Voice of Glass – Epos (EP)
Voice of Glass – Epos (EP)
Rexius Records
Release Date: 16/01/26
Running Time: 27:30
Review by Dark Juan
8/10
Greetings, horde! It is Dark Juan addressing you, and I suggest you all get to your knees and start fucking genuflecting and telling me just how awesome my presence is. It has not been the most positive few weeks, and I am in need of some positive affirmation lest my barely contained homicidal tendencies come out in ways that will not be conducive to several people having good days.
Suffice it to say that having a dog waking up one night and shitting blood (not shit covered in blood, actual blood) did not help matters. The multi-thousand-pound veterinary bill this subsequently generated was not of any help in calming the already tumultuous mind of Dark Juan either. I have no problem in admitting that my dogs are my best friends, and I prefer them to 99.9% of humans, so this was something of a big deal, as is my actual work, which has taught me that people are workshy whining bastards who dare to question the word of Dark Juan. Apparently, telling a pregnant lady that she’s got a baby, not a medical condition, when she says she can’t work because of it is a sentence that needs HR to have a word with your good correspondent.
In other news, Mrs Dark Juan continues to delight when she mishears lyrics, and I must share this classic with you – I was watching an old 10CC concert on the idiot’s lantern and in ‘Silly Love’ there is this lyric:
“Hey, Trace, you’ve got a smile like a Rembrandt…”
As is usual, Mrs Dark Juan did not hear this correct lyric. She heard the following:
“Hey, Trace, you’ve got style like a binbag…”
I am privately convinced that Mrs Dark Juan was trying to off me, as the laugh I let out was converted instantly to a fit of coughing thanks to the chest infection I am only just shifting. Nothing, however, will top the plaintive question Mrs Dark Juan asked of me when “Sunset Grill” by Don Henley was playing on the radio of the lost and much lamented Schwerer Gothikpanzer. “Dark Juan, sage arbiter of all that is groovy and mild to moderately perverted, fount of all knowledge and captor of my heart,” she said to me, “Why is that man singing about a sausage mill?”
I may have slightly paraphrased. I’ll let you guess which part I did. Nevertheless, we should press on, and I should share a few words about the current offering placed upon the protesting Platter of Splatter ™ as it has been hauled out of containment and called once more into service. “Epos” is the name of the record we are listening to, and it is an EP from Las Vegas, Nevada-based Gothic duo Voice of Glass. That’s the simple description, anyway. Their music encompasses the dark and sensual nature of Gothic Rock and melds it with the complexity and abstruseness of Progressive Metal, with an underlying admixture of contemporary Hard Rock. This is an amalgamation that should just about work, if competently played.
The EP (we get six tracks here, one being an instrumental version of the opening song) begins with ‘This World is Broken’, which is all strings, sensuality and moody magnificence, due in no small parts to the beautiful, wide-ranging and soaring voice of Ukrainian/ Bulgarian vocalist Olya Meek. I could listen to her forever; it wouldn’t matter what the hell she was singing about or over what music… I’d even listen to Drill if she were doing the singing. I adore her voice. The music is also top notch and ably played, although I found the guitar solo in the middle of the song a distraction that ruined the Gothic, sinuous quality it somewhat. But the song as taken was spellbinding and Dark Juan is seated straight backed and paying close attention to Voice of Glass now.
‘Soteria’ is next up, and Olya takes her voice down a note or two although there are some incredibly lush harmonies, underpinned with the weight of some pretty damned tasty Progressive guitar work.
An issue I am struggling with is the dichotomy between Las Vegas, one of the most brash, bright, unattractive and frankly shocking places in the world to one of my peculiar bent, and the realm of shades, innuendo, promises of sultry delights and sensuality that Voice of Glass inhabit. Does the music come from a yearning for the dark yet beautiful in a land of garish neon, glaring sun, dollar margaritas and fat tourists, or is it a reflection of two lost souls trying desperately to remain in touch with themselves in a place that would scorn, vilify and burn them as unclean if they were to emerge from the shadows? My poor autistic brain is finding it difficult to comprehend how music this black comes from the desert casino capital.
‘Henosis’ is a brilliant track, though. It has real heft, a core of Metal that is enhanced by Olya channelling her inner Floor Jansen and truly letting rip with the full range of her prodigious talents. Stop sniggering at the back. Guitarist David also peels out some truly fleet-fingered fretboard frenetics as well as lending his deep and sonorous tones to the vocal harmonies and Dark Juan feels that this is the most complete song on the EP – everything about it hits in just the right places to leave you hopelessly in love, and gasping and wanting more and more until there is nothing left of yourself to give…
‘The Phoenix’ is a song that evokes a bit of a feel of later Evanescence. This is not a demerit, as Dark Juan feels that Evanescence is a much more important band than most people given them credit for, and managed to drag female-fronted Gothic Metal out of the closet, blinking and confused, into the light. And Amy Lee has stuck to her vision of the band, and it is that same accessible yet laser-focused… er… focus on the individual sound of the band that Voice of Glass share on this song. Plus, Olya once more charms and beguiles the listener with another finely judged vocal performance that tugs at the heartstrings, invoking longing and hiraeth.
And so, it continues. If you like the more accessible direction that After Forever took after the success of ‘Energise Me’ melded with some of the technical prowess of Tool and the creamy, dreamy wallowing in sensation of the likes of Waterglass and Siouxsie, then you’re gonna dig Voice of Glass. I do, even though they can get a bit wayward in their musical arrangements.
The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System has emerged from the Stygian depths it plumbs when it is not called into service and awards Voice of Glass 8/10 for an EP that hits hard when it gets it right, but falls short of the mark when it tries too hard to be different.
TRACKLISTING:
01. This World is Broken
02. Soteria
03. Henosis
04. The Phoenix
05. The Ancient of Days
06. This World is Broken (instrumental)
LINE-UP:
David Meek – Guitars
Olya Meek – Vocals
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Dark Juan 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.
