Fifth album by this Australian progressive metal band. I am ashamed to say that
this is the first time I listened to an album by them. This first meeting is a
positive one. The band mixes progressive metal with very catchy refrains and
almost poppy sounding elements. You could probably say that they sound like as
if Midnight Oil, AHA, Duran Duran and Depeche Mode had decided to play metal.
The synths have an important role in the songs, but somehow the band still
sounds heavy and that is because of the guitars. Daniel Estrin has a very warm
voice that makes it very comfortable to listen to the songs of Voyager. He is
not the typical metal singer, for the same money he could have been a frontman
of a pop band. The best example of that you can hear in "Breaking Down", which
sounds like a heavy pop song. It is a long time ago I heard such a catchy metal
song.
That the band is familiar with Dream Theater can be heard in the song "Domination
Game", which is one of the heavier tracks. Next song "Peacekeeper" is a kind of
heavy Duran Duran/U2 track and then especially because of the singing. That the band can play uptempo is shown in "It's a Wonder" and with "The Summer
Always Comes Again" there is a beautiful piano ballad.
For fans of Anubis Gate this will be a nice album, this band from down under is an enjoyable surprise for me.
