I am covering a Eurovision Song Contest finalist, but with this album I am covering exactly that – a band that came a very respectable ninth place in the 2023 competition. The band are Australian progressive metal band Voyager who, now that all the dust has settled after Eurovision, are releasing their eighth album “Fearless In Love”. With all the exposure from Eurovision, this is bound to be one of their most successful albums and it also helps that it is a rather good one.
Voyager have progressed from their progressive power metal origins with a more modern progressive sound with influence from djent and neoprog acts, but with a huge wedge of 80’s pop running throughout. The band have said themselves that they are a metal band masquerading as a pop act and also the other way round and their love of pop music can be heard in the huge melodies and gargantuan hooks that permeate each song, as well as a heavy use of synths which is equal at times to the guitars. Not a bad thing though, as the synth use is fantastic and mixes well with the heavy downtuned riffs that Voyager grind out. “Fearless In Love” is a very accessible album but it doesn’t dial back on the heaviness on songs such as ‘Ultraviolet’, and ‘Prince Of Fire’ but these songs are equally bright, dynamic and sparkling with energy, melody and emotion. The poppier end of the Voyager spectrum comes to the fore in songs such as ‘Submarine’, ‘Twisted’ and ‘Gren (Fearless In Love)’ as well as with the inclusion of the bands two Eurovision songs – ‘Dreamer’ which was a contender for Australia’s entry in 2022 and ‘Promise’ which is the song that got the band all the way to the final.
The band put in fantastic performances with Danny’s vocals in fine form as well as some nice backing vocals and a handful of growls from Scott Kay. One minor criticism is I would have liked to hear a few more guitar solos as Simone and Scott are fantastic guitarists – though the solos in both ‘Submarine’, ‘Listen’ and the title track are ace. “Fearless In Love” sees a slight evolution in the band’s sound in that there is a bit less 80’s worship compared to previous album “Colours In The Sun”, but the pop sensibilities are bigger and far more glorious. If you don’t like poppy melodies and hooks then this album is definitely not for you but “Fearless In Love” is a fantastic halfway point between modern metal and pop music and perfectly balances the two elements to create a captivating and engrossing album. It’s not the best album from the band (“V” and “Ghost Mile” are going to take some beating) but this is a severely fun album that will appeal to people with various tastes in music and should help Voyager grow into an even bigger band.
Voyager – ‘Submarine’ Official Music Video
https://youtu.be/BWrcdYp7W-0
TRACKLISTING:
01. The Best Intentions
02. Prince Of Fire
03. Ultraviolet
04. Dreamer
05. The Lamenting
06. Submarine
07. Promise
08. Twisted
09. Daydream
10. Listen
11. Gren (Fearless In Love)
LINE-UP:
Danny Estrin – Vocals
Simone Dow – Guitars
Alex Canion – Bass
Scott Kay – Guitars
Ash Doodkorte – Drums
LINKS:
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